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Note on what distinguishes an allegation from a fact. Maybe John said your were tall, maybe he didn’t.Note this is a characterization and an opinion. This is a characterization, because it states that Jane gets attention. But, what does attention mean? That is subjective to the speaker. It is also an opinion, because what one person finds pretty another may not.He breached the contract.He harassed me.He discriminated against me.I don’t owe the money.
Attorney Speak Made Easy
Summary
This article coaches prospective clients on how to talk to an attorney.
The goal of this article is to help prospective clients use certain types of spoken words to get the most out of an initial consultation with an attorney.
The primary message of this blog is that the prospective client is best advised to focus on the facts and leave out emotions, opinions, characterizations and conclusions of law, when speaking to an attorney.
Details
Allegations, facts, emotions, opinions, characterizations, and conclusions of law are the categories of statements that people make.
When speaking to an attorney, using characterizations and conclusions of law are almost useless and actually get in the way of determining the next step to help solve your problem.
Instead, a prospective client should speak almost exclusively in terms of facts and allegations.
Below, we will define each term. Then we will give an example of each term. Then, we will educate how to speak in terms of allegations and facts, and minimize characterizations and legal conclusions.
Definitions
An emotion is the subjective way a person feels internally about something. An opinion is a statement that expresses what a person thinks about something. Emotions and opinions are so similar that they are used as meaning the same thing in this article.
Example of an emotion - Watching baseball is fun.
A fact is something that is true and undisputed.
Example of a fact - All human beings who have ever lived on earth have breathed air.
An allegation is similar to a fact, but, it may be in dispute.
Example of a fact - John said I was tall.
A characterization is asserting an emotion, an opinion or something that is subjective to the speaker, in the form of an allegation or fact. This is a very typical and useful commonplace manner of speaking that does not help in an intake interview.
Example of a characterization - Jane gets attention, because she’s pretty.
A legal conclusion is a statement that states a legal result. In an intake, a client using a legal conclusion is almost always totally useless. The legal conclusion has not yet occurred and the allegations on which that legal conclusion is based may or may not be true and accurate.
Examples of a legal conclusion
Replace emotions, opinions, characterizations and legal conclusions with facts and allegations in legal consultations
Don't Say That
Say This
John breached the contract.
John did not pay; John did not deliver the product; The product broke into pieces; I injured myself when I used the product
The landlord harassed me
The landlord requested entry and entry into the property multiple times, but never attempted to repair the condition; The landlord knocked on my door and demanded that I move out
The landlord discriminated against me.
The landlord refused to rent me the apartment, even though my credit score is 800, I have never been evicted, and I have positive written reference letters.
John defrauded me.
John promised that he would send me a product. I paid John the money. I never received the product.
There are no rows in this table
Is the distinction between allegation and fact important in an intake?
Yes and no.
In general, during an intake, the attorney will initially assume and accept allegations that the prospective client makes as true and accurate.
However, in attempting to help the client, at some point the attorney may start to identify that statements made by the prospective client are allegations, and not proven facts.
There can be many reasons why an attorney feels that it is important to distinguish between an allegation and a fact, as follows.
In a civil litigation, the allegation must be proven with evidence. Proving an allegation can be easy or difficult.
For example, proving what one person said to another in a private conversation between two people that was not recorded or heard by anyone else can be very difficult. The prospective client’s account of what was said is an allegation. That allegation may or may not be believed.
So, it may not be very important for you, the prospective client, to distinguish between an allegation and a fact in the intake.
However, if the attorney takes the time to distinguish between an allegation and a fact in the intake, then it is likely for a reason. The likely reason is that proving an allegation may be costly to you, or may be difficult, and therefore be a significant risk to achieving your legal goals.
So, it may be worth knowing the difference between an allegation and a fact, and paying attention to an attorney who makes that distinction in an intake in order to help you meet your legal objectives.
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