The Basics of Legal Correspondence
Legal correspondence refers to written communications between individuals and organizations relating to the legal system and its various contexts, such as court cases, contracts, and agreements. Within the boundaries of professional disciplines and the common legal understanding of the word, it is any correspondence (generally, correspondence within a legal context) either sent or received among members of the legal community. In general terms, it includes written communications from one lawyer to another (or to the same client), or from an attorney to a judge, commissioner, or another officer of an official tribunal, together with the correspondence from a litigant to an official legal officer . In addition, those communications generated by an attorney on behalf of a client, whether that correspondence is received by a lay person or another member of the legal community, is considered legal correspondence. All of these classifications of correspondence are generally designed to establish that the matter they refer to is of a legal nature. Because of its widespread nature, legal correspondence is not a significant part of case law or the body of jurisprudence. By extension, individuals who specialize in "litigation support," or the creation and receipt of legal correspondence, often hold positions titled "litigation assistant" or "litigation paralegal." In effect, the use of legal correspondence helps ensure that the applicable parties are aware of the rights and responsibilities of all concerned with regard to a particular issue.
Key Elements of Legal Letters
The key to effective legal correspondence is ensuring it contains the essential components needed to present the information for the specific situation while maintaining the proper tone and structure appropriate to your practice area and your client’s needs.
Subject Line
Similar to an email, the subject line should briefly state the purpose of the letter to help guide the person receiving it and to assist with organizing and indexing in the long term. Be brief but be specific. A more old-fashioned approach doesn’t require a subject line and instead puts this information on the first page of the letter.
Salutation
Begin your letter with a proper salutation using a formal greeting. The most common opening is "Dear" followed by the person’s title and last name. You should not abbreviate or use nicknames unless you are specifically on a first-name basis.
Paragraphs
Use two spaces after each paragraph or indent with a tab. Each paragraph should begin with a capital letter and end with a period even if it is a bulleted item. Depending on the nature of the correspondence, some types of letters will have a signature line with an enclosure notice and others are signed with a signature in the style of a type of business name.
Closing
There should be a three line signature block concluding with a comma. You can include the job title after your name.
How to Write Effective Legal Correspondence
Drafting a legal letter can seem like a daunting task, especially for those without years of training and practical experience. While a solid understanding of the components of a strong legal letter is essential to mastering the craft, it is equally important to understand some general best practices for drafting legal correspondence, regardless of the content. Here are a few best practices for drafting legal letters of all types:
Keep it succinct. Clarity and conciseness almost always go hand-in-hand when drafting legal correspondence. Time is of the essence for everyone, and the less you ask from a recipient or the more you can say in fewer words, the better. What is asked of your reader should always be clear, unambiguous and brief.
Follow a logical progression. A legal letter should follow a logical flow of information that is easy to follow. Each part should build on the last, avoiding redundancies and unnecessary complexities.
Proof it and then proof it again. Before hitting "send" or delivering your letter in any other form, review the text for typos, grammatical errors and other issues. A second set of eyes reviewing your work can also significantly reduce the chance for error.
Use legalese judiciously. Legalese — flowery, obtuse language that uses jargon and complex phrasing — is a major turnoff in legal correspondence. Use only when necessary and only to increase clarity — never to sound more important than you are.
Organize it properly. When you draft a letter, always follow proper organization and formatting. For example, an introduction will read much more soundly if it states the purpose for writing clearly and succinctly. Also, proper paragraph structure is key to a clear and effective message.
If a specific tone or style has been established in prior correspondence, stay consistent. It is essential that you maintain the same tone and style of earlier correspondence unless you have a clear reason for directing the correspondence in a different direction.
Common Pitfalls
One of the most frequent mistakes is a misunderstanding of the appropriate length and tone for a legal letter. Simply put, longer is not better. Clients, colleagues, and opposing parties are busy, and while they may be appreciative of your opinion, they certainly don’t have time to digest a lengthy epistle. The average person will decide whether or not to read a letter in seconds based on its length and tone, and once that judgment is made, it’s often difficult to reverse.
It’s also important to remember that less is more when it comes to typographical errors and grammatical mistakes. Sending a correspondence that you’ve hastily proofread as opposed to one that has been carefully crafted and edited will have a negative impact on how your recipients perceive you . Their eyes may gloss over at any misspellings or improper word usages they encounter, and that impression could carry over to future communications, so it’s worth the few extra minutes it takes to read everything with purpose.
Lastly, never be tempted to inject personal opinions into your legal correspondence, as this can lead to disastrous consequences. Although it’s tempting to vent or express full thoughts on an issue or transaction, don’t forget that your words are probably being shared with others. This could include someone you never anticipated, such as a judge, jury, or adversary, who could use your unguarded words against you. Like most businesses, law firms frequently draft "administrative" letters, such as standard "thank you" letters, or comply with requirements such as having requested or pending information. Such correspondence can be the source of many potential pitfalls, since they are tangible representations of your firm.
Using Technology in Legal Correspondence
Modern legal practice requires the use of technology in almost every area of the law, including legal correspondence. Today, the majority of communication is conducted digitally, through emails or other electronic means, as opposed to the more traditional types of correspondence. Findlaw states that "legal technology refers to an umbrella of innovations and systems that help lawyers provide better legal services". It’s no surprise then, that technology plays a large part in the world of legal correspondence. Technology has changed the way that lawyers interact with their clients, witnesses and opposing counsel – it also has transformed the way that correspondence is drafted and sent.
Digital communication tools such as Microsoft Outlook and Gmail are now standardized platforms used in the legal industry. Legal correspondence generated on these platforms is supported directly by the email providers, and other tools such as spell-check and auto-correct systems can be easily enabled. These tools are also designed to run on common operating systems, which facilitates ease of access.
In a remote access; work-from-home environment in which many in the legal industry are currently operating, the cloud-based software offered by Outlook and Gmail allows for easier collaboration and communication between lawyers, clients, witnesses, and opposing counsel, and can be accessed from any device with internet access.
Legal correspondence can often be redundant in nature, even for different legal matters requiring individualized drafting. Technology applications are able to provide a high level of automation and can generate legal correspondence efficiently by using templates with pre-set language sections, replacing basic fields with the appropriate information (such as client name, opposing party name, case number, jurisdiction, and court), and enabling easy editing directly in the email without having to leave the program.
Lawyers can also save previously drafted correspondence templates for future use – allowing them to draft new correspondence quickly with custom language to fit the circumstances of the current matter. This can be especially important when dealing with large-scale corporate transactions with numerous parties involved.
Many primary document management systems, such as NetDocuments and iManage now have functionality that allows for automatic document generation for documents such as pleadings or standard contracts, as well as the ability to file-through-email.
To further increase efficiency, additional software tools exist that allow for automated email and correspondence tracking, including reminders for when recipients have not already opened or responded to correspondence. Correspondence tracking features are especially useful in larger matters with complex correspondence trees that require sending correspondence to multiple parties.
Legal Correspondence by Practice Area
Legal correspondence can look vastly different from one area of practice to another, depending on the relationship between the attorney and client, as well as the audience of the correspondence. In corporation law, for example, correspondence is usually one of many strategies and tools a lawyer will use in a case. The big picture of multiple actions is more important than any one email or letter. Typically, this type of correspondence is meant to be formal, utilitarian, and straightforward.
When corporations or partnerships are involved, letters could come from a large number of parties within the company. For these letters, having an internal style guide is crucial to presenting a cohesive professional front. A tone that would work for a client letter may be jarring for a client bill or letter to the Department of Employment Services. Consistency in formatting, punctuation, and even organizational schemes are essential for the examples found in corporate legal correspondence. While not necessary, it may be valuable to have all correspondence come from a lawyer as a matter of perception.
Furthermore, corporate lawyers tend to have more control than other areas of law when it comes to correspondence, providing lawyers with an avenue to make arguments (or present evidence) that may be unsupported by law. These lawyers can stretch the boundaries of interpretation in ways that might not be allowed in other fields. Corporate legal correspondence can include opening letters, emails, and invoices.
Criminal cases also demand meticulous precision in legal correspondence , both for the sake of understanding and so that no mistakes are made that could result in longer sentences or even impeachment. Legal correspondence for criminal law must comply with several rules and guidelines set forth by the government. Such correspondence is exclusively directed toward the plaintiffs, who are often judges or juries; defendants do not receive these letters.
Because of this high level of scrutiny, these sorts of letters are tightly controlled, making it likely for an investigation to unravel if it is discovered that such letters did not comply with the rules. Some examples of criminal law correspondence are discovery requests, jury instructions, expert reports, attorney usage, and information about trial. Additionally, all correspondence needs to be archived through e-filing. An electronic filing program is a very smart choice for any law firm handling criminal cases in order to have easy access to correspondence and supporting documentation.
Family law legal correspondence is the most personal of all types of legal letters. These letters can be emotionally charged. For this reason, family law legal correspondence needs to be written with exceptional care. Such legal letters may be designed as invitations or warnings, depending on the circumstances.
In general, legal correspondence should not be confrontational, as writing that provokes the reader can often lead to more problems than it solves. Compassion in correspondence is a good choice, as the recipients are probably already difficult circumstances, so the letters should focus on concerns of that person. Regardless of the type, it is always a good idea to avoid vague terminology.