Paragraph 1 – Specific Rule of Law

The specific rule of law refers to the rule that surrounds the specific part of the issue that is being analyzed. For example, if a battery claim is being analyzed objectively, one would need to begin with elements of battery: intent, contact, and harm. In an example like this, the general rule would be – “In order to prove a claim of battery, the elements that must be met are intent, contact, and harm.” The specific rule, however, would focus on one of the elements, like intent, instead of the general rule of battery. Thus, the specific rule of law in this case would be the rule about intent specifically, not battery generally.

It is important to let the reader know how this specific rule is defined by the courts that have analyzed this rule. Thus, after reading case law on a particular topic, we may start to gain an better understanding. Unfortunately, most judicial decisions do not neatly state the definition for the specific rules of law we may need. It becomes our job, as lawyers, to sift through the case law to find the definitions we need.

The best way to conquer this challenge is by looking closely at the “things” court are looking for in order to determine whether the legal claim is present. In other words, if one wanted to come up with a definition for the specific rule of law for “harm,” one would need to know the things courts are looking at to determine whether harm was present in the cases read. Thus, if courts looked determined a sprained ankle was harm, but that slight brush of contact was not harm, these are important pieces of information. Within this first paragraph, it is important to let the reader know the specific item we will be analyzing and then we must tell the reader what the courts have examined when trying to reach a determination about whether that item is present.

For more information on paragraph 1 of the five-paragraph format, see the video below.