Law: Legal memo

What is a legal memo?

A legal memo is a document used in legal practice to identify and advise on the legal issues in a customer's instance. Information technology is also a mutual blazon of cess in a law degree. A memo is often written in the form of a structured letter, with headings that clearly place the legal issues. The letter may be addressed to a client or to a colleague in a law firm (an 'in firm' memo). Check your assessment instructions for the specific requirements of your legal memo.

Another blazon of memo is a legal policy memo (or policy newspaper), which may be addressed to a stakeholder responsible for, or with an interest in, policy modify i.e. a submission to a police force reform commission.

Constabulary Study Hacks: Legal Memos and Problem Questions

Memorandum of advice

Audience

A memo may exist addressed to a colleague or supervisor in a law firm (known as an 'in-house' memo). Occasionally yous may exist asked to write a 'alphabetic character to the client' or the memorandum may be for the client also as for a legal colleague. Read your assignment instructions carefully to determine the audience for the memo.

  • You lot need to focus on the audience too every bit the task. For a legal colleague, the tone will be impersonal and objective, the writing curtailed and precise, using the accepted citing style for any references to legislation or other sources.
  • A 'letter to a client' would be written in a more informative, not-legal style, emphasising the possible deportment and likely outcomes of the client's case, usually with recommendations.

Content and construction

Planning your content and construction before yous start writing will issue in a more logical and cohesive memorandum. View the tips below for commercial memoranda and memorandum looking at policy problems.

  • Commercial memoranda
  • Policy issue memoranda

Nearly commercial memoranda volition be looking at the issues arising from the customer's questions or from a scenario you are asked to advise on. You lot should use headings for clarity, and can also employ numbered paragraphs for ease of reference.

  • You may begin the memorandum with an executive summary, which gives an overview of your conclusions on the issues. Or, you may brainstorm the memorandum with an outline of the issues to be discussed.
  • You then need to analyse these issues in depth, ideally under separate headings. Research the electric current constabulary (instance police and/or legislation), how this has been interpreted past the courts, and then apply this constabulary to the facts of your scenario. It is helpful to use the IRAC or MIRAT structure for each event in the customer'due south state of affairs. Your headings should reflect the problems, and may be phrased every bit questions. Information technology is helpful to see the memo as a type of 'problem question', with a slightly unlike presentation in that it needs to be in the class of a memorandum.

For a memorandum looking at policy issues, e.k. a submission to a law reform commission or politician, start by summarising the issues and their significance.

  • State your position at the get-go and outline what the memorandum will demonstrate and argue. Ordinarily you will exist researching policy matters, peradventure arising from a judgement, peradventure addressing a community concern. The assay may focus on the intended purpose of the suggested reform, amendment or submission.
  • You would ordinarily be looking at how the intended legislative modify would interact with existing legislation e.g. between the Commonwealth and the States, or with existing provisions inside an Act. Use headings and subheadings to clearly demonstrate the dissimilar points of your submission.
  • Any recommendations would arise logically from your discussion and course the decision of your word. Accost counterarguments and write in a professional person yet persuasive tone.

See our Policy Papers resources for more than information.

Memo construction

Suggestions for an in-firm research memorandum (Note: at that place is no ane 'right' style. Check your assignment instructions carefully.)

For further tips see our 'Law Study Hacks' video above.

Farther resource

Accept a look at this interactive tutorial from University of Ottawa, Legal Memos Made Easy. You lot can choose to take on an example file - you will be briefed on the client's story, receive the assigning lawyer's instructions, and get memo writing advice.

Find books on legal writing at phone call number F15 in the Law library on Level three, or search for "legal writing" via Search. See, for example: