IRAC

1

To: (Reference generic “Supervising Attorney” or name of attorney in fact pattern) From: Paralegal (Do not use your real name on the exam) Date: RE: (Descriptive short title) FACTS: In this section, you are going to state the facts of the case. You will base this section on the facts from the memo sent to you by the supervising attorney. If you can find a way to make those facts even more concise that is even better. Remember, this section is only for stating “what happened.” ISSUES: In this section, you state the legal issues. Start with a simple introduction to this section stating that there are “X” number of issues. An example of an opening sentence would be something like this: “The information provided gives rise to three issues, as outlined below.” 1) Did Lockes commit Trespass? 2) Did Lockes commit Theft? 3) Did Lockes commit Criminal Damage? Keep the issue statements simple. For purposes of this exam, state the issue as shown and do not include factual links. For example, “Did Lockes commit Trespass?” and not “Did Lockes commit Trespass when she walked upon the land belonging to Jim.” The underlined portion contains facts. Do not link back to the facts when stating the issues here. Always number your issue statements. DISCUSSION: Introduce the section with a simple statement such as “The issues presented are analyzed below using the provided law.” After introducing the section, use subheadings to further structure this section. Use one subheading for each crime. For example: Trespass: In this subsection you will perform an I.R.A.C. analysis of the first issue. Start by introducing the Issue. For example, you could start by saying “The first issue is whether Lockes committed trespass.” The preceding example is a simple but effective way to concisely introduce the issue. Next, state the Rule for trespass. Do this by paraphrasing the Trespass statute. Do not include every piece of the statute, only the part that applies in this situation. Next, do your Analysis by explaining in one or two sentences what facts from your fact section above satisfy the requirements of the statute. Finally, state what you can conclude from your analysis of this first issue. Theft: Repeat the same structure for this issue as you used for Trespass. Criminal Damage: Repeat the same structure for this issue as you used for Trespass and Theft. CONCLUSION: In this last section you will restate, concisely, the conclusions from your analysis above, addressing each of the issues. These are answers to the questions you asked in your issue statements. Use the format below, with numbered sentences/short paragraphs corresponding to each issue. In this section you do include the factual link to the issue. For example, “Lockes did commit Trespass when she walked upon the land belonging to Jim.” The underlined portion contains facts. In this conclusion section, you do include those because you are tying things up. You have an answer to the question asked and a summary of the reason for the answer. The full explanation of that reason you have already given in the Discussion section. Here, in the Conclusion, you are simply summarizing your findings. 1) Lockes did commit Trespass when . . . 2) Lockes did commit Theft when . . ., without permission or authority, she . . . by eating it, thereby showing . . . 3) Lockes did not commit Criminal Damage when she . . . because . . .