Letter to a Client

You are a paralegal working for attorney William Wagner. He met with a potential client named Tom Smith. Please read the fact pattern below and then complete the Assignment. Note this is the same fact pattern from this week’s Discussion Board. 

Tom and Mary Smith went to dinner at La Grande Fromage restaurant. Tom’s bad lower back (hereditary disc problems) was acting up but he did not take a pain pill before going out. He was in some pain when the couple arrived at the restaurant. He had three glasses of wine before dinner hoping it would quell the pain. Before dinner was served, he got up to use the restroom. On his way to the restroom, he slipped on a puddle of melted butter on the floor and was seriously injured. The puddle he slipped on was comprised of several wrapped individual butter pats that had simply melted into a rather large yellowish blob on the floor near the men’s room door. The butter pats had fallen off a tray that a busboy was carrying back to the kitchen while clearing a table. It is unclear how long they had been on the floor before Tom slipped on them. As soon as he dropped them, the busboy had yelled to the restaurant hostess (who saw them fall from her post at the hostess station) “That needs to be cleaned up!” 

Please use the fact pattern above to write a formal letter to Mr. Tom Smith. Mr. Smith knows nothing about the legal process and just needs a little bit of guidance. Please write him a letter that explains what will happen once he has agreed to have your firm represent him in his legal case. Explain to him the all of the steps that will take place up to and including the trial. Please use proper legal terminology; just make sure to define the terms for your client. Concepts that your letter should cover include, but may not be limited to, party designations, the complaint, summons, service of process, answer, default judgment, the discovery process, summary judgment, pretrial procedure, and then the trial and ultimate decision. Your letter should also have an introductory paragraph, the body of the letter, and a conclusion. 

Make sure to follow the rules for proper letter writing given in Chapter 4 of your Legal Transcription textbook. This includes including all the components of a letter mentioned in the reading. You can use Figures 4-1 and 4-2 for examples. Please also consult the Week 2 rubric for the requirements of the Assignment. Your letter does not need internal citations, but remember to include an APA formatted reference page.

Tom Smith’s Attorney: William Wagner Wagner & Evans LLP  109 Wayfair Avenue Portage, Indiana 46368 (219)314-7857  <..r@Wagner&Evans.net

Client Address Tom Smith 405 Land’s End Drive Portage, Indiana 46368 (219)444-5890 <..h@att.net

 

 

Grading

Please review the Assignment grading rubric in Doc Sharing for more information on how your Assignment will be graded.

Submitting Your Work

Put your responses in a Word document. Save it in a location and with the proper naming convention: username-Course Name-section-Unit x_Assignment.doc (username is your Kaplan username, section is your course section, x is your unit number). When you are ready to submit it, go to the Dropbox and complete the steps below:

1. Click the link that says “Submit an Assignment.”
2. In the “Submit to Basket” menu, select Unit x: Assignment.
3. In the “Comments” field, make sure to add at least the title of your paper.
4. Click the “Add Attachments” button.
5. Follow the steps listed to attach your Word document.

To view your graded work, come back to the Dropbox or go to the Gradebook after your instructor has evaluated it. Make sure that you save a copy of your submitted work.

 

Unit 2 Grading Rubric

Category	Description	Weighting	Possible Points	Points Earned
Content	Letter follows proper formatting requirements including letterhead, date, inside address, salutation, subject line, body, and signature. Letter includes proper legal terminology and definitions explaining the overall process starting from the client intake until the trial. The letter included an introduction, body, and the conclusion.	60%	36
Sentence Mastery	·            Sentences are consistently grammatical. Major sentence-level errors, including fragments, run-ons, and comma splices, are avoided. ·          Sentences are graceful, i.e., they can be read aloud without awkwardness, awkward pauses, or running out of breath. ·          Language is rich, precise, and vivid.	10%	6
Grammar and Mechanics	·         Spelling is proficient. Spellcheck has been used to avoid egregious  errors. Grammar and mechanics are sound, including mastery of the following key elements: Subject-verb agreement, verb form, appropriate punctuation and capitalization, apostrophe use, and appropriate word use. There are no extra words and there are not missing words.	10%	6
Organization and Format	·         Organization and structure are clear and easy to follow. Writing shows clear purpose and orderly transitions from beginning to end. Sentences consistently establish this organization and flow rather than interrupt it. ·         Format meets APA guidelines and Bluebook rules as appropriate, including use of title pages. There is no playful experimentation with fancy fonts. ·         It is written for the appropriate audience.	10%	6
Citation Style	·         Writing shows both internal citations in the body of the text as well as a proper list of references at the end of the paper, following APA or Bluebook format. ·         Citations appear consistently where needed, whether following quoted or paraphrased material in the text. ·         Note: In papers requiring secondary sources, failure to provide any citation does not result in a deduction of 10% from the paper, but will result in a failed paper and a plagiarism investigation.	10%	6
		Total: 100%	[60] Possible Points	[ ] Points Earned
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