Property Law (Australia): Preparation of a written memorandum of advice

The Task involves the preparation of a written memorandum of advice to your instructing solicitor; followed by a short oral presentation in which you present your legal advice.

The context of this task is that you are a barrister specialising in property law. You have received a brief from a suburban law firm to advise in relation to a property law matter in respect to which the sole principal of that firm considers is outside his areas of expertise (he mainly does conveyancing and probate). The brief also requests that you confer with the sole principal, to briefly explain the advice to him.

The instructing solicitors act on behalf of a real estate/property developer whose business model is to acquire residential properties and further redeveloping them by subdividing the acquired properties and constructing luxury dwellings. The property developer is interested in buying a property that is being offered for sale by tender. The instructing solicitors have undertaken due diligence on the Property and consider the property to be suitable for development. Based on your advice, the real estate developer will submit a tender to purchase the property.

The purpose of the memorandum is to research, explain, and apply the relevant law to the factual scenario you are supplied with (the Brief), in order to give the sole principal a clear understanding of the area of law concerned, and its applicability to his client’s position.

The student is expected to undertake research outside the reading guide, and present a concise, persuasive and well-written memorandum.

The memorandum should follow the conventions of essay writing. It should have an introduction, body and conclusion. For the purpose of the exercise, you should cite authority in the same way as for an essay, and should consider the following points:

• Use technical legal words and phrases appropriately. Your language should be clear and direct. You are expected to cite authority appropriately to support any legal conclusions you arrive at. Footnotes should be used appropriately.
• The assignment should follow AGLC (Australian Guide to Legal Citation – AGLC) requirements in all aspects, and marks will be deducted if it does not.

You must undertake significant further research in addition to materials contained in the unit Reading Guide. You must only use appropriate legal or academic sources for legal research essays. These are reputable textbooks and published journal articles, and applicable statutory and caselaw authority.

Effective legal writing and structure:

Ensure your expression is clear, concise and grammatical. Keep sentences short, sharp in order to grab the attention of the reader. Avoid using legal terminology or ‘big words’ when they are not necessary. Many legal terms have technical meanings, which require precise usage; ensure you understand a word or phrase when using it, and do not be lax with property law terms generally.

• Bibliography is required in proper AGLC form.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the relevant issues and applicable law, do not simply summarise the cases on the Reading Guide, provide your own analysis and opinion regarding the relevant law.
• Opinions must be adequately substantiated by convincing argument and appropriate authority, avoid repeating the opinions of others.

Post the written work, the student needs to give an individual oral presentation to instructing solicitor; known as “conferring with the instructing solicitor.”

The purpose of the oral presentation is to foreshadow and provide an overview of the advice contained in the memorandum. You should not simply read the advice, nor are you required to prepare any type of visual presentation. As a guide, you should focus on identifying and addressing the key legal issues arising from your brief and provide your legal opinion in relation to them.

Useful Links

Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC)