Statsky Chapter 8

Front 2

Retainer

Back 2

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

Front 3

Engagement letter

Back 3

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

Front 4

Deep Pocket

Back 4

(1) An individual, business, or other organization with resources to pay a potential judgment. (2) Sufficient assets for this purpose. The opposite of shallow pocket

Front 5

Statute of limitations

Back 5

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

Front 6

Letter of nonengagement

Back 6

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

Front 7

Declination

Back 7

A formal rejection

Front 8

interviewee

Back 8

The person being interviewed

Front 9

intake memo

Back 9

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

Front 10

Re

Back 10

Concerning (In re in the title of a court opinion means "in the matter of")

Front 11

Ground

Back 11

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

Front 12

legal analysis

Back 12

The application of one or more rules of the facts of a client's 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 becoming worse.

Front 13

relevant

Back 13

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

Front 14

fact particularization

Back 14

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

Front 15

analogy

Back 15

A comparison of similarities and differences.

Front 16

bias

Back 16

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

Front 17

objectivity

Back 17

The state of being dispassionate; the absence of a bias.

Front 18

hypothetical

Back 18

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

Front 19

breach of contract

Back 19

A cause of action in which a party seeks a court remedy from the alleged failure of a party to perform the term(s) of an enforceable contract.

Front 20

contingency case

Back 20

A case in which clients pay attorney and paralegal fees only if they win through litigation or settlement

Front 21

jargon

Back 21

Technical language; words that do not have an everyday meaning.

Front 22

open-ended question

Back 22

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

Front 23

overview question

Back 23

An open-ended question that asks for a summary of an event or condition

Front 24

closed-ended question

Back 24

A narrowly structured question that usually can be answered in one or two words. Also called a directed question.

Front 25

chronological question

Back 25

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

Front 26

timeline

Back 26

A chronological presentation of significant events, often organized as a straight-line diagram.

Front 27

leading question

Back 27

A question that suggests an answer within the question

Front 28

corroborative question

Back 28

A question designed to verify (corroborate) facts by seeking information beyond what is provided by the interviewee

Front 29

combination question

Back 29

A question that has more than one part.

Front 30

multiple-choice question

Back 30

A question that asks the interviewee to choose among two or more options stated in the question

Front 31

add-on question

Back 31

A question that stacks one or more additional question within it

Front 32

wrap-up question

Back 32

A questions asked at the end of the interview (or at the end of a separate 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.

Front 33

attentive listening

Back 33

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.

Front 34

inference

Back 34

A deduction or conclusion reached from facts.