Legal memoranda, like legal briefs, are usually written in a formulaic fashion, following certain rules that make is easy for a judge or other legal professional to digest the document quickly. Legal memoranda usually provide the underpinnings for most legal briefs. So, whether you need to prepare a memorandum or brief or merely need to decipher one, it may be helpful to know that most memoranda and briefs follow the same format. A very simple legal brief format follows this discussion. The format is called IRAC, which stands for Issue, Rule, Analysis/Argument and Conclusion. The following further explains the format. Issue In a clear and succinct manner, state the issue at hand. The issue can be formulated as a heading such as: “Whether the statute of limitations prohibits the cause of action for negligence by the plaintiff.” This may be how you see the issue stated in a legal brief. This heading is numbered and centered on the page as are all the subsequent headings. ...
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