Broad: What was the Planned Parenthood case about?

Better: What were the elements of the court’s reasoning in Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992)?

Passive voice: Where the defense was sided with by the court.

Active voice: Where the court sided with the defense.

Wordy: Cases where there was a minor who was the plaintiff, and who was also under the age of 14 at the time of the alleged events that the court was considering.

Better: Cases with a minor plaintiff under the age of 14.

Adversarial

Formal

Neutral

A direct tone with no polite niceties.

A respectful, non-hostile tone.

A broad category somewhere between respectful and friendly.

This may be appropriate for correspondence with opposing counsel.

This may be appropriate for correspondence with a judge or a new client.

This may be appropriate to request information from a 3rd party, like accountants or forensic labs.

Adversarial

Formal

Neutral

Casual

[Your Letterhead]

September 4, 2023

Lt. Daniel Kaffee U.S. Navy JAG Corps [Recipient's Address]

Dear Lt. Kaffee,

I confirm receipt of your proposed plea bargain dated October 10, 1992. Having carefully weighed the merits of your proposal, I regret to inform you that it has been categorically rejected. I insist on maintaining my position as previously communicated — no less than a full trial will suffice.

Sincerely,

Capt. Jack Ross

U.S. Navy JAG Corps

September 4, 2023

Lt. Daniel Kaffee U.S. Navy JAG Corps

Subject: Notice of Rejection of the Plea Bargain dated October 10, 1992

Dear Lt. Kaffee,

I kindly acknowledge your proposed plea bargain dated October 10, 1992. After a careful and thorough review of the terms, I regret to inform that it has been deemed unpersuasive and, as a consequence, has been rejected. I appreciate your understanding in this matter and stand ready to continue with our scheduled proceedings.

Yours Sincerely,

Capt. Jack Ross

U.S. Navy JAG Corps

September 4, 2023

Lt. Daniel Kaffee

U.S. Navy JAG Corps

Dear Lt. Kaffee,

This letter is to acknowledge receipt of your proposed plea bargain dated October 10, 1992. I have reviewed it thoroughly and given it my full consideration. Unfortunately, after careful deliberation, I have decided to reject your proposal in its current formulation.

Thank you for your attention to this matter, nonetheless.

Yours sincerely,

Capt. Jack Ross

U.S. Navy JAG Corps

September 4, 2023

Lt. Daniel Kaffee

U.S. Navy JAG Corps

Dear Lt. Kaffee,

I write in response to the plea bargain proposal put forth by your office on October 10, 1992. I appreciate the detailed work that no doubt went into the proposal. However, after carefully considering the merits of your proposition, I regret to inform you that I am unable to accept the terms of the plea bargain. Thank you for your continued dedication to seeking fair resolution in this matter.

Best,

Capt. Jack Ross

U.S. Navy JAG Corps

Draft a letter to opposing counsel on the issue of the client’s failure to return a minor child pursuant to court-ordered timeshare schedule.

Draft a cease and desist letter to tell the presidential candidate Ross Perot to immediately stop using the singer Miley Cyrus's song Party in the USA.

I am taking over as defense counsel and the parties are now working towards a settlement. Mediation is scheduled with Mary P. for Oct 11. We want the discovery deadline pushed to 30 days after the order, and the order deadline also pushed by 30 days so that we can settle before trial.

Write a demand letter to Mr. Smith saying that I represent Synergy Foods. My client has learned that his employee Katie Martin has disseminated trade secrets to a competitor in violation of her NDA. We want her to pay $5K and agree to a court order enjoining her from future violations.

Write a short, neutral email to Aunt Ginny Miller confirming that I will represent her in the criminal matter discussed during our initial intake meeting on September 30. Note that the full engagement letter is attached, that it is a binding contract, and that she should review it very closely. Please also confirm that I looked into her question about my age (whether I am too young to serve as counsel), and that it should not be an issue, especially since Lt. Cdr. JoAnne Galloway will serve as co-counsel.

Draft a letter of non-engagement to my prospective client letting them know that I cannot represent them because there is a conflict of interest: I cannot help someone file claims against an organization where I serve on the board.

My client was injured when she fell on water next to an ice bin at a grocery store. There was no signage providing any warnings. She suffered a broken ankle. Write a letter to the company advising them that we are investigating the claim and they should preserve any and all evidence related to the claim for possible future litigation.

Draft a meet and confer letter to opposing counsel who is late in producing documents during discovery. Request that she produce the previously-requested documents in a timely manner according to California’s discovery laws.

Prepare an email template that my client corporation can send to each of its customers explaining that a recent data security incident was not a breach, that a full investigation is underway, and that more information will be shared asap. Specifically confirm that no unauthorized access has been identified yet.

Shorten the entire email to 2 paragraphs

Expand the 3rd paragraph to include specific examples of the event introduced in the first sentence of that paragraph.

Replace [Your Name] with “Daniel Kaffee” and [Your Contact Information] with “Naval Air Station Point Mugu, Point Mugu, California, USA”

Make the tone of the letter friendly, but not unprofessional

Make the tone more terse and direct, with no niceties

Convert this email to a letter

Not possible: Add my position and email address to the signature of this email

Not possible: Include my first and last names in the letterhead