如何写英文法律意见书Word文档格式.docx
- 文档编号:19646937
- 上传时间:2023-01-08
- 格式:DOCX
- 页数:6
- 大小:20.15KB
如何写英文法律意见书Word文档格式.docx
《如何写英文法律意见书Word文档格式.docx》由会员分享,可在线阅读,更多相关《如何写英文法律意见书Word文档格式.docx(6页珍藏版)》请在冰豆网上搜索。
asixthtimebeforetrial;
andaseventhduringanappeal;
andsoon.
PARTSOFMEMO[1]
1.Amemorandumheading
2.TheIssue(sometimescalledQuestionPresented)statesthequestion(s)thatthememorandumresolves.TheIssuealsoitemizesthefewfactsthatyoupredicttobecrucialtotheanswer.(Suchastravelexpensestoout-of-state,keepingchildoutofdanger,andcommissionofcrime).Thereadershouldunderstandthequestionwithouthavingtorefertothefacts.
3.BriefAnswer(sometimescalledConclusion)statesthewriter’spredictionandsummarizesconciselywhyitislikelytohappen.Somewritersbeginwithadirectresponsesuchas“yes”or“probablynot.”Ourbooksaysthattheydonotpreferthis.Sometimesthisisclientorpartnerdriven.Also,somequestionslendthemselvestoanswerssuchas“yes”or“no.”Allusiontodeterminativefactsandrules.Donotomitkeyfacts.Beginbyjustre-statingyourissueasadeclarativesentence.Donotomitthereasoning.Donotincludecitationtoauthorityorapplicationofrelevantlaw.Manyattorneysonlyreadthispart.
4.Factssetoutthefactsonwhichthepredictionisbased.
5.Discussionisthelargestandmostcomplexpartofmemo.Itprovestheconclusionsetoutinbriefanswer.Ifthediscussionishighlydetailedoranalyzesseveralissues,itshouldbebrokendownintosubheadings.
Hereiswhatthememowilllooklikeandmoreinformationoneachsection.
MEMORANDUM
TO:
SeniorPartner[Pleaseblock-indentsothattheinformationlinesup,asdemonstrated]
FROM:
YourName
DATE:
(dateassignmentissubmitted)
RE:
(Aconciselabelfortheissueconsidered:
mentiontheparties;
yourfirmwillfileyourMemobynamesandcauseofaction--and,perhaps,byjurisdiction)
Theproperformatisalwaysdouble-spaced.Donotdouble-doublespacebetweensections.Plainold,regulardouble-spaceissufficient.
FACTS
Here,reciteallmaterialfacts,usuallyinchronologicalorder.A“material”factisa“dispositive”fact,oroneuponwhichtheoutcomewilldepend.Itisafactthatwillaffecttheoutcomeinonewayoranother.Pleaseincludeallmaterialproceduralfactsaswellasallmaterialsubstantivefacts.Thismeansthatitisessentialtoincludeallrelevanttimes,dates,andplaces.Youshouldbeginwithan“overview”sentencethatsetsthefullcontextandbeginstodescribetheproblempresented.Pleasereviewyourreadingandasmanysamplesaspossibletounderstandboththerangeandscopeofwhatisacceptableasprofessionalpractice.
Rememberyourrole
Watchforthetendencytotryto“prove”somethingbythewayyoutellthestory.NOLEGALANALYSIS!
1)USENEUTRALLANGUAGEANDOBJECTIVECHARACTERIZATIONS.Ratherthanwriting“theDwasspeedingthroughtheschoolzone,”write“theDwastraveling50MPHthroughtheschoolzone.”Ratherthanwriting“TheDbrutallybeatthevictim,”write“TheDstruckthePonthehead,resultinginacutoverhislefteye.”
2)Includeunfavorableandfavorablefacts.
QUESTIONPRESENTED
Phrasedasaquestionandendingwithaquestionmark,statethespecificissueorissuesyouwilladdress.Onemethodistousethetechnique:
under?
(describethelaw);
does?
(statetheissue);
what?
(givethelegallyrelevantor“dispositive”facts).
Somememorandausethecommonlyseenstyleof:
“Whether....”
Asalways,discusswithyourprofessortoseewhichheorsheprefers.
Butwhateverthemethod,thefollowingadviceapplies:
·
Shouldbeconcisesinglesentencesthatincluderelevantfactsandgeneralpropositionsoflaw.
Don’tsay,“Whetheraniececanrecoverfornegligentinflictionofemotionaldistress,”whenyoucansay,“Whether,underIowalaw,aniecewhowitnessestheaftermathofanautomobileaccidentinvolvingherunclefromablockawaycanrecoverfornegligentinflictionofemotionaldistresswhensheobserveshissevereinjuriesuponarrivalatthescene.”
BRIEFANSWER
Youphrased(orasked)aquestioninthesectionabove.Answerithere:
“Yes.”“No.”“Probablynot.”Useaperiod.YourBriefAnswerfollowsthesameformulaandsequenceasyourQuestionPresented.Itanswersthequestions“under?
”except,theBriefAnswershouldincludeabriefstatementofyourreasonsbeginningwiththeword“because.”
DISCUSSION
TheheartofaMemorandum,thissectionasksyoutoexplainthelawandexplainthefacts.Gettingit“right”willtaketime.Bepatient.Yourgoalisto“synthesize”thecasesandextractacommonruleoflaw.Todothis,youwillneedtoidentifythecommonelementsthatallowyoutoanalyzeanddiscussseveralcasesatonce.Acommonmistake,legalwritersfrequentlyengagein“listingbehavior.”Theytreateachcaseindependentlyandsequentially,beginningeachparagraphwith“In”--forexample,“InCallowv.Thomas”or“InBrownv.Brown.”Lookingdownawrittenpage,thelawyerwillseealadder-likeeffect,the“in-ladder,”whereeachsucceedingparagraphbeginswiththeword“in”followedbyacasetitle.Often“listingbehavior”culminatesin“dump-trucking”whenthelawyersavesupand“dumps”allthelegalanalysisintothelastparagraph.Inaddition,lawyerswillfrequently“front-load,”squeezingallthelegalrulesoflawintotheveryfirstparagraph.
Toavoidthesepitfalls,beginyourdiscussionwithageneraloverviewinathesisor“roadmap”paragraph.YourthesisparagraphisthefirstparagraphintheMemorandum–andthefirstparagraphinaDiscussionsection.Alwaysbeginyourthesisparagraphwithasentencetoanticipate--andannounce--yourultimateconclusion.Tellthereaderwhereyouareheadedandbeatour-guidetoyourargumentoranalysis.
Then,takingonepointatatime,writeathesissentencethatanswersthequestionsof“what-is-your-point?
”ofthisparticularparagraph.Next,setforththelegalRulethatapplies.Includethepropercitation.Next,Analyze(explain)whatthelaworlegalrulemeans.Next,Analyze(explain)howtherelevantfactsfit(ordonotfit)thelegalorfactualstandard.Finally,Concludeeachparagraphwithasummarizingstatementandeachsub-issuewithaspecificsub-issuesummary.
Sometimes,thismethodisreferredtoasavariationoftheacronym:
IRAC.OtherlegalwritingprofessorshavesomeotheracronymsuchasREAACorFIRAC.Still,otherssimplyrefertoitasthe5-stepprocess.Keepinmindthattheseareall“formulas”thatlegalwritingprofessionalsareusingtointroduceyoutopresentingalegalargument.Ultimately,youwilluseastyleorformulathatworksbestforyourparticularargument.Butvirtuallyeveryaspectofeverylegalargumentmustcontaina1)StatementofRuleorApplicableLaw;
2)AnalysisofthelawandhowitAppliestoyourrelevantfacts;
and3)aConclusiononeachofthesesub-issues.Similarly,whenadiscussionrequiresseveralparagraphs,thewritermaynotreproducetheexactIRACstructurewithineachandeveryparagraph,butmayrequireseveralparagraphstodevelopfullythefullset.
Asalways,knowyouraudienceandtalkaboutthemethodoflegalanalysisthatyourprofessor,orinthefuture,youremployer,prefers.Andrememberthatlearninghowtosynthesizestatutes,cases,andsecondarysourcesandthenpresentingtheminaclear,concise,andlogicalmannertakestimeandpractice.
AFEWIDEASABOUTWRITING—MEMORANDA[2]
Manystudents,approachingmemowritingforthefirsttime,areoftenunsureofhowtoproceed.Wehaveputtogetherafewtipsforfirst(andsecondandthird)timememowritersthatwehopewillbehelpful.
Note:
Nosinglesetofguidelinescouldpossiblyaddressallthemattersrelatedtomemowriting.Ifyouhavequestionsaboutaparticularassignment,besuretocheckwithyourprofessor.
1.Findthetest(s).Inassigningamemorandum,professorsaregenerallyevaluatingyouonparsingaparticularstatuteortest.Inotherwords,theywantyoutouseothercasestoexplainhowyourcaseeitherdoesordoesnotsatisfyatestlaidoutinacaseorastatute.
Forexample,let’ssayyourcaseinvolvesaniece(Mary)whowitnessedheruncle(Jack)beinginjuredinanautomobileaccident.Marywantstobringsuitfornegligentinflictionofemotionaldistressasaresultofwitnessingthataccident.InBurgerv.McDonald,theSupremeCourtofIowalaidoutathreeparttesttodeterminewhetherabystander’sinjurywasrea
- 配套讲稿:
如PPT文件的首页显示word图标,表示该PPT已包含配套word讲稿。双击word图标可打开word文档。
- 特殊限制:
部分文档作品中含有的国旗、国徽等图片,仅作为作品整体效果示例展示,禁止商用。设计者仅对作品中独创性部分享有著作权。
- 关 键 词:
- 如何 英文 法律 意见书