The purpose of legal reports, also known as legal memoranda, is to state and explain the legal and factual events and concepts in a case. Typically, the writing is done by junior paralegals or students who study law and write them for practice. In order to avoid asking for legal report writing help, we have prepared instructions and… Read More »

The purpose of legal reports, also known as legal memoranda, is to state and explain the legal and factual events and concepts in a case. Typically, the writing is done by junior paralegals or students who study law and write them for practice. In order to avoid asking for legal report writing help, we have prepared instructions and tips for you on how to write such legal documents.

As a rule, legal reports can be written in a simple neutral-explanatory style or in the form of persuasion. In the second case, such reports carry a specific purpose, not just informing. So, how to actually write them?

The Question-Presented Unit

In the first section, you should detail the issue or case to be analyzed and support it with facts. You should always research the law first and then draw your conclusions on the question presented. It should always reflect the application of the laws to the issue at hand.

Thus, your “Question Presented” section should include the legal issues, identifying the applicable law and the major issues in the question format.

The Brief Answer Unit

This section includes your brief conclusion to the questions you outlined in the first unit. You must answer questions such as:

  • What does the law say about these cases, and have there been similar cases?
  • How can these issues be resolved?

Your answers to the questions should be short and clear.

Statement of Facts Unit

The next section should include facts that are relevant to the case. This data explains to the reader why the court is considering the claim. If it is an informative report and you are giving the facts to the lawyer for an objective evaluation, then you simply state the data directly. If the report is persuasive, you must provide the facts from your client’s perspective.

The section should include all relevant facts, even those that don’t support your client’s position but oppose it. Feel free to omit those facts that cannot affect the court’s decision or do not affect the legal aspects of the case.

Discussion Unit

This is a good time to get to the main body of your legal memorandum. In it, you must present and explain to the reader the relevant laws of the case and apply them to the facts of the case.

If you have provided more than one question in the Question Present unit, you should organize each question according to the legal topic at hand and use subheadings. At the beginning of each legal question, you should be sure to indicate the rule of law you plan to use and then apply it to the facts.

Unit Conclusion

Make the conclusion of your legal report as concise and simple as possible. Just state the predicted outcome of the case. In the United States, legal precedent governs outcomes. Thus, old cases will influence new ones.

You should not introduce new arguments and facts in conclusion. Your goal is to determine which side will win and why. This should be practically obvious to you after analyzing the relevant legal rules, laws and matching them with the facts. You should also state in conclusion the expected relief that the court will award to the winning party.

Tips for writing legal documents

  • Use the active voice: the subject did something, not something was done by the subject. For example, “Miranda discovered the broken window,” not “The broken window was discovered by Miranda”;
  • Avoid double negatives;
  • Use the Oxford comma when listing items such as judges, magistrates, and clients.
  • Don’t get carried away with adjectives and adverbs. You are not writing a literature essay, but a legal report;
  • Watch the grammar and the use of tenses. When describing events, they use the past tense more often, but the present also occurs;
  • Use gender terminology with caution, and better use the universal “they”;
  • Forget about hyperbole, epithets, metaphors, and slang. All these expressions are inappropriate;
  • Use specific numbers, dates, and times.

Editing and proofreading

Working on a legal report does not end with writing. You must carefully proofread, check, and edit your text. For example, you should always double-check the names of legal acts, regulations, and laws and all of the legal information you provide.

Your report can be as logical and correct as possible in terms of law and structure but repel with its errors. That’s why every author needs to know grammar and spelling. Not surprisingly, lawyers who make such simple mistakes are often considered unreliable and inattentive to detail.

If you find it difficult to check documents on your own, you can always use paid and free services or even call on the services of professional proofreaders and editors. If you can no longer find errors in your work, try reading it backwards or out loud. Such methods often help you focus on the words individually rather than the context.


  1. Law Library: Notes and Study Material for LLB, LLM, Judiciary and Entrance Exams
  2. Legal Bites Academy – Ultimate Test Prep Destination
Updated On 29 Oct 2021 12:55 PM GMT
Mayank Shekhar

Mayank Shekhar

Mayank is an alumnus of the prestigious Faculty of Law, Delhi University. Under his leadership, Legal Bites has been researching and developing resources through blogging, educational resources, competitions, and seminars.

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