Legal Skills-

Legal Problem Solving

Contracts A, University of South Australia
What is legal problem solving?
 Applying your knowledge of the law
and problem solving skills to a set of
facts to provide advice to a fictitious
client.
 Legal problem solving requires you to:
 Identify the legal issues arising
from a set of facts
 Identify the relevant law that can
be used to resolve those issues;
and
 Produce a set of arguments and
counter arguments that lead to a
possible solution by applying the
law to the facts
 Applies to nearly all areas of law
 Distinguished from writing an essay
 Represents what happens in legal
practice
  Series of steps
 Defined structure (IRAC)
 Issue- what is the legal
problem that needs to be

Approach 
addressed?
Rule- what are the legal
to legal rules relevant to the
problem?

problem  Apply- apply the legal rules

to the facts
solving  Conclusion
 Other acceptable structures
eg MIRAT (Material facts,
Issues, Rules, Application,
Tentative Conclusion)
Approach to legal problem
solving
Five point strategy (if your client is a real person)
1. Client tells the facts
2. Lawyer considers what the appropriate law is
concerning those facts
3. Lawyer applies the law to those facts
4. Lawyer advises client of results
5. Client, as a result of advice, gives instruction to
lawyer as to what to do
- Very simplistic view of what happens in real life
  Forensic
 ability to identify significant/relevant facts in
a problem
 Research
ability to identify relevant legal principles
Skills for

and other material that assists in developing
an argument

legal  Rhetorical
 ability to develop an argument using helpful
problem facts and law and explaining harmful facts
and law in a way that favours the client’s
position
solving  Logical
 ability to synthesise an argument
 Language and Communication
 ability to communicate complex concepts in
persuasive language
How to answer a legal
problem solving question
 Structure is most important ingredient
 There is no ‘correct’ answer
 But conclusion must be supported by the arguments which
in turn are supported by the law
 ‘Model’ answers are not helpful
 What facts you consider to be most important may be
different from those others consider to be important
Structure of a legal problem
solving answer (example)
1. Brief introduction to the advice
2. Issue One
a) Issue
b) Rule
c) Application
d) Conclusion to Issue One, including what this means for
the parties
3. Issue Two
a) Issue etc...
4. Brief summary and final conclusion of advice
1. Introduction- what is the
problem about?
 What are you being asked to advise about?
 Look at what the party is seeking and work backwards
 If they seek enforcement of the contract, likely the question is about
validity of contract.
 What about if they are seeking to terminate the contract? If they are
seeking damages for breach?
 Clarify this in your introduction
 Who are you advising?
 Why are they seeking advice?
 What do they want?
 What kind of advice are you going to provide?
 May contain an indication of the outcome
2. Issues

 Identify the relevant legal issues (usually in the form of

a question)
 Examples:
 Is there an offer? (Contract Law)
 Does X owe a duty of care to Y? (Negligence)
 Did X have the requisite mental element for the offence?
(Criminal Law)
 Separate the problem into issues
 Make clear when moving from one to the next
 Ensure issues are discussed in a logical order
2. Issues- additional hints

 Decide what all the issues are before tackling the

problem (set out in rough notes)
 Where the question requires you to examine particular
elements (of a contract, of a crime, of estoppel),
figuring out the issues is easy!
 Example- Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball. What were the
issues to be decided?
 Must consider alternative issues/arguments
3. Rules

 State the relevant legal principle(s) relating to each

issue. In other words, what is the law?
 A legal principle is a statement of the law
 After each principle, include a case name in brackets or
in a footnote. The case is authority for the statement
 Cases must be cited in full (except in exam conditions
where abbreviated case name is sufficient)
3. Rules- additional hints

 State principles clearly, concisely and correctly!

 Make sure it is relevant
 Don’t include the facts of cases from which the
principle is derived
 Any forthcoming argument must relate to a legal
principle. Ensure any legal principle you want to make
an argument about has been stated before moving to
application stage.
4. Application

 Apply the legal principles to the facts

 Analyse the facts closely
 Refer to specific facts in your argument (to support or to
rebut your argument)
 Address arguments and counter arguments
 Even when advising one party, make them aware of the
contrary arguments
 Advise as to the strength of the argument where
appropriate
4. Application- additional
hints
 Refer to the specific facts/evidence to support your
argument. Otherwise you are jumping straight to the
conclusion without applying the facts
 You can’t assume the reader is following your argument,
even if they have read the facts
 Usually you will give the argument in favour of your client
and address the arguments against.
 Arguments must be made on the legal principles previously
stated. Think about the principle you are applying
 Don’t make up facts. Where the facts are lacking, state
that.
5. Conclude each issue

 Conclude each issue with your view of what the court

will decide
 If the outcome is unclear, state that
 You must then state what the outcome will mean for
the parties and their legal rights/obligations
 Conclude and lead into the next issue. You must
explain why you are moving to the next issue
6. Final conclusion

A final paragraph summarising your advice

Final hints

 You don’t need to convince the court that your client

will win
 If your client is likely to lose, it is part of your advice to
inform them of that
 Don’t write an essay
 Don’t discuss things that are not relevant
 Don’t spend time on things not in issue- these detract
from your answer and interrupt flow
 Make use of headings
 Make clear when moving from one issue to the next and
why
 Don’t write in dot points (unless making a list)
 Don’t relate the facts of past cases unless this is relevant
for your argument (ie in application. Facts of a past
case will never be relevant in legal principles)
 Refer to marking criteria
 Shows you what is being assessed
 Criteria are not worth equal amounts (presentation and
communication are worth less than knowledge of the law
and problem solving skills)