Interoffice Memorandum Writing Lab Text
The following text has been extracted from the Interoffice Memorandum Writing Lab.
READ THIS FIRST!
This Writing Lab takes you step-by-step through the creation of an Interoffice Memorandum. Following is the suggested order of study when using this Writing Lab:
1. Read the AUTHORITIES provided in the Manual for this assignment.
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 memorandum.
3. Click on the elements of the Memorandum under DRAFTING THE MEMO 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 Interoffice Memorandum!
4. COPY AND PASTE the modified Template to create a new Microsoft Word document.
THE CAPTION
OK. Here we go!
First, change the name of the supervising attorney. You can make up a name or just use your instructor's name.
Second, put your name in the line indicating who the memo is from.
Third, provide the date.
Finally, "Re" means "Regarding." Simply provide your client's name. For instance, "Re: Sally Smith"
THE ASSIGNMENT
Provide a brief description to refresh your attorney's memory of the assignment you were given. For example:
"ASSIGNMENT: Analyze cases provided by attorney to determine appropriate paralegal activities."
You can certainly use the above example, but try to modify it a bit so you aren't just copying. Rephrasing the same sentence is actually a good skill to develop. In legal writing there is a lot of repetition, and if you are able to rephrase or restructure common sentences, your writing will feel and appear fresher.
THE FACTS
The FACTS generally take up only a paragraph or two. They serve to remind the attorney of the matter being litigated or dealt with by the memorandum. An attorney may be working on 30 or 40 different cases at a time. So this thumbnail sketch of the matter can help.
In your memorandum assignment, you are representing the client you were initially assigned in the Essential Skills Manual. But for this memo, your attorney is not asking you to provide research about the legal matter in which your client is involved. Instead, your attorney has asked you to research a couple of questions related to what tasks you can perform for your client. Thus, the facts should reflect not only your client's legal situation, but the reason for the memorandum.
Start by simply paraphrasing your client assignment from the manual, trying to explain the matter in your own words. It should be no more than a paragraph. For instance:
"Our client, Joshua Bryce, fathered a child 4 years ago, however his name was never placed on the birth certificate. The mother has always allowed visitation and represented our client as the father. The mother is now getting married, and our client wants to have his name placed on the birth certificate."
(Of course, your facts will be different from the above!)
Now you want to explain that your attorney had you perform a task that he or she is now questioning as to ethics. Even though your client's case is about something totally different, you are writing this memo to determine certain administrative and ethical boundaries. Thus, you might end up with something like the following:
"Upon interviewing our client, I informed him that you would be glad to represent him, and I provided him with information related to fees. This was done at your instruction. You have since asked me to analyze the ethical considerations of this conduct, and to also review the provided authorities to determine whether I may in the future conduct a settlement conference in your place."
Again, try to rephrase the above statement. Read it once, then try to put it in your own words.
OK, go ahead and make the changes to the template above!
(By the way, you're doing great!!!)
THE ISSUES
The ISSUES are simple. They are provided by the attorney, or, in this case, have been provided in the legal memorandum assignment. Don't alter them. Don't rephrase them. Simply provide them in the template above as they were written.
THE ANALYSIS: IRAC
IRAC. Get used to those letters. They are the heart of legal analysis.
Introduction to the issue. Rule. Application. Conclusion.
For every authority that is cited, the author must go through those steps.
Introduction to the issue. Rule. Application. Conclusion.
Notice in the template above that the ISSUE is restated in the ANALYSIS, and underlined.
So, here's how it works. First, you must read the cases. As you read them, look for a quote that answers the issue being analyzed. The headnotes can be very helpful with this. If you find a headnote that answers the issue, just find the corresponding part of the case that the headnote was based upon. For example, if you want to find the legal logic for headnote 4, look within the opinion for a bracketed [4]. Then try to find a few sentences to quote. This quote will be the basis of the analysis. Even if you have found the quote you are going to use, it's important to read the whole case.
Now for the analytical process.
INTRODUCE THE ISSUE This is a brief sentence that tells the reader where you are going. It is often in the form of an introductory conclusion. (Examples are provided in the Essential Skills Manual, Volume 2, Section 3.12.) An example might be:
"Courts have dealt with ethical issues involving paralegals."
Try creating the Introduction to the Issue in the template above.
RULE Provide the facts of the rule, and quote the rule. By rule, it means law. If you are quoting a case, (which you are), give a few facts about the case, how the case got to that point, and then quote the case. For example:
In Smith v. Jones, a mother deliberately named the wrong man as father on a child's birth certificate. The father sued when the child was seven to correct the certificate.
The trial court ruled that it was too late to change the certificate. The plaintiff appealed. The Court of Appeals reversed the lower court. The court held, "It is a basic human right for not only the father, but the child as well, to be able to identify with clarity one's parentage and prodigy."
Now, provide for the Rule in the first issue in the template above, including the facts of the case and the quote.
APPLICATION This is the most critical step of the analytical process. It is tempting to simply quote the authority, then conclude. This results in weak analysis. The application tells the reader why and how the authority just cited applies to the current issue.
The process is fairly simple, but requires some thought. Compare the authority cited with your client's case. Or, if you think the authority does not apply, point out the differences. For example:
"The above authority applies because, in both that case and our client's case, the primary issue is the concept of ethical representation. In the above case, the court ruled that only an attorney may make judgments regarding legal positions in a client's matter. In our client's case, for a paralegal to make judgment calls in a settlement conference would call for legal judgment."
(The above is only an example. Provide your own analysis!)
CONCLUSION This is the result of the application, and simply answers the issue. For instance:
"Therefore, a paralegal may not conduct a settlement conference."
THAT'S IT!
Now, you must use the IRAC process for each and every authority cited. So if you analyze one case, going through the IRAC steps, and you have another case you want to analyze right after it, just start the process again for that next case. You don't restate the issue again. Just repeat the IRAC process. Whether you have a single case or 10 cases, go through the IRAC process for each and every one!
If you discipline yourself to the IRAC analytical process, it will make your job as a researcher easier, and it will make your work product stronger and more convincing!
Now, if you haven't done so already, create your analysis using the IRAC method for the first case you are citing.
Then use IRAC to analyze the second case for that same issue, if there is one. (Remember, you don't have to create a new analysis section or restate the same issue. Just start a new paragraph.)
When you have finished analyzing the first issue, restate the second issue, and go through the IRAC process for each case analyzed.
CONCLUSION
The final CONCLUSION provides answers to the issues. It may restate the conclusion at the end of the IRAC process in the analysis, or this final CONCLUSION may be even more brief.
You have two issues for this assignment, so you will have two conclusions, numbered 1 and 2 under the caption of CONCLUSION. For example:
CONCLUSION 1. It was perfectly ethical for you, the attorney, to instruct me to provide information regarding representation to our client. 2. If provided with the appropriate guidelines, a paralegal is allowed to conduct a settlement conference.
(NOTE: The above are only examples. They may or may not be accurate. You need to decide that for yourself after reading the provided authorities!)
Provide your conclusion in the template above.
RECOMMENDATION
The RECOMMENDATION is pretty easy. Simply suggest the next steps that should be taken. It is the one place where the paralegal can use the words "I" or "my." For instance:
"After reviewing the authorities provided, I do not feel it would be appropriate for a paralegal to conduct a settlement conference. However, the information I provided in the interview did not violate any ethical standards."
Again, use your own words and thoughts.
Now, create your Recommendation.
When you are finished, you will need to COPY AND PASTE the text from the above template into a new Microsoft Word document. (You won't be able to save it as is. You must COPY AND PASTE the text.)