Interrogatories Writing Lab Text
The following text has been extracted from the Interrogatory Writing Lab.

READ THIS FIRST! This Writing Lab takes you step-by-step through the creation of a set of Interrogatories. Following is the suggested order of study when using this Writing Lab:

1. This Interrogatories should be based upon the client you were assigned (or chose) in class. Since you would normally be able to contact your client and ask questions about the case, you may expand or change the facts if it helps. Interrogatories are sent to the opposing party's attorney. You do not have to provide answers to the Interrogatories.

2. Open the TEMPLATE by clicking on the link in the left hand column. It is important that when the Dialogue Box appears, you choose to OPEN the document. (Do not choose to SAVE it!) The Template will now appear in this page, and you will be able to alter the text for to create a draft of your assigned Interrogatories. (The Template is from a totally different case. You are using it for formatting purposes only.)

3. Click on the elements of the Interrogatories under DRAFTING INTERROGATORIES in the left hand column. Instructions will appear in the window at the bottom of the page. Make changes to the Template as instructed. When you have completed all the steps, you should have a virtually completed Interrogatories!

4. COPY AND PASTE the modified Template to create a new Microsoft Word document.


CAPTION

THE CAPTION in your template will contain at least three areas that you will need to modify.

THE COURT TITLE Change the title of the court to a trial court in your jurisdiction, or if you want, you may leave it in the jurisdiction provided in the Template.

THE PARTIES You will change the names of the Plaintiff and the Defendant. The names should be in all capital letters.

DESIGNATION OF DOCUMENT The title of the document can be as simple as INTERROGATORIES, or you can state the party to whom the document is being sent, such as INTERROGATORIES TO DEFENDANT.

This should not be too hard. Go ahead and get started! Modify the caption in the above Template.

COMES NOW PARAGRAPH
Technically, this paragraph is not a required element of a set of Interrogatories.

The COMES NOW PARAGRAPH just tells the party receiving the document who is propounding the questions. You can probably just modify the paragraph in the above Template, or use something like this:

"COMES NOW the Plaintiff, by and through her attorney Phillip Dean, and hereby propounds the attached Interrogatories to the Defendant:"

Not tough at all, is it? You can also use the example in the template above.

INSTRUCTIONS
While instructions or definitions are not required, they are usually included. You should ask your attorney for an example of a previous set of interrogatories. Then you should copy the instructions, modifying them for the current set. In this assignment, simply modify the definitions to fit your client's case.


CREATING QUESTIONS
Prior to using this section, you should have created the questions. If not, there are some options for you. In creating questions for your Interrogatories, you should try the following:

1. PRE-EXISTING DOCUMENTS Ask your attorney for a previous set of interrogatories that may have covered a similar topic. 2. FORM BANKS Check your firm's resources to see if there is a form bank in the computer system or in the firm's library. 3. LAW LIBRARY Research in the law library for forms. Check sets of books such as Am. Jur. Proof of Facts, Am. Jur. Pleading and Practice Forms, Benders Discovery Forms, West's Legal Forms, and other sets your law library may contain. 4. LEXIS OR WESTLAW Research on LexisNexis or Westlaw. On Lexis, pay particular attention to Bender's Forms. 5. THE MANUAL Use the suggestions in your manual on Techniques for Interrogatories.

SUBSCRIPTION

The subscription is basically the "SIGNATURE BLOCK" at the end of the document. The signature block usually includes the following:

1. SIGNATURE LINE
   A line on which the attorney will place his or her signature.
   
2. ATTORNEY NAME
   Type the attorney's name.
   
3. TITLE OF LAW FIRM
   The firm's name should either follow the attorney's name, or be provided above the signature line.
   
4. BAR NUMBER
   Every lawyer appearing in front of a court must be a member of a bar association. That association will assign the attorney a bar number. Just ask the attorney for the bar number, or check an existing document.
   
5. ADDRESS AND PHONE NUMBER
   The firm's address and phone number (including area code) should be provided in the signature block.

Following is an example of a subscription:

DOE, STEVENS, AND COMISKI

___________________________
DAVID R. DOE
#94-0397
584 Smith Rd.
Durham, NC 20910
(919)549-2930

CERTIFICATE OF MAILING

The Certificate of Mailing is very important. It assures the court that the other side has been sent the document, and when the document has been sent. Just modify the COM in the template, making sure the wording is accurate for the document being sent.