WELCOME TO LDC

LEGAL WRITING CLASS

By
Harriet Ityang
 LEGAL MEMORANDUM

• What is a legal memorandum?

• It is the most formal, polished, and comprehensive written
document for reporting the results of your legal research.
• It summarises and analyses the relevant law and applies it to a
particular fact situation.
• In practice, the memorandum can be a crucial document to a
case or file.
• should adhere to the hallmarks of excellent legal writing,
including organisation.
 A Tradition of Legal Excellence

Purpose of a legal memorandum

• The memorandum is written in a law office.
• The writer takes a client’s problem based on a set of real facts,
discovers the applicable law, applies that law to the facts,
assesses the client’s chance of success, and usually,
recommends a course of action.
• The memo is complete within itself; another lawyer need read
only the memo itself to understand the matter and make
decisions about it.

•
 The Writing Process for a
Legal Memorandum

• The organization, format and style you choose for your memo should arise from your
determination of the purpose and the likely readers.

How the memorandum is structured depends on certain factors, including:

• The purpose of the memorandum

• The reader's needs
• The nature of the situation or problem or what we commonly know as outlining the issues
• Legal findings
• The range of research, cases, statutes etc
• A standard approach

Note: modern conventions for organization and format of memos exist although there are
alternative approaches (many firms have their own formats)
 Writing a legal
memorandum

• relies on proper research. You must research thoroughly and carefully before you're ready to
write a memorandum.
When laying out the format for a legal memorandum, note that the following sections should be
included:
• Heading
• dated
• A statement of the legal issue
• An answer to the legal issue
• A statement of the facts
• Discussion
• Conclusion
• The next step in creating the memorandum is deciding on a logical pattern of readability. This
means writing the research in a way that's easily comprehended and digested.
• The memorandum should be clear so the reader understands the case and the laws that affect it.
 Heading

• Include in the heading the author's identity,

• the recipient of the memorandum,
• the date, who the client is, and
• the subject.
• Use a numbering sequence in the heading; there will most
likely be multiple legal memorandums attached to the case. (a
reference number of sorts)
• Include a brief statement. Begin by answering with a "yes" or
"no" and follow with a clear and concise explanation for why
you gave the particular answer. Include any facts for support.
 Table of Contents

• It's helpful to make a table of contents for the reader.

• A breakdown of the approach, structure, and analysis allows
the reader to find specific parts of the memorandum quickly
and easily.
 Statement of Facts

• This statement section covers the presentation of the client's information in

an objective manner and the relevant facts you used to prepare and research
the memorandum. (no emotions please)
• Listing the client information and the facts means the reader will be accessing
the same information you did. This will prevent any confusion.
• If applicable, use a diagram, chart, or table to summarize and outline the
relevant facts.
• Write the information in chronological order if applicable. In some situations,
a different order may work better. Use whatever order makes the information
clear and logical.
• If any facts used pose a disagreement or hint of uncertainty, state this, and
explain both sides.
• When laying out the format, you can place the facts before or after the issues
section.
 The facts section

• contains all the factual premises upon which your subsequent legal
analysis is based. Certainly, all the facts cited in the application section
of your discussion should be presented as part of the story told in the
facts section.
• Bear in mind that the busy law-trained reader will value conciseness in
this section, so try to present only those facts that are legally
significant or that are necessary to make the problem clear.
• At the same time, bear in mind that the office memo should be a
stand-alone document that can fully inform any colleague in your law
office who may read it; therefore, the facts section should always
contain a full and coherent recitation of the relevant facts, whether or
not the principal reader of the memo already knows them (unless, of
course, you were instructed to do otherwise).
 When writing facts ……

• recount the facts completely chronologically, you can put the most important incidents or
facts first, or you can cluster the facts into discrete sub topics if the facts are complex and if
this is the easiest way to understand them.
• Above all choose the organizational scheme that you think will make the facts most clear and
memorable to the reader.
• specify what legal claims are being considered or are being brought, and be sure to describe
any legal proceedings that have already taken place.
• Identify your client and briefly describe your client’s goal or problem.
• try to maintain an objective and impartial tone as you recount the facts. This is not to say that
you should omit facts that have an emotional impact. Rather, the facts section of an office
memo should not be written in a tone that conveys a preference for a particular theory of the
case, that implicitly advocates for one side in the dispute, or that telegraphs any of the legal
conclusions to be drawn in the discussion section. Since you are not advocating for any side,
you ought not color or characterize the facts as you would if you were writing a brief.
• Also, do not comment upon the facts in the facts section or discuss how the law will apply to
them.
 Answer

• Answer all questions completely and directly. In other words

address all the issues raised.
• Don't be indirect, inconclusive, or indecisive.
• Base your answers on a reason that's legally supported with
authorities.
• Don't use phrases such as "it seems that" or "it would appear
that." This is an equivocal language. Be decisive in your
response.
 Assumptions

• If relevant questions go unanswered, you may be in a position

where assumptions must be made.
• A separate section can be created in this case, or the questions
can be included in the statement of facts section.
• If you choose the second option, rename the "Statement of
Facts" to "Facts and Assumptions.“ so you have subheadings
for the two or you could cluster them as two separate sub
headings.
 Legal Issue

• This section is a brief one-sentence statements.

• It should define the legal question and include a few facts.
Keep it descriptive and concise for more effect.
• For multiple issues, list them in the order they'll be discussed.
• The most important issue should be the lead-in. It must be
written in a simple, precise, brief, and articulate manner.
• List all issues and their related sub-issues in a logical,
numbered order.
 The question presented

• Should state the question(s) the memo is to address:

• Should show how the relevant law applies to the key facts of
the research problem;
• should be sufficiently narrow and should be objective.
• is usually one sentence.
• It often begins: “Whether….” or “Does….” or “did.” Although
questions are usually framed so that they can be answered yes
or no (or probably yes or probably no), sometimes they
cannot.
• It should not assume a legal conclusion. Rather, reserve your
legal conclusions for the short answer section.
 The question presented

• You may not be sure which facts are most legally significant
when you first start writing the memo.
• Your thinking may become clearer and better organized as the
writing proceeds. You would ascertain which facts are legally
significant by referring to the factual criteria (based on
elements or factors) in the legal authority relevant to the
question — e.g., statutes or case law.
• For this reason, many people do not write the final version of
the question presented (or the short answer) until they have
almost completed the “discussion” section of the memo.
 The short answer

• contains a clear answer to the question (i.e., a prediction) and an explanation of that answer.
• The balanced description of law and fact that you provide in the question presented should
be mirrored in the short answer.
serves two functions:
• (i) it provides hurried readers with an accessible, bottom-line prediction as well as the core
of the relevant law and facts; and
• (ii) it provides the more thorough readers with an outline or digest of your subsequent
discussion section.
should function as a roadmap to help readers feel oriented when they move on to the
discussion.
Should begin with your conclusion: yes, no, probably yes, etc., if the question can be answered
that way.
Then give a brief (usually no more than four or five sentences long) self-contained explanation
of the reasons for your conclusion, applying the rule to the facts of your case.
As a general rule, include no citations.
 The umbrella section of the
discussion

• introduces or prefaces your first section of in-depth legal

analysis; for example, it restates the key facts and issue
presented, and introduces the overarching legal rule.
• alert the reader to the key point of the doctrine if any, for
example if it is about advertisement, “that general
advertisements are treated in law as invitations to negotiate,
not offers.”
 A good application section

• weaves the cases into your facts. Language from the cases
should be prominent and woven into your discussion of these
facts.
• might draw analogies or contrasts between the cases
discussed and your facts as a way to reach your conclusion.
• draw a direct comparison to similar facts in the cited case(s).
 Conclusion

• You can include a conclusion with the statement of facts

section or create a conclusion at the end that's a summary of
the memorandum. It should also include a brief outline of the
legal analysis.
 The overall conclusion

• contains a summary of the main points of your analysis. In

your application section you may have struggled with areas of
uncertainty in the legal doctrine and/or competing policy
rationales. You may have also grappled with a seemingly
contradictory assortment of facts: some seem to fit into the
requirements of the rule; others suggest that the rule is not
satisfied. You may have weighed arguments against
counterarguments.
• After you have done all this, you must take a position and
make a statement about how the court will apply the law.
 Overall conclusion

• Your conclusion can convey that you are completely confident

the court will rule as you predict or that, given the state of the
legal authority, the outcome is really a toss-up and could go
either way. Or
• you can convey any level of confidence in between.
• Keep in mind that the reader will be judging your credibility as
a legal thinker based on (among other things) the congruity of
your tone with the data at hand.
 Consider the following-

Verb tense
Most guidelines suggest that you state-
• Facts and court decisions in the past tense;
• Legal rules in the present tense; and
• Recommendations in future tense.
Citations
• There are some legalisms you cannot avoid -case citations. In legal
memorandums, do not let citations interfere with your message. Avoid using long
introductory phrases in your sentences.
Avoid string citations
• Cite only the leading case in the memo. If you need to cite three or four other
cases, put the citations in a footnote. Or use endnotes at the back of your memo
or use a schedule.
N.B Any document longer than three pages needs a table of contents.