Chapter 8 Legal interviewing

Question 1

1. the act of hiring or engaging the services of someone, usually a professional.
2. An amount of money or other property paid by a client as a deposit as a deposit or advance against future fees, costs and expenses of providing services.

Answer 1

Retainer

Question 2

A letter that identifies the scope of services to be provided by a professional and the payments to be made for such services.

Answer 2

engagement letter

Question 3

(1) an individual, business, or other organization with resources to pay a potential judgement. (2) sufficient assets for this purpose

Answer 3

Deep Pocket

Question 4

A letter sent to a prospective client that explicitly states that the law office will not be representing him or her.

Answer 4

letter of nonengagement

Question 5

a formal rejection

Answer 5

declination

Question 6

a law stating rthat civil or criminal actions are barred if not brought within a specified period of time.

Answer 6

statutue of limitations

Question 7

the person being interviewed

Answer 7

interviewee

Question 8

a memorandum that summarizes the facts given by a client during the initial client interview.

Answer 8

intake memo

Question 9

concerning (in re in the title of a court opinion means “in the matter of”.

Answer 9

re

Question 10

a reason that is legally sufficient to obtain a remedy or other result

Answer 10

ground

Question 11

the application of one or more rules to the facts of a clients case in order to answer a legal question that will help (1) keep a legal dispute from arising (2) resolve a legal dispute that has arisen or (3) prevent a legal dispute from becomming worse

Answer 11

legal analysis

Question 12

(1) logically tending to establish or disprove a fact. Pertinent. (2) Contributing to the resolution of a problem or issue.

Answer 12

relevant

Question 13

a fact gathering technique to generate a large list of factual questions (who, what, where, when and why.) that will help you obtain a specific and comprehensive picture of all available facts that are relevant to a legal issue.

Answer 13

fact particularization

Question 14

a comparison of similarities and differences

Answer 14

analogy

Question 15

an inclination or tendency to think and act in a certain way. A danger of prejudgement. Prejudice for or against something or someone

Answer 15

Bias

Question 16

the state of being dispassionate, the absence of a bias.

Answer 16

objectivity

Question 17

not actual or real but presented for purposes of discussion or analysis

Answer 17

hypothetical

Question 18

a cause of action in which a party seeks a court remedy for the alleged failure of a party to perform the terms of an enforcable contract.

Answer 18

breach of contract

Question 19

a case in which a client pays the attorney and paralegal fees only if they win through litigation or settlement.

Answer 19

contingency fee

Question 20

technical language; words that do not have everyday meaning.

Answer 20

jargon

Question 21

a broad, unstructured question that rarely can be answered in one or two words.

Answer 21

open ended question

Question 22

an open ended question thart asks for a summary of an event or condition,

Answer 22

overview question.

Question 23

a narrowly structured statement that usually can be answered in one or two words. also called a directive question

Answer 23

close ended question

Question 24

a question designed to encourage the interviewee to describe what happened in the order in which events occurred, by date, step by step

Answer 24

chronological question

Question 25

A question designed to verify facts by seeking information beyond what is provided by the interviewee.

Answer 25

corroborative question

Question 26

a question that more than one part

Answer 26

combination question

Question 27

a question that asks the interviewee to choose among two or more options states in the question.

Answer 27

multiple choice question

Question 28

A question that stacks one or more additional questions within it

Answer 28

add on question

Question 29

a question asked at the end of the interview (or at the end of a seperate topic within the interview) in which the interviewee is asked if there is anything he or she thinks has been left out or inadequately covered.

Answer 29

wrap up question

Question 30

a deduction or conclusion reached from the facts

Answer 30

inference

Question 31

taking affirmative, ongoing steps to let an interviewee know that you have heard what he or she has said and that you consider the meeting with him or her to be important

Answer 31

attentive listening