How to prepare facts for a legal memo
Prepare a short factual brief before generating a memo: who is involved, what happened and when, which documents support it, and what question the memo should address. Keep unknown or disputed facts separate from confirmed facts.
By Mizan Adl. Product workflow guidance, not legal advice.
1. Define the question and intended reader
State the purpose of the memo and who will read it. A note to help you understand a situation is different from a draft intended for a lawyer to revise. Describe the requested outcome without presenting your preferred conclusion as an established fact.
- Write one main question and identify relevant parties and locations.
- Specify the desired language and whether you need an issues list, factual summary or draft argument for review.
2. Build a chronology with evidence
List events in order with dates and references to supporting documents. If a date is approximate or an event is disputed, label it that way. For example: "Payment requested in an email; exact sending date not yet confirmed" is more useful than an invented date.
- For each event, note the document name and page or message that supports it.
- Separate your recollection, the other party's position and facts confirmed by documents.
3. Review the draft as a draft
Check that the memo preserves your facts and does not turn assumptions into certainty. Open cited legal sources and compare their scope with the question. Keep missing evidence and unresolved source checks visible rather than polishing them out of the final wording.
- Compare names, amounts and chronology with the original documents before sharing the draft.
- Ask a qualified UAE lawyer to verify the reasoning and suitability before relying on, filing or sending the memo.
Checklist before proceeding
- The main question, intended reader and requested outcome are explicit.
- Each important event has evidence or an uncertainty label.
- The draft will receive factual, citation and human legal review before use.