Pre-Litigation Drafting: Legal Opinions, Demands and Settlements

Pre-Litigation Drafting – Legal opinions, demands and settlements is a useful reference for anyone working in areas of law in which there is a need to comply with a host of legislative imperatives to write in ‘plain language’, or generally in a manner that meets the needs of a particular target audience including the imperative to write pleadings that are ‘clear and concise’. The book is also of value to those who are new to the practice of law, and who seek guidance in preparing and planning legal documents that are written before litigation commences, such as opinions and letters of demand. Inspired by the UK Department of Justice ‘Pre-action Protocols’, the aim of the guidance is to provide a set of guiding principles for drafters to follow in writing documents that are effective in avoiding litigation. To this end the book now includes settlement agreements reached before summons is issued. The text applies these principles in a variety of hypothetical contexts.