Write a business letter to Elissa Bateman. She is a partner in a two-lawyer general practice firm — Bateman & Lara. They have a secretary, but no paralegal. Your letter will convince Ms. Bateman that she should hire a paralegal (not you in particular, but just that she should hire a paralegal) to work in her office. Bateman & Lara is located at 2402 Commonwealth, suite 100, Houston Tx 77006. This letter should be 1-2 pages in length. Do not make up a backstory. In a business letter, a colon should always follow the salutation. Make sure that your first sentences are interesting enough to make the lawyer want to read the rest of the letter. Use a lot “you” statements and avoid “I” statements, especially in the opening sentences. Don’t show disrespect for the secretary in your letter. You do not have to say negative things, or really anything, about the secretary in order to promote hiring a paralegal. Do not use lists or bullet points. Do not use quotes from someone else. The entire letter should be in your own words. Normal margins. Do not use the word “very.” Single spaced or double spaced. Addresses are always single spaced. No quadruple spacing anywhere in the letter, so if you double space, be sure to indent paragraphs. No exclamation points in a business letter. Write in a way that will engage and interest your reader. Any time you write, you are writing with the hope that it will be read.
Complete the Consumer Law Exercise (on dropbox). For this assignment, please bold or color your answers. The best way to find these answers is to go to the Houston Bar Association website and use the Consumer Law Handbook that is available there.
Draft the Contracts Memo, using the directions and format on the class dropbox. I recommend doing this assignment first so that it’s definitely ready for midweek.
Complete the Investigation Exercise 1, on the class dropbox. Do not talk to anyone (except me) about this assignment.
Read the Mock Trial. Read it carefully. Take some notes. Starting this next weekend, every test may have mock trial questions included.
For next weekend, you may want to print out the Litigation, ADR, Legal Research, Legal Writing, and Discovery power points.
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All homework must be typed using Times New Roman font, 12 point size.
Homework turned in after the date and time it is due is subject to a ten-point deduction per class day.
Homework may not be turned in more than one week late.
