Law

4     Double-spaced (900 words)

1

Other

College/University

Unknown

N/A

Assignment Three: Memo to Board Deliverable: As part of the management team to the defendant JUUL you must assess the liability issues based on the alleged facts in a complaint and determine what Defendants’ positions, defenses, and risks are. Consider your report to be one for the liaison between your Defendant’s management team and the defendant’s counsel: not so literate in product liability law but still much more attuned to law and this case than a layperson. Focus only on causes of action three (III) through six (VI). Format for Memo: Memo must be typed and thoroughly proofread. It should be between four and five pages (not more than six), single-spaced, written as a Word document in the following format. • Use Times New Roman, 12-point font • Use one-inch margins on all sides • Use single line-spacing in each paragraph or section • Number your pages starting on the second page • Include at the top of the page as the heading, your names and date of submission More Advice: The assumption that should generally be held when drafting business memos is that the reader is pressed for time. With this assumption, the following become the ideals of business writing: Concision Straightforwardness Compartmentalization Simplicity The goal then is to write efficiently. Concision and straightforwardness keep the piece from being time-consuming. Simplicity and compartmentalization allow for the concepts being presented to be easily parsed and understood. The former two call for short and uncomplicated sentences. This does not necessarily mean that the writing cannot be sophisticated; it merely asks that the writer keep economy of words in mind. When examining one’s business writing, a good metric is to ask whether the explanation presented is the quickest way to communicate the comprehensive point. The latter two are a matter of being organized and keeping subject matters more or less discrete. Granted, concepts under one subject matter will entwine due to mutual relevance, but attempting to write in as compartmentalized a fashion as possible will allow for better flow in presenting information and better reception from the reader who has to connect the dots. This typically manifests as laying out clearly the direction of the memo. Often, business memos will have an executive summary, a brief paragraph at the beginning of the memo that outlines exactly the major points and recommendations that will follow. This will also manifest in exposition and argumentation in that concepts and arguments will be broken down into its component parts and then explained piecemeal. For example, explaining a contract might involve explaining offer, consideration, and acceptance individually. Explaining how a client should handle a breach of contract suit might involve laying out the different potential defenses along with commentary on those defenses’ viability. Generally, business memos will first present facts and analysis as a large section and then recommendations and outlook based on that analysis. This will vary, of course, based on the purpose of the memo, but it is a good rule of thumb to follow. Finally, bear in mind the knowledge base of the audience. If the audience already knows the subject matter, then there is no point in wasting time and space on explaining it again in depth. However, if the audience knows nothing at all about the subject matter, then a brief but comprehensive fact pattern should be provided. Assume the audience knows the facts.