A Lawyer Writes: A Practical Guide to Legal Analysis

Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1 · How Attorneys Communicate
	I. What Is an Objective Analysis?
	II. How Do I Present My Analysis?
		A. An Office Memorandum
		B. An Email
	III. How Do I Convince an Attorney My Analysis Is Sound?
		A. Know Your Client and Your Client's Question
		B. Research Thoroughly
		C. Organize
		D. Draft and Revise
		E. Edit and Polish
		F. Think Recursively
	IV. What Happens Next?
		Practice Points
Chapter 2 · Sources and Systems of the Law
	I. Sources of the Law
		A. The Legislature
		B. The Executive Branch
		C. The Judiciary
	II. Weave a Tapestry of Law
	III. Systems of the Law
		A. Jurisdiction
		B. Hierarchical Court Systems
		C. Stare Decisis
		D. The Effect of These Three Principles
		Practice Points
Chapter 3 · Reading for Comprehension
	Section 3.1 Reading Statutes
	I. The Structure of a Statute
	II. Reading Statutes for Comprehension
		A. Get Context
		B. Skim the Most Pertinent Statutory Sections
		C. Read the Statute Critically
		Practice Points
	Section 3.2 Reading Judicial Opinions
	I. The Structure of a Judicial Opinion
		A. Preliminary Information
		B. The Facts
		C. The Court's Analysis
		D. Concurring and Dissenting Opinions
	II. Reading a Judicial Opinion for Comprehension
		A. Get Context
		B. Skim the Case
		C. Read the Opinion Critically
		Practice Points
Chapter 4 · Finding Your Argument
	I. Identify the Governing Rule
		A. A Statute as the Governing Rule
		B. Common Law as the Governing Rule
		C. A Synthesized Rule as the Governing Rule
	II. Inventory the Governing Rule
		A. Elements
		B. Factors
		C. Red Flag Words
		D. Diagramming the Governing Rule
		E. Tests
	III. Think Like a Lawyer: See the Governing Rule as Individual Legal Arguments
		Practice Points
Chapter 5 · Organizing Your Legal Authority
	I. Step 1: Organize Your Research
		A. Case Charts
		B. Case Notes
	II. Step 2: Organize by Element or Factor
		A. Charts
		B. Outlines
		C. Mind Maps
	III. Step 3: Prepare to Write
		A. Outlines
		B. Mind Maps
	IV. Write for Your Audience
		Practice Points
Chapter 6 · One Legal Argument
Chapter 7 · Explaining the Law
	Section 7.1 · Explaining the Law: Rules
	I. The Role of Rules
	II. Finding the Rules
		A. Explicit Rules
		B. Implicit Rules
	III. Writing the Rules
		Practice Points
	Section 7.2 · Explaining the Law: Case Illustrations
	I. The Role of Case Illustrations
		A. Clarifying Rules
		B. Proving Rules
		C. Foreshadowing the Application
		D. Representing Legal Principles
	II. The Parts of a Case Illustration
		A. The Hook
		B. Trigger Facts
		C. The Court's Holding
		D. The Court's Reasoning
		E. Order of the Parts
		F. The Length of Case Illustrations
	III. Determining Whether a Case Illustration Is Necessary
	IV. Using Case Illustrations
		A. Parameters of Behavior
		B. Threshold of Behavior
	V. Choosing Prior Cases
	VI. Organize Around Legal Principles
	VII. The Order of Case Illustrations
	VIII. Writing Case Illustrations
		Practice Points
	Section 7.3 · Explaining the Law: Citing and Avoiding Plagiarism
	I. Citing
	II. Avoiding Plagiarism
Chapter 8 · Applying the Law
	Section 8.1 · Applying the Law: Rule-Based Reasoning
	I. When to Use a Rule-Based Argument
	II. Crafting a Rule-Based Argument
		Practice Points
	Section 8.2 · Applying the Law: Analogical Reasoning
	I. When to Use Analogical Reasoning
	II. How to Construct an Effective Analogy
		A. State Your Point
		B. Construct Your Comparison or Distinction
		C. Explain Why the Comparison Matters
	III. Using Analogical and Rule-Based Reasoning Together
		Practice Points
	Section 8.3 · Applying the Law: Counter-Analyses
	I. The Role of a Counter-Analysis
	II. Crafting a Counter-Analysis
		A. Explain the Opposing Argument
		B. Explain Why a Court is Unlikely to Adopt the Opposing Argument
		C. Return to Your Initial Conclusion
	III. When to Include a Counter-Analysis
	IV. Where to Include a Counter-Analysis
	V. The Counter-Analysis and Your Explanation of the Law
		Practice Points
	Section 8.4 · Applying the Law: Organizing Your Application of the Law
		Practice Points
Chapter 9 · Conclusions to One Legal Argument
	I. Using a Conclusion to Begin a Legal Argument
	II. Using a Conclusion to End a Legal Argument
	III. Using a Conclusion to Introduce Your Application
	IV. Drafting Conclusions
		Practice Points
Chapter 10 · Policy
	I. When to Include Policy in a Legal Argument
	II. Identifying Legislative Policy in a Statute
		A. Policy Codified in a Statute
		B. Policy Recorded in Legislative History
		C. Legislative Policy Discussed in a Judicial Decision
	III. Identifying Judicial Policy in the Common Law
	IV. Where to Include Policy in Your Legal Argument
		Practice Points
Chapter 11 · Statutory Analysis
	I. Statutory Analysis: A Multi-Step Process
	II. Reading the Statute
	III. Interpreting the Statute
		A. Understanding Methodologies
		B. Sources of Evidence
	IV. Drafting a Statutory Analysis
		Practice Points
Chapter 12 · The Discussion Section: Introducing and Connecting Legal Arguments
	I. Introduce Your Legal Argument: The Roadmap Section
		A. State Your Conclusion to Your Client's Legal Question
		B. Explain the Governing Rule
		C. Dispose of the Obvious and Uncontroversial (if Necessary)
		D. Map and Assess the Remaining Arguments (if Necessary)
		E. Conclude Again (if Necessary)
	II. Create Informative Point Headings
		A. Make Point Headings “Work”
		B. Restate the Conclusion after the Point Heading
		C. Create Professional-Looking Point Headings
	III. Use Mini-Roadmaps to Introduce Sub-Arguments
		Practice Points
Chapter 13 · Question Presented and Brief Answer
	I. The Role of a Question Presented and Brief Answer
	II. The Form of a Question Presented and Brief Answer
	III. Writing a Question Presented
		A. Structuring the Question Presented
		B. Tools for Drafting an Effective Question Presented
	IV. Writing a Brief Answer
		Practice Points
Chapter 14 · Statement of Facts
	I. The Role of the Statement of Facts
	II. Types of Facts to Include
	III. Organizing Your Statement of Facts
	IV. Reviewing for Thoroughness
	V. Writing the Statement of Facts
	VI. Examples
		Practice Points
Chapter 15 · Conclusion to the Memorandum
	Practice Points
Chapter 16 · Editing and Polishing
	I. Edit Your Memorandum
		A. Edit the Content of Each Legal Argument
		B. Edit the Organization of Each Legal Argument
		C. Edit the Discussion Section for Context and Flow
	II. Polish Your Memorandum
		A. Strengthen Sentences
		B. Proofread Your Work
		C. Check Your Citations
	III. Customize Your Editing Checklist
Chapter 17 · Client Letters
	I. The Types of Letters Lawyers Write
	II. The Basic Parts of a Letter
		A. Date
		B. Return Address
		C. Recipient Address
		D. Subject Line
		E. Salutation
		F. The Body of the Letter
		G. Closing
		H. Confidentiality Warning
	III. Editing and Polishing Your Letter
		A. Create a Conversational, yet Professional Tone
		B. Omit Legalese. Explain Legal Terms as Necessary.
		C. Eliminate Errors
		D. Choose a Traditional, Reader-Friendly Format
	IV. Letters vs. Emails: Which to Send When?
		Practice Points
Chapter 18 · Professional Emails
	I. Correspond Professionally
	II. Decide Whether Email Is the Best Mode of Communication
		A. Administrative Matters
		B. Difficult Conversations
		C. Legal Analyses
	III. Crafting a Professional Email
		A. The Basic Components of an Email
		B. Creating an Effective Email Through Content, Tone, and Style
	IV. Sending a Legal Analysis via Email
		A. Using an Attached Memorandum vs. the Body of the Email
		B. Crafting a Condensed Email Analysis
	V. Stop and Think Before You Press Send
		Practice Points
Chapter 19 · The Transition from Objective to Persuasive Writing
	I. Objective vs. Persuasive Writing
		A. A New Perspective: The Advocate
		B. A New Audience: The Judge
		C. A New Format: The Brief
		D. A New Focus: The Theme
	II. The Parts of a Trial Brief: An Overview
	III. The Caption
	IV. The Introduction
	V. The Statement of Facts
		A. Organizing the Statement of Facts
		B. Choosing Which Facts to Include
		C. Refining the Statement of Facts
	VI. The Argument
		A. Organizing the Argument
		B. Developing Persuasive Rules
		C. Developing Persuasive Case Illustrations
		D. Developing Counter-Analyses: Addressing Weaknesses from Your Client's Perspective
		E. Other Ways to Shape Your Argument
	VII. The Conclusion
	VIII. Editing and Polishing Your Brief
Appendix A · Effective Memo: Adverse Possession
Appendix B · Effective Memo: Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress
Appendix C · Less Effective Memo: Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress
Appendix D · Effective Complex Memo: Factor Analysis in Fraud Claim
Glossary
Index