Reference no: EM133277130
Zander is a paralegal who works in a medium-sized law firm that specializes in personal injury. He has worked closely with several of the partners in the firm, but he has recently been reassigned to Hyun, who will take over the role of supervising attorney. Hyun has scheduled a meeting with Zander to go over some assignments before she leaves on an extended business trip.
1. Zander recognizes the challenge of the upcoming assignments that he will be receiving, both because this is a new working relationship and because Hyun will be out of the office for several weeks. Which of the following should be priorities for Zander when Hyun gives him the new assignments?
a. Make certain that he understands each assignment completely before Hyun leaves on her trip.
b. Clarify the deadlines for each assignment.
c. Make sure that he understands whether the writing for each assignment should be argumentative or objective, formal or informal.
d. All of these choices
2. Zander is eager to make a good impression on Hyun, so he refreshes his memory on the subject of writing well by looking back at one of his paralegal textbooks. Which of the following is not one of the four key elements of good writing highlighted in the text?
a. Correct references to legal sources
b. Clarity and organization
c. Accurate use of legal terminology
d. Frequent use of quotations
3. In preparing a legal memorandum for Hyun, Zander decides to organize the document using IRAC. What does IRAC stand for?
a. investigation, relevance, action, conclusion
b. Issue, rule, application, conclusion
c. Inquiry, research, action, closing
d. Issue, research, application, closing
4. Zander needs to draft several pieces of correspondence concerning a lawsuit against a landlord who failed to install handrails in a rental property. He needs to write a letter to the client, a retired schoolteacher, about her upcoming testimony. He also needs to write a demand letter to the landlord's attorney. The third piece of correspondence is an internal memo from Hyun to one of the firm's partners, outlining her strategy for the case. Which of the following statements is not true?
a. Zander should tailor his writing for the intended reader.
b. Zander should use the firm's letterhead and follow the firm's correspondence templates.
c. Zander can send all three of these letters via e-mail.
d. Zander should spend a significant amount of time proofreading and revising the correspondence.
5. One of Zander's assignments is to write a letter to opposing counsel regarding an upcoming deposition. Zander knows what to write in the letter and how to write it, but he is uncertain about the tone that Hyun would take with the opposing counsel. What should Zander do?
a. Err on the side of being overly formal.
b. Track down Hyun, wherever she is, to ask her about this issue.
c. Draft the letter but wait for Hyun to review it before sending it.
d. Not worry about it, because there are no rules for how to communicate with opposing counsel.