Law Homework Help

Scenario

Your client, Mary Jones, has come into the office after a car accident. The client admits to putting on mascara as she was driving because she was late to work. You are to prepare a memo to your supervising attorney, Jane Doe, outlining what Mary might recover in the case. Mary has $100,000 in damages. You are thinking Mary might be 20 percent at fault in this case.

Instructions

Using Lexis Advance, research Li v. Yellow Cab Company out of California.

Including Li v. Yellow Cab Company out of California in your memo, outline what Mary could receive under contributory negligence and under comparative negligence.

Also, include in the memo the collateral source rule and subrogation information.

Formatting a Memo

Your memo needs to be 2-3 pages using double spacing.

The sections of a legal memorandum are:

• Heading or Caption that includes To, From, Date, and Re.
• Facts
• Issue(s) Presented
• Answer to Issue
• Reasoning or Discussion
• Conclusion

Resources

For assistance on completing this assignment, refer to How do I create a legal memo?MEMORANDUM

TO: Name of person who assigned the research project

FROM: Your Name

DATE: Date memo is turned in

RE: Name of client, and a short description of the subject matter of the memorandum

­­­­­­­­­­­­­______________________________________________________

FACTS

Provide a formal and objective description of the legally significant facts in your research problem. The legally significant facts are the facts that are relevant to answering the legal question presented. For example, in an issue involving whether a minor can disaffirm a contract, a legally significant fact would include the nature of the item or service contracted for (was it clothing, food, shelter, related to health care, etc.) and whether the minor had access to the item in any case, without having to become contractually obligated to pay for it. The description should be accurate and complete.

Present the facts in a logically coherent fashion, which may entail a chronological order. Include legally significant facts – facts upon which the resolution of the legal question presented will turn, whether they are favorable or unfavorable to the client for whom you are writing – and include background facts that will make the context of the problem clear. In this section, do not comment upon the facts or discuss how the law will apply to the facts. All factual information that later appears in the discussion section of the memorandum should be described in the facts section.

ISSUE(S) PRESENTED

The subject of the memo is a question: How does the relevant law apply to the key facts of the research problem? Thus, the question presented is analogous to the issue or question presented in a case brief. The question presented should be sufficiently narrow and should be objective. It is usually one sentence, and often begins: “Whether….” or “Does….” The question incorporates legally relevant facts as well as the rule involved. Although questions are usually framed so that they can be answered yes or no (or probably yes or probably no), sometimes they cannot (such as “Under Minnesota law, has a retailer made a binding offer when…?”). Always include the name of the jurisdiction involved, e.g., Minnesota, the Eight Circuit.

BRIEF ANSWER

The brief answer should clearly and fully respond to the question presented. Begin with your conclusion: yes, no, probably yes, etc., if the question can be answered that way. Then give a brief (usually no more than four or five sentences long) self-contained explanation of the reasons for your conclusion. Summarize for your reader how the relevant law applies to your significant facts. As a general rule, include no citations.

ANALYSIS

Apply the law to the facts. This is the heart of the memo. Here, you need to educate the reader about the applicable legal principles, illustrate how those principles apply to the relevant facts, and explore any likely counterarguments to the primary line of analysis you present.