Module 03 Content 

Title: Research and Prepare Memo
Purpose of Assignment: The purpose of this assignment is for students to explain the ethical obligations of attorneys to maintain client confidence.
Course Competency: Apply ethical standards of conduct with clients, attorneys, and other interested parties. (TS – Ethics and Professional Responsibility)
Instructions:Content:

Your supervising attorney is concerned about the use of third party funding when it comes to clients. You have been instructed to draft a memorandum to your supervising attorney in regards to third party funding.

CIVIL TRACK: Your supervising attorney is concerned about client Mark Bouden. This client is unable to pay the required retainer or fees. Therefore, the client has arranged for a third-party litigation funding service to fund the lawsuit. In return for funding the lawsuit, the funding company will receive a cut of any judgment earned on the clientàbehalf. The funding company has requested several legal documents, the attorneyàviews on the case, and wants to be kept abreast of everything occurring in the case. You should explain in a memorandum what can be shared with the funding company, the duties the law firm has to the client and the ethical issues with sharing information with the funding company.

1. CRIMINAL TRACK: Your supervising attorney is concerned about client Tony Smulders. This client is unable to pay the required retainer or fees. Therefore, the client has arranged for his Aunt Patty to pay for his defense. Aunt Patty has come to each meeting with the attorney and wants to be kept abreast of everything occurring in the defense of her nephew. You should explain in a memorandum what can be shared with Aunt Patty, the duties the law firm has to the client and the ethical issues with sharing information with Patty.

Format:

Your memo should be 2-3 pages in length, with at least 3 references formatted according to Bluebook standards. For writing assistance, consider using Grammarly or submitting your written assignment to the Online Writing Lab prior to submitting your assignment.

Your memo should contain the following sections:

Heading or Caption

Facts

Issue(s) Presented

Answer to Issue

Reasoning or Discussion

Conclusion

Resources:

Memo FAQ

Microsoft Word

Submit your completed assignment by following the directions linked below. Please check the Course Calendar for specific due dates.
Save your assignment as a Microsoft Word document. (Mac users, please remember to append the “.docx” extension to the filename.) The name of the file should be your first initial and last name, followed by an underscore and the name of the assignment, and an underscore and the date. An example is shown below:
Jstudent_exampleproblem_101504