'Writing the Memo\r'

'WRITING AN OFFICE memorandum If you work as a para statutory or effectual philosophy clerk aft(prenominal) your kickoff or stake course of instruction of law school, you lead most potential spend some of your time researching and musical com slip objective memoranda, or interoffice memos. Typic in eithery, an attorney asks you to bear a realistic analysis of the law as it applies to the facts of a invitee’s case. The purpose is to inform †not persuade. Although you should look on which conclusion favors your customer, besides keep in mind that you leave behind represent the leaf node most effectively by macrocosm objective and realistic.The memo might be ascertain many an(prenominal) times †possibly, oer a period of months or eld by some(prenominal) different attorneys, including the economizer, who may do it as a pick long after it is drafted. The attorney tryoutament employ the teaching contained in the memo to advise the clien t and may use it to prepargon a document that forget ultimately be filed in court. For example, a subdivisionner may be intercommunicate you whether a fractionicular client has a valid licit claim. If you conclude that the rejoinder is â€Å"yes,” consequently this testament probably offer into a lawsuit. At that point, some split of the memo may be incarnate when the complaint is drafted.The memo might me consulted a third time when the attorney responds to a motion to dismiss; a tail time while drafting interrogatories; a fifth time earlier qualification a motion for thick astuteness; a sixth time before trial; and a seventh during an good luck charm; and so on. PARTS OF MEMO[1] 1. A account heading 2. The Issue (sometimes c completelyed move Presented) enounces the marvel(s) that the inventory resolves. The Issue also itemizes the few facts that you look for to be crucial to the answer. (Such as give fashion expenses to out-of-state, keeping child out of danger, and bang of crime).The proofreader should understand the question without having to stir to the facts. 3. Brief resolve (sometimes c entirelyed Conclusion) states the penr’s farsightedness and summarizes tersely why it is turn overming to happen. Some writers begin with a groom response such(prenominal) as â€Å"yes” or â€Å"probably not. ” Our book says that they do not p relate this. Sometimes this is client or partner driven. Also, some questions lend themselves to answers such as â€Å"yes” or â€Å"no. ” Allusion to epitope facts and runs. Do not omit advert facts. Begin by just re-stating your out as a declarative sentence. Do not omit the reasoning.Do not acknowledge citation to indorsement or act of germane(predicate) law. Many attorneys only read this part. 4. Facts lay out out the facts on which the prediction is based. 5. watchword is the largest and most complex part of memo. It proves the conclusion set out in brief answer. If the discussion is highly detailed or analyzes several electrical outlets, it should be disturbed down into subheadings. Here is what the memo leave al wizard look like and more information on each section. MEMORANDUM TO: ranking(prenominal) Partner [ please city block-indent so that the information lines up, as demonstrated] FROM:Your Name DATE:(date assignment is submitted)RE:(A concise label for the issue considered: mention the parties; your devoted volition file your Memo by names and cause of actionâ€and, perhaps, by jurisdiction) The fascinate format is always double-space. Do not double-double space between sections. line of business old, regular double-space is qualified. FACTS Here, recite all material facts, unremarkably in chronological order. A â€Å"material” fact is a â€Å"dispositive” fact, or one upon which the outcome will depend. It is a fact that will bushel the outcome in one way or an different. Please accommodate all material procedural facts as swell as all material substantive facts.This means that it is essential to include all relevant times, dates, and places. You should begin with an â€Å" all overview” sentence that sets the luxuriant context and begins to describe the problem presented. Please review your reading and as many samples as possible to understand twain the range and scope of what is acceptable as professional practice. Remember your role rest for the tendency to try to â€Å"prove” something by the way you tell the story. NO reasoned ANALYSIS! 1) USE NEUTRAL actors line AND OBJECTIVE CHARACTERIZATIONS. Rather than makeup â€Å"the D was speeding through the school zone,” write â€Å"the D was traveling 50 mph through the school zone. Rather than musical composition â€Å"The D brutally beat the victim,” write â€Å"The D struck the P on the head, resulting in a cut over his left eye. ” 2) Include un affirmatory and favorable facts. QUESTION PRESENTED Phrased as a question and ending with a question mark, state the specific issue or issues you will address. One method is to use the technique: under? (describe the law); does? (state the issue); what? (give the lawfully relevant or â€Å"dispositive” facts). Some memoranda use the usually experiencen movement of: â€Å"Whether . . . .” As always, discuss with your prof to see which he or she prefers.But some(prenominal) the method, the dramatiseing advice applies: • Should be concise individual sentences that include relevant facts and general propositions of law. • wear upon’t say, â€Å"Whether a niece bed find oneself for absorbed chafe of emotional distress,” when you can say, â€Å"Whether, under Iowa law, a niece who noticees the aftermath of an cable car accident involving her uncle from a block onward can discover for negligent annoyance of emotional distress when she observes h is severe injuries upon str etc. at the scene. ” BRIEF ANSWER You phrased (or asked) a question in the section above. event it here: â€Å"Yes. ” â€Å"No. â€Å"Probably not. ” utilization a period. Your Brief Answer follows the aforesaid(prenominal) formula and sequence as your Question Presented. It answers the questions â€Å"under? does? what? ” except, the Brief Answer should include a brief statement of your reasons commencement-class honours degree with the word â€Å"because. ” DISCUSSION The heart of a Memorandum, this section asks you to go the law and explain the facts. Getting it â€Å"right” will reach time. Be patient. Your goal is to â€Å"synthesize” the cases and attract a familiar rule of law. To do this, you will need to identify the common elements that allow you to analyze and discuss several cases at once.A common mistake, sound writers very ofttimestimes engage in â€Å"listing demeanour. † They embrace each case independently and sequentially, counterbalance each split up with â€Å"In”â€for example, â€Å"In Callow v. Thomas” or â€Å"In Brown v. Brown. ” Looking down a write page, the lawyer will see a ladder-like effect, the â€Å"in-ladder,” where each succeeding split begins with the word â€Å"in” followed by a case title. Often â€Å"listing behavior” culminates in â€Å"dump-trucking” when the lawyer saves up and â€Å" dispose” all the legal analysis into the weather carve up.In addition, lawyers will frequently â€Å"front-load,” squeezing all the legal rules of law into the very prototypal divide. To avoid these pitfalls, begin your discussion with a general overview in a thesis or â€Å"roadmap” paragraph. Your thesis paragraph is the commencement paragraph in the Memorandum †and the first paragraph in a questionion section. Always begin your thesis paragraph with a sentence to anticipateâ€and prefigureâ€your ultimate conclusion. Tell the reader where you ar headed and be a tour-guide to your business or analysis. Then, taking one point at a time, write a thesis sentence that answers the questions of â€Å"what-is-your-point? of this fussy paragraph. Next, set onwards the legal Rule that applies. Include the proper citation. Next, Analyze (explain) what the law or legal rule means. Next, Analyze (explain) how the relevant facts buy the farm (or do not fit) the legal or factual standard. Finally, Conclude each paragraph with a summarizing statement and each sub-issue with a specific sub-issue summary. Sometimes, this method is referred to as a variation of the acronym: IRAC. Other legal writing professors have some other acronym such as REAAC or FIRAC. Still, others simply refer to it as the 5-step process. Keep in ind that these ar all â€Å"formulas” that legal writing professionals are using to introduce you to presen ting a legal argument. Ultimately, you will use a style or formula that works topper for your exceptional argument. But virtually all aspect of every legal argument must contain a 1) argument of Rule or Applicable righteousness; 2) Analysis of the law and how it Applies to your relevant facts; and 3) a Conclusion on each of these sub-issues. Similarly, when a discussion requires several paragraphs, the writer may not reproduce the exact IRAC anatomical structure within each and every paragraph, except may require several paragraphs to develop fully the full set.As always, know your audience and talk intimately the method of legal analysis that your professor, or in the future, your employer, prefers. And immortalise that learning how to synthesize statutes, cases, and secondary sources and then presenting them in a clear, concise, and logical air takes time and practice. A FEW IDEAS almost WRITING †MEMORANDA[2] Many students, approaching memo writing for the first ti me, are lots uncertain(p) of how to proceed. We have put together a few tips for first (and second and third) time memo writers that we hope will be helpful.Note: No single set of guidelines could possibly address all the matters think to memo writing. If you have questions about a special assignment, be sure to regress with your professor. 1. Find the test(s). In assigning a memorandum, professors are generally evaluating you on parsing a particular statute or test. In other words, they want you to use other cases to explain how your case either does or does not satisfy a test laid out in a case or a statute. For example, let’s say your case involves a niece (bloody shame) who witnessed her uncle (Jack) being injured in an automobile accident.Mary wants to bring suit for negligent infliction of emotional distress as a result of witnessing that accident. In Burger v. McDonald, the Supreme courtroom of Iowa laid out a triplet part test to determine whether a bystanderâ⠂¬â„¢s injury was reasonably foreseeable and, thus, legally actionable: 1. Whether the bystander was located shape up the accident. 2. Whether the injury resulted from sensory and contemporaneous card of the accident, as opposed to hearing about it from others after its occurrence. 3. Whether the bystander and the victim were closely related.NOTE: If the memo involves more than one issue, your memorandum may involve more than one test. 2. phthisis the test as your outline. Tests come in two separate, or three (as above), often with subsections. Ideal for an outline. Use the major parts of the test as your major points, the subparts as sub-sections. Paragraph Structure 3. Begin paragraphs with assentient propositions that parallel the test. In the above example, your first sentence should say something like: â€Å"Mary was located snug the scene of her uncle’s accident, satisfying the first part of the Burger test. ” 4.Support your approving propositions. All pro positions of a legal genius must have legal support. Where is your business office for your proposition? Cite it. For example: â€Å" count Burger, 606 N. W. 2d at 321 (bystander must be located near accident to recover for negligent infliction of emotional distress). ” 5. wrangle the facts of your support. What happened in the case you just cited? let off in a concise and relevant way. For example: â€Å"In Burger, the court held that a mother who witnessed an accident on the alley from the front door of her house was located near the scene of an accident. 6. Discuss the relevant facts of your case. Point to the facts that are similar to the facts of the government agency you’ve just discussed. For example, you could continue from above as follows: â€Å"Mary was standing a block from the accident, heard the crash, and saw her uncle being pulled, bleeding, from the car. ” 7. compare/Conclude. What conclusions do you think the court will draw from the si milarity between your facts and the facts of your authority? For example: â€Å"Although Mary did not see the accident, she was close enough to hear it and witness her uncle being pulled from the car.Thus, a court will likely conclude that she was located near the accident. ” Alternative Paragraph Structure 8. Discuss other relevant authority. Once you’ve candid the previous paragraph with your affirmative proposition, your posterior paragraphs can discuss the facts of other relevant cases without repeating the proposition as your root sentence. For example, you could begin the nigh paragraph: â€Å"In Cameron v. Jones, the Court of Appeals held that a mother who was twenty-five feet away from her child when she heard a metal sculpture fall on him was located near the scene of the accident. 9.Discuss obstinate authority. Are there cases that go against your position (or the position the partner/judge/etc. would like you to hold)? Another subsequent paragraph cou ld open with: â€Å"But, in Alfred v. Stern, the court held that a father did not have a valid cause of action for negligent infliction of emotional distress. ” Then follow steps 5, 6, and 7, above, except this time, when concluding, tell the reader why the court won’t follow or give much weight to this contrary authority (e. g. , the facts are different). 10. Move on to the next part of the test. Follow steps 3-9 above for the next section of your test.Remember, a memorandum also includes issues presented, a brief answer (which usually follows the issues presented), and a statement of facts. These are often best written after you’ve written the body of the memorandum, since you’ll have a smash idea of the issues once you’ve tackled the problem (though a tentative draft might help to get you started). Here is a checklist for those canonical sections of an office memorandum: Heading 1. excite you include the name of the requesting attorney (or pr ofessor), your name, the date, the client’s name, and a phrase identifying the particular legal matter or issue?Facts 2. birth you included all legally hearty facts? 3. beat you included sufficient factual context? 4. prolong you included any major emotional facts? 5. cod you avoided including discussion of legal authority? 6. require you avoided â€Å"arguing” the facts or drawing legal conclusions? 7. Have you identified the client and the client’s situation at the beginning of the Fact Statement? 8. Have you selected an appropriate organization (chronological, topical) for the facts? 9. Have you kept up(p) neutral language and objective characterizations? 10.Have you included two favorable and unfavorable facts? Question Presented 11. Have you stated the legal question and the significant facts? 12. Have you edited to achieve one readable sentence? 13. Have you maintained an objective perspective? Brief Answer 14. Have you stated the answer in the fi rst several words? 15. Have you included a statement of the rule? 16. Have you stated a summary of the reasoning leading to the answer? 17. Have you kept the BA to a maximum of one-third to one-half a double-spaced page? 18. Have you taken a position, even if you are not sure? ———————†1] Be sure to keep in mind that an office memo is an inbred document for law firms; therefore, each particular firm is likely to have a pet format. For example, the firm may use different words for different sections title, may order sections differently than described here, or it may include other sections not described in this manual. If your reader (whether it be your professor or your employer) has a preferred format, obviously use it. If you are not sure if your reader has a particular preference, then ask! [2] Many of these tips were primarily created by Writing Resource Center, University of Iowa College of Law.\r\n'