Examples of a Legal Memo

This section deals with the objective presentation of customer information. The Facts section contains the relevant facts that you used to prepare and research the memorandum. Listing customer information and facts means that the reader is accessing the same information as you. This avoids confusion. Legal research notes can take many forms — from general surveys in 50 states to more nuanced research on a particular legal issue — but whatever the format, it`s important that you fully understand the task you`ve been given before you start typing. Make the memo accessible and make sure your points stay in the lawyer`s memory by previewing: it`s helpful to create a table of contents for the reader. A breakdown of approach, structure and analysis allows the reader to quickly and easily find specific parts of the memorandum. A memo can be addressed to a colleague or supervisor at a law firm (called an “internal” memo). Occasionally, you may be asked to write a “letter to the client”, or the memorandum may be addressed to both the client and a fellow lawyer. Read your task instructions carefully to determine the hearing of the memo. Too often, however, the lead counsel reviews the outcome and responds, “I already knew that.” To avoid this outcome, it is important to write a legal note with sufficient understanding of the target group, scope, purpose, and format.

With the right planning, the employees of the law firm can maximize the chances of a favorable reception from the beginning. 16) If the rule statement serves as a theorem for a longer discussion of a state of law that has developed over time in a number of cases, the rule proof serves as an explanation and elaboration of that thesis sentence. (4) The author of this note has been careful not to use language that presupposes the answer to the legal question he has raised. Since the question referred for a preliminary ruling seeks to highlight whether the facts indicate that there is a formal contractual offer, you would not use the term `offer` to formulate the question, that is to say. You would not write, “Does an advertising circular describing goods constitute an offer when it offered the goods for sale at some point?” because this wording of the question is based on a legal conclusion – that the conduct in question meets the requirements of an offer. Instead, reserve your legal conclusions (here, whether the announcement is a formal offer or not) for the short answer part. Legal notes are incredibly versatile and useful. Depending on the size of your company and your field of activity, they can serve as a communication pillar when interacting with colleagues, customers, partners and judges, among others. With a reliable legal memo template, you will ensure that you always have a clean and readable structure. At the same time, you can reduce your overall writing time. Develop a research plan: In the task of sniffing dogs, some legal investigations may mention cases of sniffer dog use, including the U.S. Supreme Court opinion Florida v.

Jardines, 2013 BL 79684 (U.S. 2013). Read these articles to discover more relevant cases and regulations to support your analysis. The discussion section of a legal memorandum should be structured in the same way you would write a legal review. Just like a legal review, you must assume that the reader has a basic understanding of the law (so you don`t have to explain the basic legal principles), but the reader doesn`t know the exact legal rules and facts involved. As in an exam, you should educate the reader about the applicable legal principles, illustrate how those principles apply to the relevant facts, and examine counter-arguments. Although the “question asked” section is short, it should (i) contain a concise reference to the legal claim and relevant doctrine, and (ii) contain the most legally important facts of your case. A comprehensive and balanced question is concise – it immediately goes to the heart of the legal question – and directs the reader to the real context.

Some law firms and lawyers go directly from the header of the note to the explanation of the problem and the short answer. You can always apply the principles for strong introductions elsewhere in the first paragraphs of your facts and in the discussion section. The legal note shows your critical legal thinking skills. Use your research plan and research materials to organize your analysis. Remember to clearly articulate the law and facts in an active voice and present your analysis in a logical way. You can include a conclusion in the Facts section or create a conclusion at the end that is a summary of the memorandum. It should also include a brief overview of the legal analysis. There are two common phrases for the short answers section of the legal note: Probably yes or probably no.

This is a very complete introductory sentence. The reader is familiar with the parties, the facts, the search mandate and the purpose of the memorandum – to assist the lawyer in responding to a declaratory action. In addition, it is a respectful decision to refer to the client as Mr. Smith. Good job. “Mark Rieber has always been there for us. His thoughtful analysis, extensive research and innovative approach to overcoming litigation hurdles immeasurably enhance our ability to provide the best legal services to our clients. NLRG`s legal research lawyers can provide you with unbiased legal notes for preparing court proceedings and appeals, assessing cases, strategic planning, or for other purposes before or to assist you with litigation or transaction analysis.

Our team of lawyers can help you create compelling legal notes with applicable legal arguments, binding authorities and quotes to ensure admission to the courtroom. We also offer free consultations to discuss your case in more detail with one of our lawyers. A closed legal note is a task where you are given case law or other primary law to use in your letter. Much more difficult is an open-ended legal note in which you have to research and identify the relevant law, analyze the most important legal facts of a particular client, and make a critical assessment of the application of the law to the court in the case. The legal note is an objective memo that gives you the opportunity to review and research relevant case law, analyze the facts under this law, and impartially assess the possible outcome of a case.