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Predictive Legal Analysis Guide

The document outlines the components of predictive legal writing. It discusses that predictive legal analysis includes memoranda, client letters, and legal opinions. The IRAC (Issue, Rule, Analysis, Conclusion) method is the most logical way to organize a predictive analysis. It describes each component of IRAC in detail: identifying the legal issue; stating the governing rule of law; analyzing the relevant facts of the case by applying the rule; and drawing a conclusion. Facts are distinguished from legal issues and different types of facts - determinative, explanatory, and coincidental - are also defined.

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Grczhl Gornes
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58 views7 pages

Predictive Legal Analysis Guide

The document outlines the components of predictive legal writing. It discusses that predictive legal analysis includes memoranda, client letters, and legal opinions. The IRAC (Issue, Rule, Analysis, Conclusion) method is the most logical way to organize a predictive analysis. It describes each component of IRAC in detail: identifying the legal issue; stating the governing rule of law; analyzing the relevant facts of the case by applying the rule; and drawing a conclusion. Facts are distinguished from legal issues and different types of facts - determinative, explanatory, and coincidental - are also defined.

Uploaded by

Grczhl Gornes
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Chapter Three

PREDICTIVE WRITING
Predictive legal Analysis
 It includes legal memorandum client letter or
legal opinion
 legal memorandum
◦ It predicts the outcome of a legal question by
analyzing the authorities that govern the question and
the relevant facts related to the rise of the legal
question
◦ It ends with offers of advice or with
recommendations
◦ It must be sensitive to the needs, level of interest and
background of the parties to whom it is addressed
 Ex: in memo to a colleague no need to define legal concepts
◦ It serves as a record of the research undertaken on a
given legal question
Paradigm of Predictive Writing
 IRAC rule is the most logical, expected
and acceptable method of organizing
predictive analysis
 IRAC stands for the following detail:
◦ I. identification of issues
◦ R. describing the rule
◦ A. analysis of facts
◦ C. describing the conclusion
Cont’d
 Issue: Identifying the problem to be solved
◦ An issue may be a pure legal question (issue of
law)
 It examines the scope or interpretation of a law or legal
principle irrespective of the facts under the case
 Ex: Whether our property law allows private ownership
of immovable property ?
◦ A fact based question (issue of fact)
 It examines how a law or legal principle applies to
particular facts
◦ An issue might be stated in the question or
conclusion (topic sentence) form
Cont’d
 Rule
◦ State the rule of law that governs the issue framed
 It places the rest of the analysis in context for the reader
 The rule may be prohibitive, mandatory or discretionary
◦ Organizing the application of a rule
 A rule is a structured idea: the presence of all the elements
causes the result and the absence of any of them cause’s the rule
not to operate
 So thorough analysis of the elements of the rule is very significant
 Ex: burglary consists of the following and each should be discussed
 a breaking
 and an entry
 of the dwelling
 of another
 in the nighttime
 with intent to commit a felony therein
Cont’d
 Analysis of Facts
◦ The process of application of rule starts with analysis of facts
◦ What is a fact?
 First you should identify the factual statements from the legal questions
 Factual questions are to be answered by looking the event happened on the ground
 Legal questions are to be answered by looking to the law
◦ The nonexistence of a fact can itself be a fact
 Where the law imposes the obligation to do
◦ Types of facts
 Determinative facts: are those which are essential for the court to
determine the controversy
 The change in such facts would cause the court to come to a different decision
 Explanatory facts: they help make sense out of a situation that would
otherwise seem disjointed
 Coincidental facts: they have no relevance or usefulness at all
 they merely happened
Cont’d
 Conclusion
◦ After applying the rule to the relevant facts,
the conclusion should be stated or restated(if
you have already stated it in your topic
sentence)
◦ It summarizes your prediction
◦ draw a conclusion only as to the issue under
discussion

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