In english, is professor emeritus of rhetoric and english at armstrong atlantic state university and the author of two grammar and composition textbooks for college freshmen, writing exercises macmillan and passages: a writer 39 s guide st. Read more an acronym for issue, rule or relevant law , application or analysis , and conclusion. The irac format, when followed in the preparation of a legal memorandum, helps ensure the clear communication of the complex subject matter of legal issue analysis. 34 34 i whether a bailment for the mutual benefit of rough amp touch and howard existed. r a pawn is a form of bailment, made for the mutual benefit of bailee and bailor, arising when goods are delivered to another as a pawn for security to him on money borrowed by the bailor.

The court found that a bailment for mutual benefit did arise because the plaintiff pawned a ring as collateral for a $70 loan given to him by the defendant. id. a in our problem, howard pawned her ring as collateral to secure an $800 loan given to her by rough amp tough. c therefore, howard and rough amp tough probably created a bailment for mutual benefit.

Aspen, 2010 34 when faced with a fairly simple legal problem, all the irac elements may fit into a single paragraph. For example, you might wish to set out the issue and the rule of law in one paragraph, the analysis for the plaintiff in a second paragraph, and the analysis for the defendant and your conclusion in a third paragraph, and the transitional phrase or sentence in the first sentence of yet a fourth paragraph. Eimermann, introduction to paralegal studies: a critical thinking approach. Asen, 2010 the relationship between irac and court opinions 34 irac stands for the components of legal analysis: issue, rule, application, and conclusion. Do the judges follow irac? yes they do, although often in highly stylized formats. In almost every court opinion, judges: identify the legal issues to be resolved the i of irac interpret statutes and other rules the r of irac provide reasons why the rules do or do not apply to the facts the a of irac and conclude by answering the legal issues through holdings and a disposition the c of irac. A judge may not use all of the language of irac, may use different versions of irac, and may discuss the components of irac in a different order.

King intends on lying in the upcoming litigation if asked if he had any alcohol prior to the accident? ii. After consulting with king and he still intends on lying on the stand, can doe withdraw from the case? i. Can doe make a false statement of material fact or law to a court and fail to disclose a material fact necessary to avoid assisting king in a criminal or fraudulent act and offer false evidence? the first relevant aba model rules of professional conduct rpc is rule 1.6 confidentiality of information. Rule 1.6 a prohibits a lawyer from revealing information relating to the representation of a client unless the client gives informed consent, the disclosure is impliedly authorized in order to carry out the representation or the disclosure is permitted by b where a lawyer may reveal information relating to the representation of a client to the extent the lawyer reasonably believes necessary.

The second rpc to be considered is rule 1.16 declining or terminating representation. Rule 1.16 a 1 prohibits the continuing representation of a client when the representation will result in a violation of the rules of professional conduct. Rule 3.3 a , b and c prohibit a lawyer from making a false statement of material fact or law to a court and from failing to disclose a material fact necessary to avoid assisting the client in a criminal or fraudulent act.

These words represent the stages of the most commonly accepted way to organize a written legal analysis: first, articulate an important legal issue or question next, state and explain the relevant legal rule next, apply the rule to your facts finally, conclude by explicitly answering the question or taking a position on the issue. Irac is the most popular form of organization because it is usually the one that makes it easiest for the reader to follow your analysis. Following the irac structure will provide a framework around which to organize your writing, thus making your discussion easier to write and read. Crracc is an elaborated form of irac: conclusion, rule, rule proof, application, counterargument, conclusion. The rr reminds you to state the relevant legal rule as you have synthesized it from the sources of legal authority i.e.

Constitutions, statutes, regulations, and decisional or common law , and then support this rule statement with some organized explanation and discussion of the legal authority upon which the rule statement is based i.e. Contrary approaches to the way you have synthesized the rule or applied the rule to your facts, before stating your conclusion. To reiterate, as a legal writer, you will be presented with a set of facts and will be expected to answer legal questions about them in either a predictive or a persuasive voice unless your task is to draft legislation, a will, or an agreement, which involves a different set of writing, analytic, and planning skills that are beyond the scope of this discussion.

As a law student, sometimes you will be asked to write something that addresses a narrow range of issues e.g. A short memo sometimes you will be asked to spot all the legal issues you can and then address them e.g. Larger legal questions can usually be broken down into a series of smaller ones, such that you can break off each component sub question in turn, irac it, dispose of it, and then turn your full attention to the next sub question. As you tease apart the sub questions, you must define and organize them in a way that covers all the relevant legal rules and also makes it easy for the reader to follow. A good legal analysis of a set of facts is usually structured as a series of irac or crracc units.

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Finally, try to remember that the irac structure is a guideline, and that all of the comments in this document are also guidelines. They exist to help you reason in a more orderly way and to allow that reasoning to be as understandable and accessible to your reader as possible. If you feel as though the application of one of these guidelines would create obscurity or confusion in your writing, then do not apply it at times it may be preferable to modify slightly this suggested structure. Your goal is to reason in a deep and well organized way, and to write so as to convey your reasoning clearly. The direct contact element of the special relationship doctrine arises from the notion that a municipality owes a special duty of protection to those individuals to whom it has promised protection rather than to society at large. The direct contact requirement serves to reinforce the policy goal of limiting the class of persons with whom a municipality will be determined to have a special relationship and to whom it may be held financially liable. Direct contact is met when the plaintiff has actual contact with a municipal agent.

1 however, 2 courts have treated the element with flexibility based on the peculiar circumstances of each case, all of which must be considered in light of the policies underlying the narrow special duty doctrine. Thus, 3 courts have found direct contact satisfied by various third parties acting on behalf of a victim. For instance, 4 the direct contact requirement has been met by spouses and parents making contact on behalf of a related victim and by unrelated third parties who share a common interest in protection under circumstances in which the third party communicates assurances of protection to the victim. Contact made by adults on behalf of their spouses or minor children satisfies the direct contact requirement.

69 n.y.2d at 261 262 finding direct contact when one member of a household reported to the police a threat by his neighbors that extended to all of his family members living with him in the household, although these other family members did not have actual contact with the police sorichetti v. 65 n.y.2d 461 1985 finding direct contact when mother who had obtained an order of protection against her estranged husband reported to police that her husband had issued threats and had failed to return their six year old daughter after a visitation period stata v. 225 a.d.2d 163 1996 finding direct contact when husband reported to firefighters that his wife was trapped in burning building. 6 the relaxation of the direct contact requirement for children and members of the same household is a logical result of the equitable goals of the doctrine. 7 implicit in this extension of the exception for third party contact is the determination that related adults and minor children share the same interests, and therefore a promise of protection elicited by one party satisfies the direct contact element for the other party. 8 the requisite contact is also satisfied when non familial parties make actual contact with the police and elicit a promise of protection on behalf of a group of similarly situated individuals. 217 a.d.2d 934 1995 holding that two bar patrons who, along with the bartender at the establishment, had been threatened by another patron, had satisfied direct contact when the bartender alone elicited a promise of protection from police officers that, in the context of the situation, covered the two bar patrons.

Direct contact was found under these circumstances on the theory that the victims were in the zone of danger along with the party who made contact with police. id. 10 the sufficiency of third party contact has also depended on whether the third party, serving as the victim's agent, communicated the promise of police protection to the victim. 173 a.d.2d 454 1991 holding that a contractor's employee who communicated to the plaintiff property owner a firefighter's assurances that a fire on the property had been extinguished established the requisite contact by acting on behalf of the plaintiff. 12 a weak rule proof is one that contains irrelevant information, delays or omits relevant information, or omits a statement about the relevance of the case to the rule. Sometimes new legal writers have trouble judging which case facts are relevant such writers often over elaborate, and thus distract the reader with details. Sometimes the writer will have a sense that a case is relevant but is not completely sure how, and so cannot do a good job of explaining the relevance.

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