LW304 - Week 5

Letters of
Advice Part 2
Letters of Advice – Recap of Part
1
▶ A letter of advice is a document that presents a lawyer’s legal opinion to their
client in a clear and concise manner.
▶ The Structure of the letter of advice should be:
▶ Address of firm (can be in the header of the document or on the left hand
side)
▶ Date
▶ Address of client
▶ Salutation
▶ Heading to notify purpose of letter e.g. RE: ADVICE REGARDING DIVORCE
▶ Introductory paragraph to outline purpose of letter
▶ Summary of facts
▶ Legal Advice
▶ Next Steps
▶ Costs
▶ Sign Off
Letter
of
Advice –

Struture
Recap
 Letters of Advice –
Recap
A good letter of advice:
▶ is no longer than reasonably necessary.
▶ is properly headed, laid out, and signed.
▶ it has a clear and appropriate structure and is neat on the
page.
▶ identifies and addresses the needs and objectives of the
client.
▶ shows a proper grasp of the facts.
▶ shows a sound understanding of the relevant law.
▶ identifies correctly all the material issues.
▶ AND gives advice that is; Clear, Identifiable, Appropriate, and
Sound in every legal aspect example cause of action, liability,
damages, legal steps to be taken.
LETS PRACTICE
FACTS: You are a solicitor working for ABC Lawyers, 5 Pacifica Road, Paradise City. A
client, Dr Sally Johns, comes to see you. Dr Johns tells you that she wants advice
about how she can terminate the employment of one of her receptionists, Mr
David Boe. Mr David Boe started work for Sally on 1 June 2022. Dr Sally Johns tells
you that Mr Boe is regularly late for work and when he arrives he often looks very
tired and badly presented. He talks to the other receptionist, Miss Natalie Bule,
about how much kava he drinks and that it really makes it hard for him to wake
up in the morning. When he is at work he is usually staring at facebook on his
computer. The clients coming into the clinic have to get his attention for his
assistance. Some clients have commented about how poor his service is compared
to Natalie’s and it’s quite embarrassing. Dr Johns has given Mr Boe two written
warnings about his behaviour but it has not improved. These two warnings were
given on 30 January 2023 and again on 15 May 2023. The final straw occurred
when Mr Boe started asking Miss Bule to go out with him. Miss Bule rejected his
advances. One day at work, Mr Boe came in early and waited for Natalie to arrive.
They were the only two in the office at 7:30 am on the 11th of August. Mr Boe told
Natalie he was very hurt she would not go out with him. He then grabbed her
hands, pulled her towards him and tried to kiss her.
She pushed him away and ran outside just as Dr Johns was arriving. She told Dr Johns
the whole story. Dr Johns immediately sent Mr Boe home and told him he was
suspended. She now wants to end his employment. She has asked for advice about
how to do this. They do not have a written contract.
Step 1: Summary of facts

Write first part of the letter

including a summary of
facts
 Part 2 –
Advice
In practice, you will do legal research to identify the law. For practice purposes, imagine your research has
revealed the following information:
Section 1 (b) of the Employment Act defines sexual harassment as “any sexual conduct towards another employee without
their consent, including but not limited to: words of a sexual nature, touching of a sexual nature, displaying material of a
sexual nature where the employee can view the material, unwanted approaches or requests for sexual activity, and
sexual intercourse without consent” .
Section 4 of the Employment Act of Pacifica states that “where there is no employment contract between an employer and an
employee, the minimum employment standards as contained in this legislation will apply”
Section 20 of the Employment Act of Pacifica states
(a) an employer or an employee may terminate their employment contract by the provision of three month’s notice;
(b) Where the Employer is terminating the employment contract, the employer may pay three month’s salary in lieu of the
notice period.
Section 21 of the Employment Act of Pacifica states that “ if an employee is found to have engaged in serious misconduct,
their employment may be terminated without notice” Section 21(b) outlines the definition of serious misconduct, which
includes sexual harassment
Section 22 of the Employment Act of Pacifica states that “an employee is entitled to due process in any misconduct
proceedings or termination action taken by his or her employer”
Due process is not defined in the legislation but you have found a binding case which states that “due process means that a
proper process has been followed which will necessarily include:
▶ An independent process where the employee is made aware of the full nature of the allegations against
them
▶ The employee is given a reasonable opportunity to respond to the allegations against them and that response is given full
consideration by the employer
▶ The employee is informed of the employer’s proposed decision following the investigation and the reasons
for the decision
▶ The employee is given an opportunity to respond to the proposed decision and their response is given full
consideration by the
employer”
 Part 2 – Write your legal advice
Using the law set out on the previous slide,
write your legal advice to Dr Johns.
▶ Explain the law in your own words – clearly
and simply for the client to understand.
▶ Set out your advice in a logical order.
▶ Apply the law to the facts you have been
given.
▶ Make sure you alert the client to any
problems or difficulties with their matter.
 Part 3 – Next Steps
Write the next steps
▶Clearly set out your recommended course of
action and why.
▶ Ask the client for any additional information
you need to give full advice.
▶Make it clear that you are awaiting instructions
from the client to proceed with any next steps.
 Part 4 – Costs and Closing

Write the costs and closing part of the

letter.
▶ Try to provide a clear outline of
costs or estimated costs.
▶ Where total costs are unknown, the
client should be aware of the
hourly rate and should receive
regular updates as to costs being
incurred.
▶ You can find a sample letter based on
these facts in the samples folder on
Moodle.
▶ Reminder that your assignment is due on
27 August 2023 by 11:59pm
▶ Good luck with completing your
assignment.
ANY QUESTIONS?

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