PA 205- Unit 7
Outlining & Organization
Let’s Review a Bit
So Far, we have been given one format to follow: FIRAC
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FIRAC is an acronym for:
Facts
Issues
Rule of Law
Analysis
Conclusion
Every case brief includes each piece. The
operative phase here is “case brief”– if you think
it’s the format for the final Project…you are
wrong
Then, in Chapter 6 we learned a new
format for inter office memorandums
Statement of the Facts
 Questions Presented
 Brief Answers
 Applicable Statute
 Discussion
 Conclusion
 This is our required format for the Final
Project
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Now we have the IRAC format
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FIRAC without the “F” (nothing to learn
here– just leave out the facts section,
right?
– WRONG
IRAC 4 elements
Issue – the legal question that the court is
being asked / will be asked to decide
 Rule – the rule of law or legal principle
that defines or governs the issue
 Application – the explanation of how the
legal rule should apply to the facts
 Conclusion – summary of your analysis of
the issue
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So what’s the differnce Capt’n
Jack??
Answer: It depends on how you
want to use the information
FIRAC is used for briefs of cases
 The interoffice memo is used to analyze
applicable cases and statutes as the apply
to our client’s case so as to predict an out
come (it also records and analyzes the law
applicable to the client’s situation for
reference by newcomers to the case)
 IRAC is used for the most difficult section
of the interoffice memorandum– the
discussion section
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In other words…
Each format is used for particular reasons
 Each format organizes information in a
form that Law Pros (legal professors,
judges, attorneys, paralegals, etc)
universally recognize
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Large Scale v. Small Scale
Organization
Perform a Large Scale Organization of
your paper first.
 Determine how many separate legal issues
you are going to discuss.
 Remember, no more than 3 issues for the
Final Memo.
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Large Scale Organization
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Think of this as a view of the paper from
outer space.
Example: Large Scale
Organization for the
Complete Final Memo
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
Statement of Facts
Questions Presented
Short Answers
Applicable Statutes
Discussion
Conclusion
Example: Large Scale
Organization for
the Discussion Section
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
Introduction
Issue Number 1 (e.g. Intoxication)
Issue Number 2 (e.g. Undue Influence)
Issue Number 3 (e.g. Damages under
the statute referenced in Memo)
Conclusion
Small Scale Organization
After you have created the Large Scale
Organization, fill in each section with
greater detail.
 The detail for each section will come from
basic paragraph format structure and from
the cases and the Memo in Doc Sharing.
.
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Small Scale Organization
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Think of this as a magnification of the
view from space.
Let’s look at an example
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Our client, I.M. Bibe, recently got his year end
bonus of $150,00. He and two other co workers
went out to lunch to celebrate at a local pub.
They ordered a few bottles of wine. Mr. Lotts
notices the celebration and approaches Mr. Bibe
with an offer to sell his small cafe . Mr. Bibe
says he’s not really interested, but Mr. Lott
continues to make his pitch, pointing out the
café makes $300,000 a year and he has the
books with him
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Mr. Lott also buys the group another bottle of
wine (although he is not drinking). About the
time Bibe and his co workers finish their 4th
bottle of wine, Mr. Bibe tells Lott “What the
heck… I’ve always wanted a small business
investment”. Lott then draws up a contract for
the sale. Bibe signs the contract and then drives
20 miles home. He takes a nap, and when he
wakes up, he remembers everything. He comes
to our office to see if he can get out of the
contract
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Our research pulls up a statute and 5 cases addressing
contracts entered while a person is under the influence.
The statute says a person entirely without understanding
at the time he/she enters a contract is not bound by the
contract. The cases all point out that voluntary
intoxication does not automatically relieve a person of
their duties under a contract they entered while
intoxicated. The cases include Guidici v Guidici, wherein
a person was relied of his contract obligation because it
was found that he was intoxicated to the point he was
entirely without understanding at the time he entered
the contract. The case also address fraud, undue
influence and lack of consideration as factors to be
considered
Putting It All Together
The following is an example of a combined large scale and small scale
outline for the final memo:
I.
Statement of Facts
A. Topic Sentence: “You have asked me to research….based on
the following facts…”
B. Relevant Legal Facts Paragraphs from the Bibe Memo
II.
Questions Presented
A. Legal Issue 1
B. Legal Issue 2
C. Legal Issue 3
III.
Short Answers
A. Short Answer 1
B. Short Answer 2
C. Short Answer 3
Putting It All Together (cont’d)
IV.
V.
Applicable Statutes
A. Quote the relevant statute from the Bibe memo using proper
Bluebook citation format.
Discussion
A. Introduction
1.
Topic Sentence “There are 3 legal issues that must be
considered…”
2.
Supporting Sentences
3.
Concluding Sentence
B. Legal Issue 1 (e.g. Intoxication)
1. Identify the rule from a case or statute:
“A person who at the time of making a contract is
completely intoxicated may avoid his contract notwithstanding the fact that his
intoxicated condition may have been caused by his voluntary act and not by the
contrivance of the other party to the contract. ...“
2. “In the case of Guidici v Guidice, citation, ….”
3. “Similarly, in the Bibe case, Mr. Bibe was also drinking at the time
he …. “However, in the Guidici case, the plaintiff had been drinking
f rom ten to to weeks prior to the signing…”
4. “Other court has held that …”
5. “On balance, a court will likely find…”
Putting It All Together (cont’d)
C. Legal Issue 2
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
D. Legal Issue 3
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
E. Conclusion of Discussion Section
1.
2.
3.
Topic Sentence
Supporting Sentences
Concluding Sentence
Putting It All Together (cont’d)
VI.
Conclusion / Recommendations
based on entire memo (1 short
paragraph)
“Based upon the facts, applicable
statute and relevant case law…..”
Questions?
This week’s assignment
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Practice IRAC
This week you will use the IRAC paradigm to discuss the
legal issues raised by your client’s fact pattern. For each
legal issue (i.e., each element of the statute to be
proved or each question that the court will be asked to
decide), you will draft an IRAC section that:
States the issue
Identifies and explains the rule that governs that issue
Applies the rule to your client’s facts
Concludes with a prediction about how the issue will be
decided
Questions?