how to write a legal advice essay

How To Write A Legal Advice Essay

As a law student you may be required to produce a legal advice essay. Whilst like any good, well structured essay your work should have an introduction, body and conclusion, a legal advice essay has a slightly different purpose than for example, a compare and contrast, or critical review essay. It is important to remember that the core aim of a legal advice essay is to convey, in precise, plain, and comprehensible English the advice which you need to convey.

The type of language used is also crucial, an effective legal advice does not use archaic language or legalese, because the main purpose is to communicate. However, do not oversimplify the advice being given, particularly if there is a need to deliver very specialised legal advice. In effect, your legal advice essay should say what needs to be said in a clear, coherent way. Technical terms may be unavoidable but should be clearly explained so that the reader understands.

The key word for legal advice essays is clarity. Legal advice and opinions are often developed through assessment of complicated sets of facts. These need to be sorted into specific legal issues and relevant definitions at the planning stage of your essay.

Planning Your Legal Advice Essay

If you plan thoroughly you will naturally have a logical structure. You may wish to state a legal opinion to get across a point, but that point may require breaking down into sections. Before writing your essay therefore, it is important to identify each of these sections (points) so that the opinions stated are justified and explained effectively. Along with clarity, be concise.

Legal advice essays usually come with a series of questions and accompanying documents related to the case being consider. It is important on reviewing the documents to identify the recipient of the advice, from the essay title. For example, a solicitor wishing to give a client advice, or direct to the client. A key point at this stage, if considering advice from the client perspective is whether the case is viable, so that a client is not misled about the potential of success if they are requesting advice on commencing legal proceedings. In other words, pros and cons of a particular action are important in a legal advice essay but there must be clear opinion and advice provided, for example a percentage chance of success.

A subsequent part of the planning process is organisation of facts, and how the advice given will be focused on these. Once the salient facts and evidence have been identified they should be placed in an order (frequently chronological works best in law essays), and a legal framework constructed. With the planning complete, you should be in a position to understand clearly what advice will be provided, why it is provided and the format you are choosing to present the advice, enabling you to write your advice essay.

Writing your legal advice essay

Introduction.

Your introduction should be clear, concise, and set out the main facts of the case, and the reasons for the need for advice to be given. The introduction should also contain an overview of the advice that will be provided, in a concise (one or two sentences), and the legal framework that will be used.

As with all essays, the body text should be separated into one paragraph per point / fact, using the logical structure set out in your plan, which incorporates all the points and facts needed to be made. Each paragraph should have a note of the point or fact, the legal framework (where appropriate) and the opinion of the writer on the facts, along with a rationale and justification for the advice given. These should be backed up with appropriately cited references that are listed at the end of the essay.

Important Note:  In all law advice works, whether essay or other reports, there are some structural rules that need to be followed to provide consistency across all legal papers. For example, liability comes before quantum and if there are multiple dependents, each one’s liability should be covered before moving to quantum.

Throughout a legal advice essay note that unless specifically required in the essay title, basic principles of law do not need to be stated. It is here that recognition of the audience for the essay is important, although where an opinion is based on a specific case then the basis of that case’s judgement would need to be included in your justification and rationale. Similar rules apply in relation to quote statute – unless there is statutory provision which deals directly with the subject of the essay there is no need to quote statute as part of the legal opinion.

Furthermore, the validity of legal argument and thus advice in law comes from the source and precedent, not from opinion. Source in law refers to who made the statement or judgement not simply what was said.  In law there are two main authorities – binding and unbinding authorities.  The first emanates from case law or legislation, whilst the second comes from Public Policy, Legal commentary, Dissenting judgements, Reform Proposals, and International Law.  A perfect law advice essay will benefit from using binding and non-binding (or persuasive authorities) as sources, provided they are justifiable and can be defended in the final opinion/advice.

Conclusion “Next Steps”

Other essay formats will normally end with a conclusion. However, a legal advice essay should end with a “next steps” paragraph which means essentially a “call to action”. In other words, instructing the reader of what should be done next to ensure the advice given leads to legal success.

So, for a legal advice essay remember: Plan, Structure, Clarity, Conciseness, and Justification of opinion are the key components for success.  To help you achieve the perfect law advice essay here are some key phrases that can help you achieve cohesion and academic excellence.

Key phrases for the introduction and body text

• This question deals with …
• The principal issue raised by this question …
• The main issue is whether…
• The issues to be considered are …
• The problem also raises the issue of
• On the facts presented, it can be argued that …
• It would seem, (therefore), that …
• It is possible that …
• It could be argued that …
• It would appear that…

Key phrases for the conclusion

• From the evidence examined, it is my advice that…
• It is therefore recommended that…
• Based on the facts presented and their evaluation, the best course of action is to …

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How to write a legal advice essay

Founded by a collective of barristers, solicitors, and academic legal experts, PreferLaw began as a conversation over how to bridge the gap between legal professionals and the lay public.

You may have to create a legal advice essay as a law student. Although a well-structured essay must have an introduction and body, as with any other good essay, a legal essay serves a different purpose. Remember that the main purpose of a legal essay is to convey in plain, concise, and understandable English the advice you wish to give.

Language is crucial. An effective legal advice doesn’t use legalese. If you are required to give very specific legal advice , don’t simplify what is being said. The legal advice essay should state what is needed to be said in a clear and coherent manner. While technical terms may not be avoided, they should be clearly explained to ensure that the reader is able to understand them.

Clearness is key to legal advice essays. Many legal opinions and advice are based on complex sets of facts. These must be divided into specific legal issues.

Plan Your Legal Advice Essay

A logical structure will emerge naturally if you plan carefully. It is possible to express a legal opinion in order to convey a point. This may mean that you will need to break down the points into sections. Therefore, it is important that you identify all points (sections) before writing an essay. This will allow you to justify and explain your opinion clearly. Clarity is key. Be concise.

The legal advice essays are usually accompanied by a series of questions as well as supporting documents. The essay title should be read carefully to determine who the recipient is. An example of this is a solicitor who wishes to give advice to clients or direct to clients. The client’s perspective is crucial at this stage. It is essential that the case is feasible so that the client isn’t misled about the possibility of success. In other words, while pros and cons are important to consider in a legal advisory essay, it is also crucial that clear opinion and advice be provided. For example, a percentage of success.

Organisation of facts and the focus of advice is an important part of planning. After the main facts and evidence are identified, they must be arranged in a chronological order. Then a legal framework can be constructed. After the planning process is completed, you should understand the nature of the advice you will receive, the reasons for it, and the format in which you plan to present it.

Writing your legal advice essay

Introduction.

Your introduction should be short and concise. It should outline the key facts of the case and the reasons that advice is required. A brief summary of the advice provided should be included in the introduction.

Text in the body

The body text should, as with all essays be broken down into one paragraph per fact or point. You can use the logical structure that you have created in your plan to include all facts and points. Each paragraph should contain a note explaining the point/fact, the legal framework, and the opinion of each writer. These should be backed-up with properly cited references which are listed at end of essay.

Important note: All law advice documents, essays or reports, must adhere to certain structural rules to ensure consistency across all legal papers. Quantum is not possible if there are multiple dependents. Each one should be protected before moving on to quantum.

It is not necessary to state basic principles of law in a legal advice essay, unless this is stated explicitly in the essay title. This is where audience recognition is key. However, when an opinion is based upon a particular case, then the basis for that case’s judgment would need to be explained and justified. Similar rules apply when quoting statute. Except where the statute directly deals with the subject of your essay, you don’t need to quote it as part of the legal opinions.

Additionally, legal arguments and advice in law are based on the source and precedence, and not opinions. Source in law refers both to the source and the judgment made, not just what was said. There are two types of law authorities: binding and unbinding. The first is derived from legislation and case law. The second is drawn from Public Policy, Legal commentary, Dissenting decisions, Reform Proposals, International Law, and International Law. If they can be defended in final opinions/advices, a perfect law advice essay will include both binding and persuasive (or persuasive authority) sources.

Conclusion “Next Steps”

The conclusion will be included in other essay formats. Legal advice essays should have a conclusion. It is called a “next steps” paragraph. The goal is to instruct the reader on what next to take to ensure that the advice provided leads to legal success.

The key components of a successful legal advice essay include Clarity, Clarity, Clarity, Conciseness and Justification. Here are key phrases to help you achieve academic excellence and cohesion in your law advice essay.

• Key phrases for the introduction & body text
• This question deals
• This question is the main issue.
• The key issue is whether
• What issues should be considered
• This raises the question.
• Based on the facts, it is possible to argue.
• It would seem (therefore).
• It is possible
• It could be argued.
• It would appear
• The key phrases to the conclusion
• It is my recommendation based on the evidence.
• It is highly recommended.
• Based on the facts and their evaluation, what is the best course?

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