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

Key Features and Benefits

• Written in plain language
• Explains the imperatives for plain language in the National Credit Act and the Consumer Protection Act
• Practical examples are used to illustrate the principles
• Includes step-by-step guides to drafting letters of demand and legal opinions
• Useful self-testing questions with answers for utilisation by lecturers in conducting tutorials or problem-based lectures and students in preparing for examinations

• Preface
• Chapter 1: Introduction: the aim of this handbook
• Chapter 2: Planning: the key to effective writing
• Chapter 3: Addressing the needs of the target audience
• Chapter 4: Punctuation with a purpose
• Chapter 5: Analysis of legislative provisions: insightful legal reading is a prerequisite for effective legal writing
• Chapter 6: Writing an opinion … that is helpful to the client 
• Chapter 7: Introduction to settlement agreements
• Chapter 8: Advice on quantum: ‘arriving at an award which accord(s) with previous awards in broadly similar cases’
• Index

• Lawyers & candidate attorneys
• Advocates
• Lecturers in legal drafting
• Law students
• Law libraries