• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Law School Toolbox®

All the tools you need for law school success

  • Tutoring
  • Courses
    • Start Law School Right
  • Job Help
  • Law School 101
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • About

How to Outline a Complex Legal Research Memo

May 11, 2022 By Tiffany Gee Ching Lo Leave a Comment

How to Outline a Complex Legal Research MemoAt some point in law school, you’ll be asked to draft a complex legal memo whether for a class, a clinic, a job, or an internship. This involves extensive research, digesting all the information, developing analysis, crafting arguments, and giving your recommendations. At the end, you will package all your work in a succinct but useful format for your professor, supervisor, or client.

Laying a solid foundation sets you up for success in a huge undertaking like this. Preparing an outline will help clarify your thinking and provide direction about the next steps in researching and writing. This consists of much more than brief bullet points; I envision a detailed outline that includes point headings, subheaders, key quotes, or takeaways from cases—or at the very least, placeholders for them.

This may sound like you’re just writing, but the exercise is actually segregating the thinking phase from the portion when you put things in prose. When you just focus on what you want to say versus how to say it, there is more mental capacity to produce the most persuasive of work. This will facilitate clear and concise writing in the next phase.

Here are some steps to take in outlining a memo:

Understand the key facts

A memo is most useful when it not only summarizes the law, but also applies legal rules to the unique facts and circumstances that brought you to this task. This necessarily assumes your deep familiarity with the underlying facts: the timeline of events, points of disagreement between individuals, and unknown or unclear details. After learning about everything, you must identify the key background information that someone needs to be persuaded by your arguments and set aside the unnecessary details. Insert an outline for a “Statement of Facts” section, which is where you lay out the essential facts to provide the necessary context for the remainder of the memo.

Do some preliminary research

Especially if you have little background knowledge of the substantive law, it is challenging to know whether your arguments are plausible and will be supported by the law. It is a good idea to start with a secondary source, like a treatise, which provides the landscape. You’ll learn about the basic concepts, any evolution in the courts’ thinking, the key precedents, and the unsettled questions in the field. From there, you will feel more equipped to put pen to paper and start a meaty outline.

Framing the legal question(s)

Do you remember reading a case where lawyers on two opposing sides phrase the issue drastically differently? Or notice that judges in the majority or dissent seem to be answering two different questions. How an advocate frames the issue, or how the court characterizes a question for its review, affects the outcome of the case. The same applies when writing a complex memo. How you frame the legal question will affect the legal standard and burden of proof. A good question also is specific to the case, incorporating some of the best facts for your side, and is a memorable question that your audience will hold in their minds. You would then structure of the rest of the memo with a feverish intent to show why your thesis, or your answer to the question is correct.

Lay out the key elements of the brief

After developing your main argument, you should brainstorm and develop the subpoints you need to make. Put the strongest points first, so that your audience knows the best reasons for your position early on. It is your job to convince your audience, so don’t expect them to expend energy to wade through your arguments.

When the subject matter involves many parts, structural tolls will help orient your readers and help them follow along. As you outline, consider including a roadmap, topic sentences, and transition paragraphs.

Additionally, make sure that you will address the counterarguments to your position. It is important to anticipate and address the other side’s contentions, even if you think they do not apply or are weak. You may choose to do this in a separate section, intertwined with your argument, or in footnotes.

Finally, you may want to include an “Additional Research” section on to next steps needed if your supervisor or client wants to explore a specific theory or line of argumentation. This may also be a good place to identify areas where your research did not yield clear answers, as this may present areas for further exploration and creative advocacy. Describe your research steps and provide an assessment based on your impressions of the courts’ approach and the trends in the area.

Revisit and revise

Outlining and writing are iterative processes. Get comfortable with going back if you’re not sure and don’t shy away when you find a “bad” case. If you feel stuck, stepping away can be helpful. You can take a break and come back with fresh eyes. Writing can be a lonely process, and it may help to talk to a research librarian or seek feedback from your supervisor or peers, keeping in mind attorney-client privilege of course.

I hope these ideas are helpful as you work toward your legal memo. For other ways to improve your legal writing, check out this article. Happy outlining!


 

Looking for some help to do your best in law school? Find out about our law school tutoring options.


About Tiffany Gee Ching Lo

Tiffany Gee Ching Lo is a student at Stanford Law School. She spent her 1L year at the New York University School of Law, where she was involved with Alternative Breaks, Women of Color Collective, and Law Revue, and worked as research assistant. Tiffany received her undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley, graduating magna cum laude with double majors in Political Science and Rhetoric. Tiffany developed an interest in the law from a young age, and have worked in law firms and courthouses in Hong Kong–where she grew up, around the San Francisco Bay Area, and in New York. In her spare time, Tiffany enjoys painting, playing the piano and cello, trying out new recipes, and watching late night talk shows.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

  • Podcast
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter

About Us

If you find law school tough, you are not alone! The Law School Toolbox team is here to help you through it. Check out our helpful free content, podcasts, courses and one-on-one tutoring. Thanks for stopping by and drop us a line if you have any questions. We also invite you to join our weekly mailing list, for advice right to your inbox.

Recent Posts

Podcast Microphone

Podcast Episode 343: Listen and Learn — Personal Jurisdiction (Civ Pro)

Welcome back to the Law School Toolbox podcast! In today's "Listen and Learn" episode, we look at the various ways of establishing whether a court has … Read More about Podcast Episode 343: Listen and Learn — Personal Jurisdiction (Civ Pro)

Use upperclass law students as resources: a list of questions you can ask

Use Upperclass Law Students as Resources: A List of Questions You Can Ask

Throughout law school, I have discovered things that are mysterious and tedious: from taking exams to choosing extracurriculars, from searching for … Read More about Use Upperclass Law Students as Resources: A List of Questions You Can Ask

Podcast Microphone

Podcast Episode 342: Real World Summer Job Situations (w/Sadie Jones)

Welcome back to the Law School Toolbox podcast! Today, we're talking with ex-BigLaw recruiter Sadie Jones about how to deal with difficult work … Read More about Podcast Episode 342: Real World Summer Job Situations (w/Sadie Jones)

How to Outline a Complex Legal Research Memo

How to Outline a Complex Legal Research Memo

At some point in law school, you’ll be asked to draft a complex legal memo whether for a class, a clinic, a job, or an internship. This involves … Read More about How to Outline a Complex Legal Research Memo

Podcast Microphone

Podcast Episode 341: Listen and Learn — Contract Defenses

Welcome back to the Law School Toolbox podcast! In today's episode, we're talking about contract defenses, including mistake, fraudulent … Read More about Podcast Episode 341: Listen and Learn — Contract Defenses

Want Better Law School Grades?

Sign Up for Our Exam Tips!

Footer

  • Podcast
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Tutoring
  • Courses
  • Job Help
  • About
  • Contact
  • Login
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Refunds

Copyright 2022 Law School Toolbox®™