Writer’s choice
You’ll turn in your capstone project at the end of this program, but you’ll want to begin working on it now. The project involves creating a complete litigation file, including a legal analysis brief, investigative report, client interview checklist, intake memo, complaint, legal research, and an interoffice memorandum of law.
This project is worth 30% of your grade and will take a good amount of time to complete.
We can do it today.
For your capstone project, you’ll apply what you learn in Chapters 7 through 12 of your Introduction to Paralegalism textbook, creating a complete litigation file for the Brown vs. Hammond case:
Brown v. Hammond, 810 F. Supp 644, United States Eastern District, Pennsylvania 1993. Page 262 in your textbook.
Your litigation file will include seven items:
Legal analysis brief
Investigative report
Client interview checklist
Intake memo
Complaint
Legal research, traditional and computer-aided
Interoffice memorandum of law
You’ll use the checklists, exhibits, terminology, and references from the textbook to prepare the required documents for your file.
Your complete project is due at the end of this program. Because this is such a large project, you should put yourself on a schedule to finish each component after you’ve read the referenced textbook chapter. Contact your instructor if you have any questions or if you need any assistance.
Legal Analysis Brief (Introduction to Paralegalism, Chapter 7)
A legal analysis brief is a summary of a case. The brief includes the essential parts of a court opinion, such as the facts, issues, holding, and reasoning.
Complete a comprehensive and thumbnail brief. Refer to Exhibits 7.14 and Exhibit 7.15 and the Comprehensive Brief of People v. Bruni on pages 349-350) as a guide.
Investigative Report, Fact Particularization (Introduction to Paralegalism, Chapters 8 and 9)
Fact particularization is a technique for generating a list of factual questions that will help you obtain a comprehensive picture of all available facts relevant to a legal issue.
Your investigative report will be a fact particularization. Read the facts the Brown v. Hammond et al case (page 262), and particularize each fact using the categories of questions in Exhibit 8.5, page 373. Once you’ve completed the fact particularization, organize the information into a memorandum for the fictional law office (Stewart Law Office) with the following opening elements:
To: Attorney Stewart
From: Your name
Date: The date the memorandum is prepared
Subject: Investigative Report: Brown v. Hammond et al
Client Interview Checklist (Introduction to Paralegalism, Chapter 8)
Create a list of at least 20 initial questions and 10 follow-up questions that you would ask Ms. Brown. Use at least one example of each kind of question explained in Exhibit 8.11, page 385-387. Label each question according to its type: open-ended, close-ended, or other.
Intake memo (Introduction to Paralegalism, Chapter 8)
Prepare an intake memo for Brown v. Hammond. You need only create an intake memo for Ms. Brown, who has come to your fictional law office (Stewart Law Office) seeking representation. Addresses, phone numbers, and other personal information should be fictional. Use the layout described in your textbook on pages 368-369, and you may refer to Exhibit 8.3 on page 369 as a guide.
Complaint (Introduction to Paralegalism, Chapter 10)
A complaint is the pleading filed by the plaintiff, which states a claim or cause of action against the defendant.
Draft a complaint for wrongful termination against defendant Attorney Robert Hammond. Refer to Exhibit 10.6, page 469, as a guide. Hint: Use both your legal analysis brief and fact particularization to complete the complaint body.
Legal Research: Traditional and Computer Aided (Introduction to Paralegalism, Chapters 11 and 13)
Use Westlaw computer-aided legal research to find and cite the following applicable authorities for the Brown v. Hammond case: three mandatory authorities discussed in the case, and three persuasive authorities relevant to the case.
Using the Westlaw Key Cite feature, key cite the case (citation 810 F.Supp. 644). Are there any negative citing sources? If so, provide the case citations, and briefly discuss the basis for the negative citations.
If you have access to traditional legal research sources via a law library or court library, you may use those, as well.
Interoffice Memorandum of Law (Introduction to Paralegalism, Chapter 12)
An interoffice memorandum objectively analyzes the law. This memorandum is written for the supervising attorney or other individuals in your law office.
Prepare an Interoffice Memorandum of Law using all research you gathered. Address the memorandum to Attorney Stewart. Refer to the sample Interoffice Memorandum of Law on pages 336-339 as a guide.
