如何撰写律师函(英)

ght up front why you are writing the letter. Here are some opening sentences:

　　"The purpose of this letter is to _________."

　　"This letter is to inform you that _________."

　　"My client has instructed me to _________."

　　"This is to confirm that _________."

　　"This confirms our phone conversation today in which _________."

　　If there are any enclosures, list them first. Listing enclosures at the beginning of the letter will make it easier for your staff to assemble them and for the reader to check to be sure all was received. This is much easier than having to read an entire, perhaps lengthy, letter to ascertain what are the enclosures.

　　The enclosures should be described with specificity so that there is later no question as to what was enclosed. At a minimum, the title and date of each document should be listed. If the document was recorded, then the recording information should be included. Whether the document is an original or a copy should also be specified. The following is an example:

　　"Enclosed are the following documents from your closing held on ___/___/1999 in which you purchased the home at _________, St. Petersburg, Florida, from _________:

　　Warranty Deed dated ___/___/1999 and recorded on ___/___/1999 at O.R. Book ____, Page ____, _________, County, Florida (original)

　　Title Insurance Policy issued on ___/___/1999 by _________ on _________ as policy number _________ (original)

　　HUD-1 Settlement Statement dated ___/___/1999 (original)"

　　Outline the letter as separately numbered paragraphs. Each paragraph of the letter should state a separate thought, comment, point or concept. No paragraph should be longer than four or five short sentences. If the paragraph is longer, then separate it into subparagraphs. The paragraphs should flow in logical, organized fashion. It is not necessary to write them all at once; you can write them as you think of them. Try to group related concepts in the same paragraphs or in adjacent paragraphs. See the Appendix for sample letters.

　　Give each paragraph a title and underline that title. Think of this as the headline for a newspaper article. This makes it

easy for the reader to scan the letter and choose how to more fully read and digest its contents. This also makes it easier for you later when you see the letter in your file and try to remember why you wrote it.

　　Complete each paragraph by writing what applies to that paragraph. This is simple. You learned this in elementary school. Just explain in words what you want to say about each concept or comment you placed in your outline.

　　If this is a letter to your client, include ideas that occur to you as you write. Many ideas will occur to you as you write: things that could go wrong with a business deal, things that might happen in the future, things that happened in the past, ways to structure things better. Write these in your letter even if they are not strictly legal advice. Florida Bar Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 4-2.1 says:

　　"In rendering advice, a lawyer may refer not only to law but to other considerations such as moral, economic, social, and political factors that may be relevant to the client's situation."

　　If this is a letter to a nonclient, do not offer any advice. The letter should accomplish its purpose of providing information, making a demand, etc., without giving legal advice to the recipient. The comment to Florida Bar Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 4-4.3 says:

　　"During the course of a lawyer's representation of a client, the lawyer should not give advice to an unrepresented person other than the advice to obtain counsel."

　　State your assumptions. Whether or not this is an opinion letter, set forth the factual assumptions and statutes you rely upon in giving your opinion or advice. It is customary for opinion letters to recite the facts upon which the opinion is based and the statutes and case law, as well. This is something that every letter providing advice or opinion can include in order to avoid future misunderstanding. Every opinion and all advice is predicated upon facts and law. Stating the assumed facts and applicable law in the letter merely makes known to the reader what the writer understands to be true. This then places an obligation on the reader to inform the writer if any of the assumed facts is not accurate, which might change the opinion or advice.

　　Place instructions to clients in bold type. This will make it easier for the client to follow up on your letter and do as advised.

　　Close the letter with a final paragraph. The last paragraph will be one of the following:

　　Summary of advice: "To summarize, I advise that you……"

　　To do list: "Therefore, please do the following:……"

　　Demand: "Therefore, my client demands that you immediately cease and desist……"

　　Simple close: "If you have any questions, please call me."

　　Playing with the Words

　　Why does it take lawyers so long to write letters? Because we play with the words. We write, rewrite, move around, delete, cut and paste the words over and over and over again until we are happy with the way it sounds. That's the art of legal writing. It's like Picasso painting over the same canvas again and again, transforming it from one painting to another and then to another until finally he is satisfied with the result. Not always 100% satisfied, but good enough for it to go out the door and into the world. That's why writing is an art. And that's also why more copies of WordPerfect were sold to lawyers than any other industry. So here are some things to play with.

　　Write in short sentences. Short sentences are easier to understand than long ones. "Short, crisp sentences in a language accessible to lay people." This is the Associated Press's description of the writing style of the late Lord Alfred Thompson Denning, who was one of Britain's longest-serving appeals judges when he died at the age of 100 in March 1999. The same style Lord Denning used in writing appellat

e opinions should be used in writing letters to nonlawyers.

　　It's okay to use jargon; just explain it. We hear all the time that lawyers use too much jargon. But some concepts need the jargon. Like nunc pro tunc (which means now for then and is a wonderful concept that recognizes the inherent power of a court to correct its records by entering an order effective as of a prior date) and per stirpes (which means through representation and indicates a manner of taking title from a decedent).

　　Every profession has its jargon. That's not bad. It's part of our identity. It's a form of shorthand. It's a form of common knowledge among professionals. If my physician failed to use jargon in describing a medical condition, I would probably wonder if I had the right expert. A good professional not only knows the jargon, but can also explain it to a layman. Therefore, show your expertise. Use the jargon when necessary, but explain it when you use it.

　　Repeat yourself only when repetition is necessary to improve clarity or to emphasize a point. Ambiguity can created by saying the same thing more than once; it is almost impossible to say it twice without creating ambiguity.

　　When explaining a difficult concept, describe it from three directions. The only time repetition is helpful is when explaining a difficult concept. Each time you explain it you can make it a little more clear if you describe it from a different direction, perspective or point of view.

　　Write in active tense, rather than passive. Active tense is interesting; passive is boring. Active tense sentences are shorter and use words more efficiently, and their meaning is more apparent.

　　Watch where you place modifiers. When adding a modifier like "active" before a compound of nouns like "termites and organisms," be sure to clarify whether you intend the modifier to apply to both nouns or just the first one. If you intend it to apply to both, use parallel construction and write the modifier in front of each noun. If you intend it to apply to just one noun, place that one noun at the end of the list and the modifier directly in front of it.

　　Write numbers as both words and numerals: ten (10). This will reduce the chance for errors. The Associated Press reported on 18 June 1999, that a comma in the wrong place of a sales contract cost Lockheed Martin Corp. $70 million: "An international contract for the U.S.-based aerospace group's C-130J Hercules had the comma misplaced by one decimal point in the equation that adjusted the sales price for changes to the inflation rate." Perhaps writing out the number would have saved the day.

　　When you write "including" consider adding "but not limited to." Unless you intend the list to be all-inclusive, you had better clarify your intent that it is merely an example.

　　Don't be creative with words. Legal letter writing is not creative writing and is not meant to provoke reflective thoughts or controversies about nuances of meaning. Legal writing is clear, direct and precise. Therefore, use common words and common meanings.

　　Be consistent in using words. If you refer to the subject matter of a sales contract as "goods" use that term throughout the letter; do not alternately call them "goods" and "items." Maintaining consistency is more important than avoiding repetition.

　　Be consistent in grammar and punctuation. Don't rely on the rules of grammar.

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