English 220.003.

Major Writing Assignment #2: The Memorandum

First Draft Due: Wednesday, October 16 (5 points) Final Draft Due: Monday, October 21 (10 points)
Rhetorical Situation: Pretend you are a recent graduate of a prestigious law school and just landed a job as an associate at a small New Mexico law firm. On your first day, the firms managing partner made you junior counsel to a new personal injury lawsuit that was recently acquired by the firm. This is the partners first tort case in over ten years, so she is unfamiliar with many recent developments in New Mexico personal injury law. She has asked you to research these recent developments and to prepare a memorandum analyzing the new lawsuit. As she will rely on this memorandum in conducting discovery and preparing motions in the case, she has asked that you be as comprehensive as possible in your analysis of the case. Writing Assignment: For this writing assignment, you will be asked to represent either the Plaintiff or the Defendant in one of three personal injury lawsuits. You should first review the case file on BlackBoard Learn to familiarize yourself with the facts of your lawsuit. You will then conduct outside legal research and prepare a memorandum analyzing your side of the case. The Memorandum is one of the legal professions most basic and important genres. Lawsuits often take several years to resolve, and memoranda help lawyers manage and prepare for trial by creating a record of analysis of the legal and factual issues in the case. These memoranda are also used to shape the lawyers discovery (or investigation) of the lawsuit, telling them what questions they will need to answer in order to prepare the case. Memoranda also help lawyers remember what motions (or requests) they will need to file with the court and what issues they will need to bring up at trial. Memoranda are usually organized into the following sections: Issues: State the legal issues that you will discuss in the memorandum. Often these issues are posed in the form of questions. Each issue should be no more than 1-2 sentences long. Rules or Short Answer: Briefly respond to the issues by providing the controlling rule or standard and giving your opinion about the issue. Please note that there may not be a clear answer to the legal question posed. In that case, you will need to write a de pends on, statement, such as the answer to this issue is X, depending upon whether Y is true. Factual Background: Provide a summary description of the relevant facts of the case. Lawyers often have to deal with gaps in the record, certain facts that the lawyer currently does not know but needs to find out in order to answer the legal issues posed by the case. At this point, all you will need to do is identify these gaps. A good attorney will then conduct discovery in the form of interrogatories, requests for production, requests for admissions, or depositions to uncover the missing information. Analysis: Explain what the law says about your issues and then analyze the facts of your case under that law. Remember to consider how policy might influence a judges or jurys decision. Carefully demonstrate how your analysis supports your informed legal opinion about the case. Conclusion: End the memorandum by briefly reiterating your opinions and explaining what factual or legal questions still need to be resolved.

English 220.003. Major Writing Assignment #2: The Memorandum

First Draft Due: Wednesday, October 16 (5 points) Final Draft Due: Monday, October 21 (10 points)

Your memorandum must contain at least 1,800 words. It may be formatted in any way that you wish, but please cite your sources according to accepted conventions. Grading Rubric: Your grade for this assignment will not be based on whether you come to a correct opinion about the case. Instead, you will be evaluated on how well you support and explain your opinions under the issues you have identified. Do your best to identify relevant questions and issues based on what you have learned about tort law this semester. Try to consider all of the legal, social, political, or economic implications or factors in coming up with these questions. Then thoroughly research legal and nonlegal databases to try to find answers to your questions. Remember that you can always revise your questions and issues in light of this research. Form opinions only after considering these sources, and remember to keep track of how you arrived at those opinions. The better you explain the issues you have identified, your reasoning about those issues, and your ultimate opinions about the case, the better you will do on this assignment. This assignment is worth 15% of your final grade. Five percent (5%) will be based on timely submission of your First Draft and active participation in Peer Review. The remaining 10% will be allocated to your Final Draft, which will be evaluated according to the following rubric:
Content: 15 10 points 9 5 points Description of The memorandum clearly and The memorandum describes Case concisely describes all of the the facts of the case, but the facts of the case and further author does not show how shows how these facts are these facts are relevant to the relevant to the issues she or he issues he or she has has identified. If there are identified. There are some any gaps in the record, the relevant gaps in the record author has identified these which the author has not gaps and explained how identified or discussed, the resolution of these factual resolution of which is issues will impact the case. relevant to the case. Content: 25 20 points 19 15 points Quality of The author thoroughly and The author thoughtfully Reasoning thoughtfully examines the examines the issues he or she issues he or she has identified has identified in the case, and in the case, relying upon arrives at an opinion about accepted legal reasoning the case. However, the strategies. The author has authors reasoning needs to arrived at a well-reasoned be further developed and opinion about the case. explained. Content: 25 20 points 19 15 points Quality of The author has thoroughly The author has thoroughly Research researched the issues she or researched the issues he or 4 0 points The memorandum does not sufficiently describe the facts of the case. There are numerous gaps in the record which the author has not identified or discussed, the resolution of which is relevant to the case. 14 0 points The author does not adequately examine the issues he or she has identified in the case. The authors opinion about these case is not explained. 14 0 points The author needs to conduct further research

English 220.003. Major Writing Assignment #2: The Memorandum

First Draft Due: Wednesday, October 16 (5 points) Final Draft Due: Monday, October 21 (10 points)
she has identified in the case, about the issues he or she but needs to further explain has identified in the case how this research supports his and/or needs to further or her opinion about the case. explain what research he or she conducted. Organization 10-8 points 7-5 points 4-0 points Ideas are presented clearly Ideas are presented logically, The paper lacks clarity and logically so that the but the papers organization due to flaws in structure reader can easily follow the needs development. Sections and organization. writers reasoning. Sections are labeled but not clearly are clearly labeled and organized. organized logically. Tone and Style 10-8 points Style is graceful, compelling, and effective. Tone is engaging, consistent, and appropriate for the context. 7-5 points 4-0 points Style expresses clear ideas Style is unclear or but needs development. Tone ineffective. Tone is is generally appropriate for inappropriate for the context. context. 4-0 points There are numerous surface errors which distract the reader. 1-0 points There are numerous errors in formatting which distract the reader. he has identified in the case, and fully explains how this research supports his or her opinion about the case.

Grammar and 10-8 points 7-5 points Mechanics All paragraphs and sentences There are some distracting are free or mostly free from surface errors. distracting surface errors. Formatting 5-4 points 3-2 points The paper is formatted There are some errors in professionally and sources are formatting. cited according to accepted conventions.