How to write a legal threat letter

I tell my law students that in their coming practices they will often receive such letters or nowadays even emailsand they will calmly evaluate what to do about them depending on the legal issues involved and the wisdom of litigating them.

Since I graduated from law school in I've always had some sort of legal practice which varied from extensive in the early years, to these days when I'm retired and mostly just doing consulting work for a hefty fee.

In this period I've written a lot of letters threatening legal action on behalf of my client or, on the rare occasion, myself—see Related Posts below. In the classroom I've passed on my advice on how to create an effective letter, and now I offer it to you, blog reader.

I tell my law students that in their coming practices they will often receive such letters or nowadays even emailsand they will calmly evaluate what to do about them depending on the legal issues involved and the wisdom of litigating them.

But the non-legal recipient of such a letter is in a very different position. Non-lawyers are usually very upset just by the thought of having to a hire a lawyer, b pay the lawyer's fee, the court costs, and gasp! The recipient, contemplating all this, feels inner organs turning over painfully, and will likely have trouble sleeping that night.

Douglas Whaley: How To Respond to a Legal Threat

The first thing that occurs to many in such a state is to avoid the whole thing by settling the matter here and now. That's exactly the attitude you want the person receiving your threat letter to adopt.

All this presumes that the recipient is not locked into a "sue and be damned" mind frame before receiving the letter.

For this reason, I never make legal threats when dealing with potential defendants in person or on the phone.

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I don't want this person to get angry and take it out on me with language like "I'll see you in court, you son of a bitch! Even if this plea of mine to your better nature doesn't work, you should also consider that losing a lawsuit can roll your own life down a very dark alley.

Here is a list of the elements of a good threat letter: Be calm and professional. You might be convinced that the other side is composed of incompetent quasi-crooks, but telling them so won't get their sympathy. Instead start by identifying yourself and then stating the reason you are writing.

Describe what happened step by step, chronologically, all leading up to your current position. Use dates and whatever specifics you have. If there are documents that support your argument, attach copies to your letter. State clearly what relief you want. Instead try something like "If you'll take the product back and refund my money, this matter will be over quickly.

As I said in the last post, consequential damages are those that never would have happened if there'd been no breach of the contractual agreement for example, your kitchen caught fire because the product malfunctioned, which also caused medical expenses, more consequential damages.

Keep your demands as reasonable as you can. Piling on minor things makes you sound unrealistic.

But if the other side has committed fraud see last postyou should also mention that you will pursue that theory in any subsequent litigation, and that courts often award punitive damages and attorney fees if the defendant is guilty of such outrageous conduct. If what happened violated your state's Consumer Law check this via Google using that label plus your state's namespecify that, citing to the statute by statute number if you have it and quoting the specific language of the statute you feel has been violated.

A No supplier shall commit an unfair or deceptive act or practice in connection with a consumer transaction.

Such an unfair or deceptive act or practice by a supplier violates this section whether it occurs before, during, or after the transaction.But a letter works in as many as one-third of all cases, probably because in the legal context the written word is far more powerful than speech.

To see why, think about the times you have found yourself embroiled in heated consumer dispute.

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Read about the Do's and Don'ts of Writing a Demand Letter at initiativeblog.com In addition to certain guarantees provided by law, LegalZoom guarantees your satisfaction with our services and support. Because our company was created by experienced attorneys, we strive to be the best legal document service on the web.

Oct 19,  · How To Write an Effective Legal Threat Letter Since I graduated from law school in I've always had some sort of legal practice which varied from extensive in the early years, to these days when I'm retired and mostly just doing consulting work for a hefty initiativeblog.com: Douglas Whaley.

How to Write a Legal Letter By Michael Davidson - Updated June 01, For instance, they can remedy a problem between two parties in lieu of filing a lawsuit, or they can play a role in contract negotiations and other legal matters.

Free Legal Letters Rocket Lawyer members can edit these legal letters online as well as create, save or even print them - online, any time. Collection Letter Threatening Legal Action for Late Payment. Write this type of letter when you are a creditor or collection company that is informing the letter recipient of potential legal action as a result of a late payment on an account.