Drafting II - Letter, Memo, CV & Legal Opinion

- PART I: Letter Writing -

2 Basic Types of Letters

1. Informal / Social letter;
2. Formal / Official / Business letter.

8 Types of Official Letters a Lawyer Writes

Type	Purpose
Status letters	Report of current position of a matter
Confirming / Instruction letters	Reaffirm oral discussion (e.g. oral instruction)
Opinion letters	Offer legal advice/opinion to a client
Demand letters	Request recipient to perform an obligation
Letter of adjournment	Request the court to adjourn a matter
Letter of complaint	e.g. petition, nuisance
Letter of offer / acceptance	Conveying offer to 3rd party or accepting one
Letter closing case file	Conveying that matter has been concluded

10 Guidelines for Letter Writing

1. Ascertain the instructions received from the client;
2. Fully understand the purpose and nature - informs choice of style, tone, vocabulary;
3. When acting professionally, adopt a formal style;
4. Avoid chatty letters; NO slang or abbreviations; be brief and direct;
5. Tone should be polite, humane, firm - NOT rude;
6. Avoid legal arguments;
7. Proofread the letter;
8. Be conscious of correct opening and closing - see Weston v Central Criminal Court Administrator (1977) 1 QB 32; Boyo v AG Midwestern State (1971) 1 ALL NLR 343;
9. Choice of words, spellings, and proper punctuation;
10. Restrict to one page as much as possible. Each paragraph should contain one idea only.

2 Style / Layout Options

1. Blocked (aligned) style;
2. Semi-blocked (indented) style.

Use open or closed punctuation.