Writing the Memo

WRITING AN OFFICE entry If you work as a para well-grounded or law clerk aft(prenominal) your depression or second year of law aim, you go forth nigh seeming fleet some of your time researching and theme objective memorandumranda, or interoffice memos. Typic comp permitelyy, an attorney asks you to entrust a realistic analysis of the law as it applies to the facts of a lymph no(prenominal)es pillow model. The purpose is to inform non persuade. Although you should remember which conclusion favors your client, as well keep in mind that you de dower represent the client most effectively by being objective and realistic.The memo office be read many times possibly, oer a period of months or years by several antithetic attorneys, including the source, who may theatrical role it as a resource long after it is drafted. The attorney will mathematical function the information contained in the memo to advise the client and may do it to prepare a document that will ultimat ely be filed in dally. For example, a partner may be asking you whether a incident client has a valid efficacious claim. If you conclude that the answer is yes, consequently this will believably turn into a lawsuit. At that point, some separate of the memo may be incorporated when the complaint is drafted.The memo might me consulted a third time when the attorney responds to a motion to squeeze out a fourth time while drafting interrogatories a one-fifth time before making a motion for summary appreciation a sixth time before trial and a one-seventh during an appeal and so on. PARTS OF MEMO1 1. A memorandum heading 2. The core (sometimes c all tolded Question Presented) states the promontory(s) that the memorandum resolves. The Issue also itemizes the few facts that you predict to be crucial to the answer. (Such as travel expenses to out-of-state, keeping minor out of danger, and perpetration of crime).The commentator should check the question without having to refer t o the facts. 3. Brief process (sometimes called Conclusion) states the authors prediction and summarizes concisely why it is likely to happen. Some writers be select with a direct response such as yes or probably non. Our book says that they do not prefer this. Sometimes this is client or partner driven. Also, some questions lend themselves to answers such as yes or no. Allusion to determinative facts and rules. Do not omit key facts. Begin by beneficial re-stating your let out as a declarative judgment of conviction. Do not omit the reasoning.Do not imply citation to authority or applications programme of applicable law. Many attorneys only read this part. 4. Facts banding out the facts on which the prediction is based. 5. Discussion 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 issues, it should be broken pile into subheadings. Here is what the memo will look lik e and much information on from apiece one subdivision. MEMORANDUM TOSenior Partner ravish block-indent so that the information lines up, as demonstrated FROMYour Name assignment(date assignment is submitted)RE(A concise label for the issue considered mention the parties your firm will file your Memo by names and cause of actionand, perhaps, by jurisdiction) The proper format is al agencys double-spaced. Do not double-double space amongst sections. Plain old, regular double-space is sufficient. FACTS Here, recite all material facts, unremarkably in chronological order. A material fact is a dispositive fact, or one upon which the outcome will depend. It is a fact that will guess the outcome in one way or another. Please include all material procedural facts as well as all material substantive facts.This means that it is essential to include all pertinent times, dates, and places. You should lose with an overview sentence that sets the full context and begins to describe th e problem presented. Please review your reading and as many samples as possible to downstairsstand some(prenominal) the range and scope of what is acceptable as professional practice. return your role Watch for the tendency to try to prove something by the way you tell the story. NO LEGAL ANALYSIS 1) USE NEUTRAL run-in AND OBJECTIVE CHARACTERIZATIONS. Rather than writing the D was speeding through the train zone, write the D was traveling 50 MPH through the school zone. Rather than writing The D brutally beat the victim, write The D struck the P on the head, resulting in a cut over his left eye. 2) imply unfavorable and favorable facts. QUESTION PRESENTED Phrased as a question and ending with a question mark, state the specific issue or issues you will distribute. One method is to use the technique under? (describe the law) does? (state the issue) what? ( award the healthyly applicable or dispositive facts). Some memoranda use the super acidly date stampn style of Wheth er . . . . As always, discuss with your professor to see which he or she prefers.But whatever the method, the following advice applies Should be concise single sentences that include relevant facts and general pro authoritys of law. Dont say, Whether a niece can rectify for neglectful painfulness of emotional inconvenience, when you can say, Whether, under Iowa law, a niece who witnesses the aftermath of an elevator car accident involving her uncle from a block away can recover for hit-and-run(prenominal) infliction of emotional distress when she observes his severe injuries upon arrival at the scene. fellateing ANSWER You jointd (or asked) a question in the section preceding(prenominal). Answer it here(predicate) Yes. No. Probably not. drug abuse a period. Your Brief Answer follows the alike(p) formula and sequence as your Question Presented. It answers the questions under? does? what? except, the Brief Answer should include a brief statement of your reasons begi nning with the word because. word The heart of a Memorandum, this section asks you to explain the law and explain the facts. acquire it right will take time. Be patient. Your goal is to synthesize the cases and perpetrate a common rule of law. To do this, you will need to learn the common elements that allow you to analyze and discuss several cases at in one case.A common mistake, legal writers frequently engage in listing behavior. They treat each(prenominal) case independently and sequentially, beginning each dissever with Infor example, In Callow v. Thomas or In Brown v. Brown. Looking down a written rascal, the lawyer will see a ladder-like effect, the in-ladder, where each succeeding paragraph begins with the word in followed by a case title. Often listing behavior culminates in dump-trucking when the lawyer saves up and toss all the legal analysis into the last paragraph.In addition, lawyers will frequently bearing-load, hug all the legal rules of law into the ver y first paragraph. To avoid these pitfalls, begin your discussion with a general overview in a dissertation or roadmap paragraph. Your dissertation paragraph is the first paragraph in the Memorandum and the first paragraph in a Discussion section. Always begin your thesis paragraph with a sentence to anticipateand announceyour ultimate conclusion. speciate the lector where you are headed and be a tour-guide to your argument or analysis. Then, victorious one point at a time, write a thesis sentence that answers the questions of what-is-your-point? of this item paragraph. Next, set forth the legal persist that applies. Include the proper citation. Next, dismember (explain) what the law or legal rule means. Next, Analyze (explain) how the relevant facts fit (or do not fit) the legal or existent 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 are all formulas that legal writing professionals are using to introduce you to presenting a legal argument. Ultimately, you will use a style or formula that working best for your particular argument. But virtually both aspect of every legal argument must contain a 1) Statement of Rule or Applicable Law 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 structure within each and every paragraph, but may require several paragraphs to develop fully the full set.As always, know your audience and talk about the method of legal analysis that your professor, or in the future, your employer, prefers. And remember that learning how to synthesize statutes, c ases, and secondary sources and indeed presenting them in a clear, concise, and logical manner takes time and practice. A FEW IDEAS ABOUT WRITING MEMORANDA2 Many students, approaching memo writing for the first time, are often un accepted of how to proceed. We have put unneurotic a few tips for first (and second and third) time memo writers that we believe will be helpful.Note No single set of guidelines could possibly address all the matters related to memo writing. If you have questions about a particular assignment, be sure to check 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 situated out in a case or a statute. For example, lets 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 Court of Iowa laid out a common chord part test to determine whether a bystanders injury was reasonably foreseeable and, thus, legally actionable 1. Whether the bystander was determined near the accident. 2. Whether the injury resulted from sensory and contemporaneous observance of the accident, as conflicting 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. Use the test as your outline. Tests come in two parts, 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. divide Structure 3. Begin paragraphs with affirmative propositions that replicate the test. In the above example, your first se ntence should say something like Mary was situated near the scene of her uncles accident, satisfying the first part of the Burger test. 4.Support your affirmative propositions. All propositions of a legal nature must have legal support. Where is your authority for your proposition? Cite it. For example See Burger, 606 N. W. 2d at 321 (bystander must be located near accident to recover for negligent infliction of emotional distress). 5. Discuss the facts of your support. What happened in the case you just cited? Explain in a concise and relevant way. For example In Burger, the court held that a mother who witnessed an accident on the street 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 authority youve just discussed. For example, you could continue from above as follows Mary was standing a block from the accident, heard the crash, and adage her uncle be ing pulled, bleeding, from the car. 7. Analogize/Conclude. What conclusions do you think the court will draw from the similarity between your facts and the facts of your authority? For example 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 youve opened the preliminary paragraph with your affirmative proposition, your incidental paragraphs can discuss the facts of other relevant cases without repeating the proposition as your opening sentence. For example, you could begin the next paragraph 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 contrary authority. Are there cases that go against your position (or t he position the partner/judge/etc. would like you to hold)? Another subsequent paragraph could open with 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 wont 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 commonly follows the issues presented), and a statement of facts. These are often best written after youve written the body of the memorandum, since youll have a better idea of the issues once youve tackled the problem (though a tentative draft might help to get you started). Here is a checklist for those introductory sections of an office memorandum Heading 1. contrive you include the name of the requesting attorney (or professor), your name, the date, the clients name, and a phrase identifying the particular legal matter or issue?Facts 2. retain you included all legally significant facts? 3. come you included sufficient genuine context? 4. have a bun in the oven you included any major emotional facts? 5. Have you avoided including discussion of legal authority? 6. Have you avoided arguing the facts or outline legal conclusions? 7. Have you identified the client and the clients website at the beginning of the Fact Statement? 8. Have you selected an appropriate governing body (chronological, topical) for the facts? 9. Have you maintained neutral language and objective characterizations? 10.Have you included both 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 first 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 internal document for law firms therefore, each particular firm is likely to have a preferred 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 originally created by Writing Resource Center, University of Iowa College of Law.