Memorandum Comparison
Interoffice Memorandum |
v. |
Trial Memorandum |
|
| Caption: Standard caption | Caption: Pleading caption | ||
| Assignment: Lawyer's instructions | Assignment: None! | ||
| Facts: State the facts of the client's case | Facts: Relate to the court the facts that are relevant to the court action | ||
| Issues: Questions that will be answered by the court | Issues: Specific questions that will be answered by the court & argued in the memorandum | ||
| Analysis: Applying the Law to client facts. In the Inter-office Memo, the writer is neutral and the memo is objective | Analysis: Applying the Law to case facts. In the Trial Memorandum, the writer is trying to persuade the reader and the memo is therefore subjective | ||
| Conclusion: Answers the questions posed by the issues | Conclusion: Answers the questions posed by the issues | ||
| Recommendation: Next steps | Recommendation: None! (But there is an attorney's subscription.) | ||
| Interoffice Memos . . . | Trial Briefs . . . |
|
. . . are objective. The author should determine how the law applies to the client facts, whether the law supports the client or not. |
. . . are subjective. The author attempts to persuade by discussing only authority that supports the client's position, or minimizing authority that is damaging to the client. |
| . . . are not in pleading form. | . . . are in pleading form. |
| . . . are not filed with the court. | . . . are filed with the court. |