Writing Skills Are the Tools of Trade of a Lawyer

Pre-Course Assignment

SUBJECT: WRITING

YOU ARE REQUIRED TO COMPLETE THE ATTACHED TASK AND BRING IT WITH YOU TO YOUR FIRST LEGAL WRITING SKILLS SESSION

You will be informed as to when your legal writing Skills Session will take place when youbegin the Course in September.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Writing Submission/ Feedback Form:

You must complete and submit this task on a Writing Submission/Feedback Form which you can download from the CityLawSchoolwebsite.

1. Visit
2. Click on Writing Submission/Feedback Form.
3. Open and download.

1. Word Processed:

Your work MUST BE WORD PROCESSED and submitted in hard copy. When you word process your attempt, it will appear on the page with double line spacing; this is intentional to assist feedback. Please do not alter this as it must be in double line spacing.

1. Word/Page Limit:

The work you submit for this assignment should be as short as will allow appropriate coverage of all the points. In any event, it must not be longer than three sides of the Writing Submission/ Feedback Form.

1. Writing Assessment Criteria:

The Writing Submission/Feedback Form incorporates criteria in the left-hand column. It is against these criteria that your writing skills will be assessed. These criteria will be further explained to you during the Course.

Criterion 1 relates to the basic technical skills we expect you to display in this pre-course writing assignment. For this assignment you should aim for:

1. Clear, consistent language (criteria 1.5 and 1.6);
2. Good grammar (criterion 1.1);
3. Accurate spelling and punctuation (criteria 1.2 and 1.3); and
4. A style appropriate to readers who have no legal knowledge (criterion 1.7).

1. THE TASK

Set out on the next page is a memorandum from your principal. You are to assume the role of a trainee who has just started a training contract.

Before attempting the task set out in the attached memorandum, please read the attached guidance note.

Internal Memorandum

The Howard Partnership

23 Conway Place

London

W2 3KL

From: Principal

To: Trainee

Date: Today’s date

Clients: Alan Tracey and Sujata Patel

Matter Ref:EI/TS/P5693

Purchase of Apartment 3, The CaliforniaBuilding, Queensway London W2 3KL (the “Property”)

I have been instructed by an unmarried couple, Mr. Tracey and Ms. Patel, in their purchase of the Property. They are first time buyers and have no property law knowledge. We are at an early stage in the purchase.

Yesterday, I received an email from the clients in which they requested some advice about how they should hold the Property.

Mr. Tracey and Ms. Patel are both extremely wealthy and will not requirea mortgage on the Property. Their instructions are that they are contributing equally to the purchase price of the Property, any expenses incurred in the transaction and any future household expenses.

They wish to hold the Property jointly but are unsure of the options open to them. You will remember that they can hold the Property either as joint tenants or as tenants in common.

Please draft a letter, to be sent from me (although I am going to be away for the next two weeks so you will need to deal with questions in my absence), to the clients explaining the two options.

Please note the clients do not require advice on tax issues.

The clients’ contact details are as follows:

Flat 7, The Mews, London SE1 7XH.

Principal

Blank Page

Introductory Guidance Note

As you will have noted from your instructions, you are required to write a letter of advice on co-ownership, i.e. the difference between joint tenants and a tenancy in common. This is the objective of your letter but how should you go about it?

As you will no doubt remember from your land law course, both these forms of co-ownership involve complex legal matters; if you re-read your notes and/or books on these topics you may come across terms such as “the four unities” “in equity” etc. Do you understand what these terms and what the other complex principles mean? Will the clients understand these terms? Do the clients need to be concerned about them? You will need to consider these questions before putting pen to paper. If you are not careful, your letter will resemble a legal essay and not a letter of advice. In order to produce an effective letter of advice you will need to combine clear thinking with knowledge of the law.

You may be thinking that writing a letter of advice is straightforward; you have of course written numerous letters before. However, a word of warning before you start.

As you know, the law can be complex and has its own technical vocabulary. In order to produce an effective letter, you will have to (a) extract the key legal points that the clients need to know about, and (b) translate those key points into plain English - remember that the clients are not lawyers! These steps are explained below:

(a)Extracting the key points - letters of advice, such as this one, usually require solicitors to set out various options for the client. The aim with such letters is to give the client concerned enough information, so that s/he can understand the concepts involved and can make an informed decision as to how s/he wishes to proceed with the matter. This usually involves (although it may not be applicable in all cases) the solicitor setting out the ‘pros’ and ‘cons’ of each potential option. Only those issues which are relevant to the client’s circumstances need to be explained; there is no reason to burden the client with information that does not apply to his/her circumstances. Therefore, the letter should only deal with the key points relevant to the client’s circumstances.

(b)Translation - once you have decided what key points you need to include in your letter of advice, you will then have to translate them so that they can be clearly understood by a non-legal person. If you are in doubt as to how to do this, think about a time when you had to obtain advice about something you had little knowledge of, for example, a computer purchase/repair, a car purchase/repair, obtaining a loan etc. If you had a transcription of the explanation you were given at the time, it is very likely that the “expert” (if s/he was doing his/her job properly) would have used everyday words and language. In addition, s/he would have explained only key concepts (i.e. avoided unnecessary matters, which would have over-complicated - see paragraph above), the sentences would have been relatively short and the sentence construction kept simple. In other words, the expert would have paraphrased the issues simply, clearly and concisely, without insulting your intelligence. This latter point is very important and should be borne in mind when considering the tone and language used in legal letters of advice. You should be aiming for a letter that is frank and courteous.

Once a solicitor has finished writing his/her letter of advice, s/he will often re-read it for two reasons (1) to proof-read it for typos, spelling errors etc and (2) re-consider whether it deals with the client’s immediate concerns. Remember that, on receipt of an effective letter of advice, the client should be able to understand the issues clearly on first reading. There should be no need for the client to telephone the solicitor requiring a further explanation; this just duplicates work for the solicitor and increases costs for the client. The checklist below should assist you when assessing your attempt.

Will the client understand the advice? Check the language used - it is permissible to use technical legal words but these should be explained. Is the content right - have key issues been explained clearly and irrelevant issues omitted?

Is the letter clear and concise? Try to avoid padding out the letter unnecessarily. Are all the words used in a sentence needed? Remember, sentences should be short and to the point. Consider whether the same message can be relayed to the client if some words are taken out.

Is the tone right? The letter should not sound like a law essay (avoid lecturing the client) but, at the same time, should not be so simplistic that it insults the client’s intelligence.

Does the letter allow for the final decision to rest with the client? Solicitors, like doctors, do not generally make final decisions for the client/patient. Letters of advice should set out the choices available and explain the ‘pros’ and ‘cons’ of each so that the client is able to make an informed decision as to which option s/he considers best. If a solicitor makes a final decision and it turns out to be the wrong one, the solicitor could be sued.

Handy hint: As this may be your first attempt at legal writing, it may be useful if someone who has no knowledge of the law reads your attempt[1] – does s/he understand it on first reading? If not, re-consider it against the checklist above and then attempt it again.

Read the attached attempt at this task and then assess it against the checklist above. Is it an effective letter?

COMBINED SUBMISSION AND FEEDBACK FORM (WRITING)

Example for Consideration

1/8

[1]For assessment purposes, this would not be permitted as it would amount to cheating under the LPC Assessment Regulations. A copy of these Regulations will be provided to you when you start the course in September.