Simple Stuff That Will Make You Look Dumb If It's Wrong4 @6 ^6 m' s* M2 t5 m n
Letters begin with boring things like the date and recipient's name and address, but if any of these are missing or wrong the letter writer will look pretty careless, to say the least. So be careful when starting the letter, and you can even include some extra things that will make the letter even better than the regular letters the recipient receives.
+ L$ M* _) [2 F Date your letter. Date your letter the day you write it, and send it the same day. Undated letters are difficult to reply to. I usually reply to them by saying, "This is in reply to your undated letter that I received in the mail on 24 June 1999."
2 U4 ^/ l; `! ~5 x3 z Consider using the international dating convention of day-month-year rather than the U.S. convention of month-day-year. As reported in the 1 June 1999 Wall Street Journal:
0 e2 Y( X$ k' c "The quirky U.S. style of date-writing is giving way to the day-first standard used by most of the world.! }" m. K8 M1 m" n) L
…… Both the MLA style guide and the Chicago Manual of Style support the day-first format. 'You get rid of the comma that way,' says Joseph Gibaldi, director of book acquisition for the MLA in New York." C# x. } y. b1 I1 M
If you are sending a fax or email, then type the time next to the date. While letters "cross in the mail" in days, faxes and emails "cross in the wires" in hours and minutes.' ^0 O" A5 d! }3 Z. o
Remind your client to preserve attorney-client confidentiality. Sometimes clients show your letters to others without realizing they can lose the attorney-client privilege of that communication. Add this phrase at the top of the letter to remind them not to do this:3 b6 {- S- }4 Z3 R% o" C
CONFIDENTIAL ATTORNEY-CLIENT COMMUNICATION
l2 M' D1 Q& U8 v/ a DO NOT COPY OR DISCLOSE TO ANYONE ELSE9 M q N8 A! E' M1 W2 @1 r- B
If the letter is written during or in anticipation of litigation, the following phrase can be used:
; {8 Q1 e# u0 s1 L4 F CONFIDENTIAL ATTORNEY-CLIENT COMMUNICATION( u2 n+ q9 u$ s( E4 g) Y
AND WORK PRODUCT
3 n' C2 ~8 R4 D) r- r2 X4 z DO NOT COPY OR DISCLOSE TO ANYONE ELSE
- W# y: q0 J: Y i* S" e Be sure to use the recipient's correct legal name and address. Your letter may be relied upon for its accuracy, so be accurate. Verification of names can be obtained from the public records, the phone book, or the webstes. And when it comes to middle initials, never rely on your memory or guess at it because most of the time you'll be wrong.8 e. {# }( {+ a
Indicate the method of delivery if other than mail. If being faxed, include the fax number and telephone number. If being sent by FedEx, state whether it is by overnight or second day. If being sent by email, state the email address. This will make it easy for your staff person to send it to the correct place, and it will document for your file how it was sent.0 }% e. ]% ?- k4 A
Include a fax notice. When sending by fax, include a notice in case it is sent to the wrong number. Here is the notice I use at the top of my letterhead when sending a fax:8 d" e$ L4 h* R) \& M6 z( J7 m6 p
NOTICE: This is privileged and confidential and intended only for the person named below. If you are not that person, then any use, dissemination, distribution or copying of this is strictly prohibited, and you are requested to notify us immediately by calling or faxing us collect at the numbers above.
2 d7 b, ]2 S) O( x/ |' i Date Sent ________ Time Sent ________ Number of Pages ________7 I( p, P/ f/ ^
Person Who Conf'd Receipt _________
$ V$ G3 P2 r0 S, J/ D { After sending a fax, call the recipient to confirm receipt and write that person's name in the space provided. Never rely on the fax machine itself to confirm a fax transmission; fax machines do not yet have the credibility of a human witness.) F+ O1 P& P9 h6 k( |( K* Y
The Corpus of the Litterae
) O, U/ p8 T2 |2 M2 K The body of the letter is why you are writing it. You succeed by leaving the reader with full knowledge of why you wrote the letter and what it means. You fail by leaving the reader dumbfound and clueless as to why you sent such a letter. While most letters fall somewhere in between these two extremes, following these suggestions will keep your letters on the successful end of the scale.
/ T7 H) r4 k9 G4 y$ d/ J" ? Identify your client. It is important to let others know who is your client at the earliest opportunity. This accomplishes a great deal. First, it tells the reader that your client has a lawyer. This makes your client happy because most clients want the world to know they have a lawyer. Second, it tells the reader that you are not the reader's lawyer. This makes your malpractice carrier happy because it's one less person who's going to sue you claiming they thought you were representing them when, in fact, you were not. |
发表于 2012-8-16 09:04:37
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