Sample Legal Memo

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SAMPLE OFFICE MEMORANDUM (Boxed text from Appendix D in Shapo, Writing and Analysis in the Law (Rev’d 4th ed. 2003)) I. MAIN HEADING MEMORANDUM TO: Senior Attorney FROM: Associate RE: Emily West; Contract litigation regarding breach of warranties DATE: November 21, 1994 The main heading of a memorandum, as in the boxed text above, identifies the reader, the writer, the subject, and the date. The "RE:" or subject line generally includes the client name, and a brief description of the topic. A law office will also customarily include an internal file number, and use the subject line information for filing purposes and to preserve client confidences. ISSUE Can West, a buyer of wheat, successfully defend a breach of contract suit on the grounds that both express and implied warranties under the Kansas Commercial Code were breached when 15-20% of the wheat the seller, Prentice, delivered was blighted and unusable? II. ISSUE A. The essential elements of an issue The Issue (also sometimes called the Question Presented) states the question the memo writer has been asked to consider. Like issues for case briefs, memo issues can be stated with varying degrees of depth and generality, but are generally most useful to readers if they include the following: 1. The parties, preferably identified both by name and generically. 2. The cause of action or legal category; for example, false imprisonment, or burglary, or search and seizure. In the sample, the legal category involves warranties. Also include the particular elements of the claim or legal category that are involved. For example, in a burglary case, the element at issue might be whether a particular structure from which something was taken is a "dwelling" within the meaning of the statute; in a search and seizure case, the key element might be whether
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