A letter to a lawyer is a written communication that you send to an attorney or legal professional to seek their advice, assistance, or representation regarding a legal matter.
It allows you to explain your situation, ask questions, provide relevant information, and request their help in addressing your legal concerns.
It’s a way of initiating contact and opening a line of communication with a lawyer to discuss your legal issues and potentially seek legal remedies or guidance.
In this post, I aim to offer insights into my journey as a legal professional and shed light on my expertise in writing compelling legal opinions.
To make things clear and clearer, I will breakdown down this guide into comprehensive steps that you can easily follow and apply.
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I know, that writing a letter to a lawyer or attorney might feel intimidating especially when you are doing it for the first time.
That’s I’m writing this post to guide you through everything you need to know about writing a letter to a lawyer.
Without further ado, let’s dive right in!
Before I forget, my title promises the 7 samples of letter to lawyer, check them here
Read also: Lawyer stole my settlement: Your legal options explained
Jump to section
- How to write a letter to a lawyer
- How to address a lawyer
- How to address a lawyer in a letter
- How to write an email to a lawyer asking for help
- How to address an attorney in an email
- Sample email to lawyer requesting services
How to write a letter to a lawyer
A letter to a lawyer is written in a business letter format. Begin your letter with your address and contact information, followed by a date and the lawyers’ address, and begin your letter by explaining the reasons for writing it.
Proceed by providing more details about your concern and Finish your letter with “Sincerely,” followed by your name and signature.
To write an effective letter to a lawyer, make sure you do the following
- Include your name, address, and contact information
- Include the date of the letter
- Clarify your purpose
- Make sure your letter contains all the necessary information, including dates, names, locations, documents, files, contacts, and other pertinent information.
- Attach necessary documents for easy reference
- Be straightforward
- Maintain a professional tone
- be clear
- use formal language.
- Be honest
- Include relevant information only.
The following is the step b step breakdown of how you can write an effective letter to a lawyer
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Step 1: Is the letter necessary?
Before starting to compose your letter you must ask yourself, is the letter necessary or I should just call him or just a simple email will be enough? (i will talk about email to lawyers later in this post)
What do you think?
if your answer is yes then, start to write your letter.
Not sure? read here to learn why you need to write a letter anyway!
Step 2: Clarify your purpose
After being settled that the letter is necessary for you, the next step is to clarify your purpose.
Your purpose hinges on what you want to archive with your letter.
You will need to clearly convey your purpose to the lawyer;
- Do you want to request a legal service?
- Do you want to inquire about payment?
- Do you want to request a copy of a case file?
- Do you want to fire him?
- etc.
Step 3: Get every important detail
Before writing your letter make sure you have every detail necessary to convert your message clearly.
Without important details, your purpose may not be fulfilled.
Depending on your letter, make sure you have dates, names, locations, documents, files, contacts, and any other important detail as far as your letter is concerned.
Step 4: Formating your letter
Your address
This is the first thing in your letter to the lawyer.
Your address Might be on the right-top or any acceptable location depending on the style of writing the letter you choose
For example
Tony Andrew
18 East Street
WESTOWN NSW 1111
Date of the letter
The date must be written soon after your address.
For example
Tony Andrew
18 East Street
WESTOWN NSW 111112 October 2021
Your lawyer address
Below the date, what follows is the lawyer’s address.
For example
Tony Andrew
18 East Street
WESTOWN NSW 111112 October 2021
Michael Johnson
AAA Law Firm
222 West Street
WESTOWN NSW 2222
Salutation
Salutation is the way you can show respect to your lawyer.
Salutation might be placed before or after the heading of your letter.
Apart from traditional salutations like Dear/sir or madam, you can use the lawyer’s name or position as a salutation example, Dear Managing Partner, Dear Michael, etc.
Learn more bout modern salutation here
Tony Andrew
18 East Street
WESTOWN NSW 111112 October 2021
Michael Johnson
AAA Law Firm
222 West Street
WESTOWN NSW 2222Dear Mr Michael
Headings
There are several styles you can format your letter headings when you write to a lawyer.
One is to use Your purpose as a heading.
For example, Re: Request for my case file
and second is to use your Case title as a heading followed by your purpose.
This is suitable when you are writing a letter to an attorney regarding the case.
For example;
Tony Andrew
18 East Street
WESTOWN NSW 111112 October 2021
Michael Johnson
AAA Law Firm
222 West Street
WESTOWN NSW 2222Dear Sir/Madam
Tony adrew v Marco Samwel Parramatta Local Court, Case number 2022/00001
Request for my case file
Start strong
The best way to start strong in your letter is to state why you are writing it in your first paragraph.
If you are writing to request your case file, state it in your first paragraph, and when necessary, state you do you want what you want.
For example
Tony Andrew
18 East Street
WESTOWN NSW 111112 October 2021
Michael Johnson
AAA Law Firm
222 West Street
WESTOWN NSW 2222Dear Sir/Madam
Tony adrew v Marco Samwel Parramatta Local Court, Case number 2022/00001
Request for my case file
I’m writing this letter to request a copy of my case file from your office….
Use formal language and keep it short
The proper language will let you communicate with your lawyer as clearly as possible.
Keep your letter as short as you can.
Lawyers have a lot of things to read in his/her day.
Don’t let your letter steal his time.
Make sure you include only information necessary to archive the purpose of your letter.
For example
Tony Andrew
18 East Street
WESTOWN NSW 111112 October 2021
Michael Johnson
AAA Law Firm
222 West Street
WESTOWN NSW 2222Dear Sir/Madam
Tony adrew v Marco Samwel Parramatta Local Court, Case number 2022/00001
Request for my case file
I’m writing this letter to request a copy of my case file from your office for the purpose of perusing it and keep it in my records.
Clarify what you want the lawyer to do
Before closing your letter, you have to tell the lawyer what do you want him to do for you.
This will solely depend on the purpose of your letter.
For example
Tony Andrew
18 East Street
WESTOWN NSW 111112 October 2021
Michael Johnson
AAA Law Firm
222 West Street
WESTOWN NSW 2222Dear Sir/Madam
Tony adrew v Marco Samwel Parramatta Local Court, Case number 2022/00001
Request for my case file
I’m writing this letter to request a copy of my case file from your office for the purpose of perusing it and keep it in my records.
Please send a softcopy to tonyadrew22@gmail.com.
Closing your later
Always close your letter with appropriate phrases
Depending on the purpose of your letter, You may use phrases like;
- Looking forward to hearing from you.
- Sincerely
- Best regards
- Yours faithfully
- etc
After the closing phrase, you must include your full name and signature.
You may include a telephone number, to let the lawyer find you, in case he needs something quickly.
For example
Tony Andrew
18 East Street
WESTOWN NSW 111112 October 2021
Michael Johnson
AAA Law Firm
222 West Street
WESTOWN NSW 2222Dear Sir/Madam
Tony adrew v Marco Samwel Parramatta Local Court, Case number 2022/00001
Request for my case file
I’m writing this letter to request a copy of my case file from your office for the purpose of perusing it and keep it in my records.
Please send a softcopy to tonyadrew22@gmail.com.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Best regards
[sgn:]
Tony adrew
Congratulations! now you have written your letter to a lawyer, what next?
Step 5: Use proper means to deliver
The letter you have written must reach the lawyer you need.
Always use means which are reliable and faster.
if possible, deliver your letter physically, and where necessary use a dispatch book to record the date and signature of the person who received the letter.
If you have enclosed documents, use a handover letter.
You could use a registered post so that there is a record of when the law firm received it.
or you can just send it via an email address.
In case a lawyer has specified the means through which you can send the letter, please use that one.
Should you check if the lawyer has received your letter? Yes, especially when no response after some time.
Step 6: Save a copy
Make sure you keep a copy of the letter and a record of when you posted it.
That way, if the letter gets lost in the mail or your attorney denies having received it, you will have proof that you sent it and when necessary, it will be easy to resend it.
How to address a lawyer
There are a few different ways that you can address a lawyer. Some options include:
- “Mr./Ms./Mrs. [Last Name]” – This is a formal way to address a lawyer, and is appropriate in most professional settings.
- “Doctor” – Some lawyers hold a Juris Doctor (JD) degree, which is a professional doctorate in law. In this case, it is appropriate to address the lawyer as “Doctor [Last Name].”
- “Counselor” – This is another formal way to address a lawyer, and is often used in a legal setting, such as a courtroom.
- “Judge [Last Name]” – If the lawyer is a judge, it is appropriate to address them as “Judge [Last Name].”
It is important to remember to use a title and the lawyer’s last name unless you are specifically instructed to use their first name.
This is a sign of respect and professionalism.
How to address a lawyer in a letter
A letter to the lawyer should be addressed in a respectful and professional manner.
At the Lawyer’s address, you should include his/her full name and his mail and physical address.
As a matter of salutation address a lawyer as Dear “Mr.” “Mrs.” or “Ms.” followed by His or her surname.
If you don’t know the name you may address the lawyer in terms of his title or qualification for example Dear, Managing Partner, Dear Attorney etc.
How to write an email to a lawyer asking for help
The subject of your email must capture its purpose, start your email by greeting the lawyer with respect, introduce yourself, and introduce the person who referred you to him (if any).
Write about your case/situation in as much detail as you can but keep it nice and orderly.
Inform him or her of your expectations and sincerely request the attorney’s assistance in the situation.
Finally, inquire about a time when you can meet with him or her for further assistance.
Remember that an email to a lawyer asking for help should always be brief but effective.
How to address an attorney in an email
An email to the lawyer should be addressed in a respectful and professional manner, before starting your email salute a lawyer by addressing him or her as “Mr.” or “Ms.” followed by His or her surname.
In case you don’t know his/her name, address him or her as ‘Dear’ followed by his or her title for example Dear Managing Partner.
Please, avoid that old-fashioned Dear Sir / Madam stuff at all costs.
Sample email to lawyer requesting services
The following is a sample email to a lawyer requesting services
email subject [Requesting legal assistance in my startup]
Dear Mr. Brown
I’m [your name], and my friend [name of your friend] told me about you and your work experience, and she/he recommended you for my future company idea. I’d like to inform you that I’m planning to create a new business for [your business activity], and I’m requesting you to assist me with the following.
- Documents preparation
- Contracts
- Compliance issues
- Any legal issue that is important to know
As a result, I’m requesting that you quote your service fees so that we can discuss our next work schedule.
I eagerly await your response, and please let me know whether you prefer to speak on the phone or meet in person; my schedule is very flexible.
Many thanks
[your address] [contacts]
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