Chapter 8 Legal interviewing Flashcards
- the act of hiring or engaging the services of someone, usually a professional.
- An amount of money or other property paid by a client as a deposit as a deposit or advance against future fees, costs and expenses of providing services.
Retainer
A letter that identifies the scope of services to be provided by a professional and the payments to be made for such services.
engagement letter
(1) an individual, business, or other organization with resources to pay a potential judgement. (2) sufficient assets for this purpose
Deep Pocket
A letter sent to a prospective client that explicitly states that the law office will not be representing him or her.
letter of nonengagement
a formal rejection
declination
a law stating rthat civil or criminal actions are barred if not brought within a specified period of time.
statutue of limitations
the person being interviewed
interviewee
a memorandum that summarizes the facts given by a client during the initial client interview.
intake memo
concerning (in re in the title of a court opinion means “in the matter of”.
re
a reason that is legally sufficient to obtain a remedy or other result
ground
the application of one or more rules to the facts of a clients case in order to answer a legal question that will help (1) keep a legal dispute from arising (2) resolve a legal dispute that has arisen or (3) prevent a legal dispute from becomming worse
legal analysis
(1) logically tending to establish or disprove a fact. Pertinent. (2) Contributing to the resolution of a problem or issue.
relevant
a fact gathering technique to generate a large list of factual questions (who, what, where, when and why.) that will help you obtain a specific and comprehensive picture of all available facts that are relevant to a legal issue.
fact particularization
a comparison of similarities and differences
analogy
an inclination or tendency to think and act in a certain way. A danger of prejudgement. Prejudice for or against something or someone
Bias
the state of being dispassionate, the absence of a bias.
objectivity
not actual or real but presented for purposes of discussion or analysis
hypothetical
a cause of action in which a party seeks a court remedy for the alleged failure of a party to perform the terms of an enforcable contract.
breach of contract
a case in which a client pays the attorney and paralegal fees only if they win through litigation or settlement.
contingency fee
technical language; words that do not have everyday meaning.
jargon
a broad, unstructured question that rarely can be answered in one or two words.
open ended question
an open ended question thart asks for a summary of an event or condition,
overview question.
a narrowly structured statement that usually can be answered in one or two words. also called a directive question
close ended question
a question designed to encourage the interviewee to describe what happened in the order in which events occurred, by date, step by step
chronological question
A question designed to verify facts by seeking information beyond what is provided by the interviewee.
corroborative question
a question that more than one part
combination question
a question that asks the interviewee to choose among two or more options states in the question.
multiple choice question
A question that stacks one or more additional questions within it
add on question
a question asked at the end of the interview (or at the end of a seperate topic within the interview) in which the interviewee is asked if there is anything he or she thinks has been left out or inadequately covered.
wrap up question
a deduction or conclusion reached from the facts
inference
taking affirmative, ongoing steps to let an interviewee know that you have heard what he or she has said and that you consider the meeting with him or her to be important
attentive listening
