Legal Studies Boxed Set: A+ Guides to Writing, #11

Praise for A+ Writing Guides

The grid made a big job seem really manageable.

Thank you for the guidance. I have made a breakthrough!

Awesome!

I am currently writing the literature review chapter of my dissertation and this book has been and is very helpful during my writing.

This book saved my bacon. I had a week to write a lit review paper for my PhD program and until I read the sample I didn't even know what a literature review paper was. The author does a great job in breaking it down into an easy to follow method. Everything from how to organize your paper to how to compose the topic sentence, body and conclusions for each paragraph. I'm almost done reading the book and feel so much more confident that I can do this. Just wish there was an audio companion. Already told all my classmates about the book. Thanks Alison!

Wow! I have only read a few of the sections in this text and have already found it significantly more helpful than any other book I have purchased so far. I was really struggling with structuring my literature review, but this text offers great insight on organizing the material and flowing between paragraphs. Definitely worth the $3.99.

Legal Demand Letters

By Alison Plus

Copyright 2016 by Alison Plus

Published by Four-Ply Publishing

License Notes

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Booklet 1: How to Use This Booklet

You must write a legal demand letter. Perhaps you are studying law and writing your first demand letter as part of a legal writing assignment. Perhaps you are a paralegal or new attorney writing a demand letter for use in a law firm or other legal setting. Or perhaps you are a private citizen who needs to send a demand letter before filing suit in small claims court.

Even though you might have seen other letters, you are not sure how to compose a demand letter. Maybe you have never written a letter like this before, so you are unsure about how it differs from other kinds of letters. Maybe you have written a letter like this in the past, but you were unhappy with the product and you want to do better this time. Maybe, no matter your skills and experiences, you are just looking for extra help so that this kind of letter will be easier to complete.

If you find it difficult to draft a demand letter, it is probably not your fault. Law schools and legal studies programs do not always teach this kind of writing, but they expect the students to figure it out independently through clerkships or similar means. Some might assign demand letters without giving sufficient instruction on how to write one. Even when there is instruction, writing instructors often focus on aspects of legal theory instead of on writing itself. Therefore, you might find it difficult to write a demand letter simply because the skills you have been taught, while important, are just one aspect of the writing process.

For example, maybe your instructor spent some time explaining the purpose of a demand letter. This is an important foundation concept, and we will discuss that in this booklet, too. However, will this tell you how long the letter should be? No. Will it tell you what to put in each section of the letter? No. Will it help you organize the paragraphs? No. For that, a different kind of instruction is needed.

This booklet can help you by showing you the complete process of writing a demand letter. This practical, systematic method will start with a basic discussion of the purpose of demand letters and end with a final proofreading. In between that first and last step, you will learn how to write each section of a demand letter, piece by piece. These sectional breakdowns show you exactly what to include in different places within the demand letter. You will no longer need to guess what to write and where to write it. By using the breakdown, the various pieces of the document will work together to create a coherent and complete demand letter.

This booklet not only helps you write a demand letter, but it shows you a critical thinking process important to the practice of law. Working the sections carefully the first time will teach you the method. Then, when you must write another demand letter, use this booklet as a reference to help you remember what each section must include. The more you use the method, the easier it will be.

Note: This booklet will not cover legal citation in depth. A shortcut and some basic citation tips are included in an appendix, but for more information about citation, please consult the Bluebook.

Booklet 1: The Example Scenario

This booklet will provide guidance both for private individuals and for legal professionals. The approach is slightly different for letter writers representing themselves and for letter writers representing others, and as the sections are developed, these minor differences will be identified.

However, it will still be useful to have a single fact scenario to use as a consistent example throughout the booklet. For the purposes of the examples written in this booklet, assume the following facts.

You are an attorney in private practice. Mary Graves has asked you for help with a home improvement claim. She hired Mountainside Roofing Company to provide new decking and shingles, and she paid the first installment in accordance with the contract terms. The contract specified a particular brand and color of shingles to be installed, and Ms. Graves chose those shingles from samples the contractor presented during negotiation.

The contractor delayed commencement of the work because he was unable to secure these specific shingles from his material supplier. After a two-month delay on the start of work, the contractor’s employees appeared at the residence to remove the old shingles. The old decking remains intact. At that time, the contractor installed weatherproof sheeting and requested that Ms. Graves approve the installation of lower-grade shingles because he would not be able to supply the ones specified in the contract.

The contractor refused to amend the price on the contract to reflect the lower quality of the materials, and he refused to provide the shingles specified in the contract terms. He has failed to return to the job site, and Ms. Graves has called him frequently to demand completion of the contract. Those calls have been so frequent that he is now refusing to take her calls at all.

It is now November, seven full months after execution of the contract and five months after removal of the shingles. With winter beginning, Ms. Graves is concerned about possible damage to her home and increased heating costs from the lack of a complete roof. She has contacted several other roofing companies for estimates to complete the work. Also, rain recently seeped under the protective sheeting, and the house sustained minor water damage to the interior drywall and flooring. Ms. Graves has also gathered estimates for repair to the water damage.

At this time, the client’s primary concern is having a new roof installed as quickly as possible. If the original contractor cannot accomplish this quickly, she wishes to initiate litigation immediately and hire a new contractor to complete the repairs.

Booklet 1: Step One: Letter Mechanics

A demand letter is a formal written letter that identifies a legal wrong and requests a legal remedy. Formal letters tend to follow a specific pattern, though some minor variations are possible within that pattern. This section defines the parts of the letter and serves as a template for a formal letter.

Font

Standard font is Times New Roman, size 12, although other common fonts such as Arial may be used. It is generally safer to use the standard font. If you choose a font other than Times New Roman 12, select one that is clear, easy to read, and large enough to scan easily. Serif fonts are generally easier to read and scan than non-serif fonts. Avoid using curly fonts, script fonts, colored text, or anything else that might diminish the formality of the letter.

With the font selected, here are the pieces of the letter in the order the appear from top to bottom.

Attorney’s Address or Sender’s Address

For Attorneys: The attorney’s address is included in letterhead. If, for some reason, you are not using letterhead, include the attorney’s address at the top of the letter one line above the date. Do not write the attorney’s name here because it will appear in the letter's closing. Include only the name of the firm, street address, city, and zip code. However, it is highly unusual to use anything other than formal letterhead to send a demand letter.

For Private Individuals: If you are not using personal stationary with your address written on it, then put your contact information (name, address, email, phone number) at the very top of the page. This can be centered or right-justified, as you choose.

Date

Skip approximately one or two lines of space below the letterhead, and write the date. Use the date of mailing, not the date the letter was started or completed. Because demand letters require a response within a set number of days from the date of the letter, this date selection method is important.

When writing to parties within the United States, use the American date format. The American date format places the month before the day, for example, November 15, 2016. When writing to parties outside the United States, use the international date format. The international date format places the day before the month, for example, 15 November 2016.

Either left justify or center the date. The date should align with the signature line at the bottom of the letter. Thus, if the date is left justified, the signature line will also be left justified. If the date starts in the middle of the page, then the signature line will have to be placed at the same point so that the text aligns. This is usually easier to manage with tabs or indents than with the center-text function in a word processing program.

Recipient’s Address

This is sometimes also called the inside address. It is the name and address of the person or organization to whom you are sending the letter. Even if you are writing to an organization, it is always best to write to a specific individual at that organization. If you do not have the person's name, look up the company online or speak with employees from the company and attempt to identify an individual who should receive the letter.

Include a personal title such as Ms., Mr., or Dr. Follow a woman's preference in being addressed as Miss, Mrs., or Ms. If you are unsure of a woman's preference in being addressed, use Ms. If there is a possibility that the person to whom you are writing is a Dr. or has some other title, use that title.

To write the address to a recipient in the United States, use the U.S. Post Office format. The first lines contain the name of the person receiving the letter. The second line contains the name of the company, if any, for which that person works. The next lines contain the street address, suite numbers, or PO box numbers. The final line contains the city, state, and postal code.

For international addresses, type the name of the country in all-capital letters below the line with the city and postal code.

The recipient’s address should be left justified, no matter which format you are using.

Reference Line

Skip a line under the recipient’s address, and then type this:

RE:

Two letters and a colon. That’s it. RE is an abbreviated form of reference or regarding, and it indicates the topic of the letter. In past times, the abbreviation In Re was sometimes used (short for in reference to or in regard of), but that is considered an old-fashioned usage. Use only the two letters and the colon.

This line can be flush left, or it can be tab indented. In legal practice, the material following the colon will typically be the parties’ or client’s names and either a case number or file number. The case number or file number will appear on a second line, and it will begin at the same point as the part name, not at the same point as the RE abbreviation. Here is an example.

RE:Mary Graves contract claim against Mountainside Roofing Co.

Our File No. 16-77-311

Here is another example showing what this might look like if litigation is pending.

RE:Mary Graves v. Mountainside Roofing Co.

Case No. 16-D03-13326

Nothing more is needed. This subject line serves as a coding system to help readers know at a glance what the letter is about, and it is often used as an aide in file maintenance. Thus, even though it is a small detail in the overall letter, it is an important one.

Salutation

Always use the formal Dear to start the salutation, never Greetings, Hello, or any other casual salutation. Use the same name that you used in the recipient’s address, including the personal title. Use the last or family name followed by a colon. This is a formal letter, so it’s generally best to avoid using first names here unless you know the recipient personally and believe the recipient would be offended by a formal greeting. For example:

Dear Ms. Barnes:

Sometimes it happens that a person’s gender will not be clear from the first name. If you are uncertain whether to use Mr. or Ms.," there are two options. First, use the job title followed by the receiver's name. For example:

Dear Director Barnes:

Or, second, use the full name in a salutation if the job title is unknown or inappropriate to use as a salutation. For example:

Dear Pat Barnes:

Leave one line blank after the salutation.

Body

Letters are generally single spaced with one extra line between paragraphs. The first line of each new paragraph may or may not be indented a half inch, as you prefer. Left justify the text, but use a ragged right margin.

This is the standard format for the body of letters. The content will be discussed below.

Second and Subsequent Pages

It sometimes happens that the demand letter cannot fit onto a single sheet of paper. In such cases, it is best to leave the final paragraph, closing, and enclosure and typist data for a second page.

At the top of the second page, in the upper right hand corner, write the letter’s date. This is the same date as used at the top of the letter.

Drop one line, and at the same starting point in the upper right corner, write the salutation without the word Dear. Thus, if you wrote the title and last name in the salutation, use the title and last name here. If you wrote the person’s full name in the salutation, use the person’s full name here.

Drop another line, and at the same starting point in the upper right corner, write Page followed by the page number. Use a capital P and do not spell the number.

Example:

November 15, 2016

Ms. Barnes

Page 2

Please note: reflowing and formatting options on an e-reading device might result in that example either not appearing on the right corner or wrapping to extra lines. There should be three lines in the upper right corner, and they should all start on the same vertical point of alignment. There should always be three lines, one each for the date, receiver’s name, and page number.

Closing

Leave one line blank between the end of the body and the closing. Regardless of the particular phrase used, only the first word is capitalized. Always follow the phrase with a comma, never with a colon. Acceptable phrases include:

Respectfully,

Very truly yours,

Sincerely,

Thank you,

And many others. Use something formal in tone. Avoid anything that sounds casual or playful. Later might be fine with your friends, but it is not appropriate for a formal letter.

Start the closing on the same place as the date line. If the date line is flush left, the closing should be flush left, too. If the date line is indented, the closing should be indented, too.

Leave four lines between the closing and the attorney’s name. This is where the attorney will sign the letter. An attorney’s original signature is an attestation that they have verified the contents of the letter within reasonable standards of practice, so this is an important detail.

Enclosures

If you have enclosed any documents along with the letter, such as a copy of a contract, receipts, or similar legal material, you indicate this simply by typing Encl.: one line below the closing. In some business environments, it is not necessary to list the documents enclosed by name. However, most legal practitioners consider it best practice and continue to do so.

Type the word Encl. flush left, and then follow it with a colon. Notice the period at the end of the four-letter abbreviation. Tab, and then list the first document. Drop one line, tab to the same starting point, and list the second document. Continue to list each document on a separate line, all starting at the same tab point. For example:

Encl.:Contract dated 3/13/2016

Canceled check dated 3/16/2016

Estimate dated 11/8/2016 to repair water damage

Estimate dated 11/4/2016 to complete roof repairs

Copied Persons and Entities

It often happens that people other than the receiver of the letter will also need to see a copy of the letter. It is good practice, for example, to copy the client and the file on all communications. This is designated with the abbreviation CC followed by a colon. The abbreviation CC stands for carbon copy, a throwback to the days of manual typewriters and sheets of graphite or carbon paper sandwiched between layers of paper to make exact duplicates.

Place the abbreviation CC flush left. After the abbreviation CC and the colon, list the persons and places receiving copies of the letter. As with the enclosures, each recipient should be on a new line, and these should all start on the same vertical point.

For example:

CC: Mary Graves

File

Typist initials

Typist initials are used to indicate the person who typed the letter, and under whose direction the typing was performed. It starts with the attorney’s initials in all capital letters, followed by a colon, followed by the typist’s initials in all lower-case letters. For example:

AWP:nm

If the attorney types the letter instead of delegating this task to a typist, use the designation tbm after the colon to indicate typed by me.

AWP:tbm

Booklet 1: A Special Note About Tone

Some readers, especially those seeking to represent themselves in a small claims matter, might not be familiar with the tone usually adopted in a demand letter. The best way to describe this tone is formal.

Here are some tips to help achieve that tone:

* Do not insult or disparage the other person.

* Do not threaten the other person in any way.

* Avoid using words that describe emotions, especially negative emotions such as anger, frustration, annoyance, and so on. (Exception: if the demand includes a claim for something like intentional infliction of emotional distress. Even then, adopt a tone which is as unemotional as possible.)

* Be polite and professional.

* Avoid using terms that might sound antagonistic or belligerent.

* Avoid exaggerations and overstatements.

* Be firm but not arrogant.

* Avoid sarcasm or anything that is snide or sneering.

* Think cool, not hot.

Because legal disputes are often fraught with emotions such as anger and frustration, it can be difficult to maintain an appropriate formal tone. Perhaps it will be easier, though, if you remember that a judge might eventually read this letter. You will want to make a good impression on the judge even if you are very angry with the other party. If you present your demand letter with a calm, cool tone, this will come across as confident. If you rely on a nasty or angry tone, though, it will undermine your credibility and make you appear less confident about your claim.

Also, even if the judge never sees the letter, a negative tone might interfere with your chances of reaching a good solution. A demand letter is meant to show the other person their legal options under the circumstances of your case. The letter gives that other person an opportunity to meet your demands. The best form of satisfaction will come from resolution of the claim, not from insulting or offending the other person in a letter. Keep the goal clearly in mind. The goal is to win a satisfactory outcome, and that will be easier to accomplish with a formal tone in the demand letter. Antagonizing the opponent only makes it harder to solve the problems.

Booklet 1: Step Two: Define the Relationship

Note: This section applies to legal professions. For private individuals, a simple one-sentence introduction will do. For example, I am Jack Citizen, and I am the owner of the residence at 1450 Ada Street.

The first sentence of the letter reads something like a personal introduction, but its purpose is deeper that a simple My name is... type if disclosure. This sentence includes two key details:

1. The existence of the representation agreement.

2. The scope of the representation agreement.

Ethical rules require attorneys to disclose representation agreements, and once those disclosures are made, rules of contact between parties change. For example, as attorney may not contact a party represented by counsel. Thus, the first sentence of the demand letter will define the relationship between the person writing the letter and the person making the demand. It usually reads something like this:

——-

I am the attorney representing Mary Graves regarding Mountainside Roofing Company’s breach of contract for roofing repairs to her home.

——-

This indicates both a formal representation arrangement and the scope of that