Overview

Every letter that you write creates a permanent record of the information it contains. Accordingly, it is important to ensure that it accurately reflects your ideas and communicates in a way that satisfies the needs of your reader. Letters also convey an image of the writer and of his or her competence and professionalism. Clearly, it is in your interest to use your letters to create a positive impression. de Groot and Maxwell, Legal Letter Writing, 1994 Here's to plain language and clear understanding.Kaspar Gutman (Sydney Greenstreet) to Sam Slade (Humphrey Bogart), proposing a toast, in The Maltese Falcon. Give us the tools, and we will finish the job.Sir Winston ChurchillBroadcast address, 9 February 1941 Words are a lawyer's tools of trade. Precedents are the templates used to leverage the lawyer's skills and letters are the basic tools of legal practice. Yet often we put much more effort and sophistication into our computerised delivery systems than into our precedents. It takes time and skill to write letters that are concise and plain but also comprehensive and it is hard to find time to keep your letters up-to-date. This book of letters will test the legal profession's interest in practical tools to do the job by offering templates for that deceptively commonplace legal task called conveyancing. The letters are written by a lawyer keen on plain language and have been refined over 30 years of daily application. They can save you time, make you money and let you sleep more soundly at night by providing you and your staff with inbuilt checklists. They can help you build your reputation with your clients for thoroughness and clarity, while evincing and adding to the value of your services.

Full Product Details

9781862873339

Table of Contents

Reviews

LawCover's analysis of notifications against solicitors for the five years between 1995 and 1995 reveal the following: Poor communications with clients 55% (failed to adequately advise clients) 43% ... The overwhelming majority of claims still arise as a result of poor communications with clients and in particular from failure to adequately advise clients. Solicitors should always consider the risks of a transaction to the client and advise the client of those risks including the steps that can be taken to minimise them. In particular be cautious whenever a client opts to proceed without making enquiries or investigations that you feel should be made. In these circumstances record the terms of the advice and instructions in a file note and preferably confirm it in writing. Letters can be adopted from precedents contained in publications such as Garry Barnsley's Letters for Lawyers: Conveyancing. - LawCover Bulletin, March 2001 Very useful for conveyancing solicitors. Congratulations on its production and quality. - Professor Andrew Lang Precedent letters can be invaluable to a practitioner... As the author of this text rightly points out, despite their many virtues precedent letters are not as readily available as precedents for deeds, pleadings or agreements. It is this need for precedent letters that this text seeks to fulfil by providing a comprehensive set of precedent letters for the various steps involved in a conveyancing transaction as well as a few precedent letters for a leasing transaction. Conveyancing in particular is an area which is well suited to precedent letters as many of the same steps are repeated from file to file. The text is divided into three main sections, which contain precedents for conveyancing transactions when acting for a vendor or a purchaser followed by precedents for a lease transaction. The letters are presented in the order they would normally be required. A suggested coding for each letter is provided to enable easier access to the precedent letters once they have been transferred to a computer system. Paragraphs are numbered for ease of reference and optional paragraphs are also provided for inclusion where required... The conveyancing letters are quite extensive in their coverage... The [leasing] letters deal with many common clauses and situations and act as a valuable checklist... The text ... is based on NSW law... While some [letters] may be adapted by the insertion of parallel Victorian provisions, some are simply too different. The conveyancing procedure itself is also slightly different. However, there are many similarities and the precedents as a whole could still be useful as a basis for creating a set of Victorian precedents. The text will be a very valuable resource for NSW practitioners as it is comprehensive, well-presented and easy to adapt. - Law Institute Journal (Victoria), 2001

Precedent letters can be invaluable to a practitioner... As the author of this text rightly points out, despite their many virtues precedent letters are not as readily available as precedents for deeds, pleadings or agreements. It is this need for precedent letters that this text seeks to fulfil by providing a comprehensive set of precedent letters for the various steps involved in a conveyancing transaction as well as a few precedent letters for a leasing transaction. Conveyancing in particular is an area which is well suited to precedent letters as many of the same steps are repeated from file to file. The text is divided into three main sections, which contain precedents for conveyancing transactions when acting for a vendor or a purchaser followed by precedents for a lease transaction. The letters are presented in the order they would normally be required. A suggested coding for each letter is provided to enable easier access to the precedent letters once they have been transferred to a computer system. Paragraphs are numbered for ease of reference and optional paragraphs are also provided for inclusion where required... The conveyancing letters are quite extensive in their coverage... The [leasing] letters deal with many common clauses and situations and act as a valuable checklist... The text ... is based on NSW law... While some [letters] may be adapted by the insertion of parallel Victorian provisions, some are simply too different. The conveyancing procedure itself is also slightly different. However, there are many similarities and the precedents as a whole could still be useful as a basis for creating a set of Victorian precedents. The text will be a very valuable resource for NSW practitioners as it is comprehensive, well-presented and easy to adapt. - Law Institute Journal (Victoria), 2001

Author Information

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available