Paragraph 2 – Rule Support

This paragraph will show support for the rule you provided in paragraph one by providing details about the case law that has analyzed and ruled on this issue. The important details a superior would need to know about the cases are included here. It is best to assume that your reader has not read the cases, and therefore, a detailed summary of each case must be provided.

It is important to include the relevant facts and the holding for each case. In the beginning, it may be difficult to know which facts are relevant and which are not. The first step is read the cases that you are using for this specific issue. Once you have read all of them (and briefed them as well), you will start to notice a pattern of the things courts were looking for to make their determinations about the issue at hand. Those are also what you included in paragraph one. You will notice that there are facts of each case that are precisely related to those things the courts are examining. Those facts are the relevant facts. They are the facts that a court would need to know to make a proper legal conclusion on the case. This may take some practice, but remember, if you include more than you need, you will have time to edit before you submit your memorandum.

This paragraph should sound like case summaries, one for each case you will be using. These summaries include the relevant facts from each case along with each case’s holding. Think of this as taking the step to summarize the cases and their respective holdings for the senior partner who is too busy to do this himself or herself.

For more information on paragraph 2 of the five-paragraph format, see the video.