As soon as we enter law school, we hear about many new things: moot courts, legal research, legal notices, and more.
Some excite us, and some overwhelm us.
As we move ahead, we gain practical experience. We participate in moot court competitions, write research papers, and draft legal notices.
Doing these might seem like exploring a new land—exciting but a bit overwhelming at first. In this article, I will give you pro tips and tricks for writing an effective legal notice.
Writing an excellent legal notice is an essential, critical, and income-generating skill. Whether a law student, fresher, practising advocate, or counsel, you should be well-versed in the technicalities and practicalities of writing a legal notice.
In our country, a legal notice marks the start of legal proceedings. It is a formal written communication between parties that contains the facts, cause of action, and legal reasoning for making any claim.
Before drafting a legal notice, keep a few things in mind. Some of these pointers that will allow you to draft a clear and well-defined legal notice are listed below:
- Take proper instructions from the client before and during drafting the legal notice.
- Ask questions in clusters rather than running to the client for every problem.
- Understand the client’s perspective and the dispute involved thoroughly.
- Request samples if available for better understanding.
- Draft the legal notice with the ability to make changes as required by the client.
- Understand the specific requirements of each section, with facts and relief requiring specificity and the grievance section needing clarity.
- Avoid omitting or admitting anything randomly.
- Arrange facts and events logically and chronologically in the draft.
Content
Date
The document must be dated. Depending on the writing style, the date can be on the right or left side of the letterhead.
Addressee or Receiver of a Legal Notice
A legal notice should be sent to the correct address and issued/addressed/served to the right person. Therefore, the first task is to identify the addressee.
For instance, in a proprietorship, it is essential to issue legal notice to the proprietor himself, not just the proprietorship itself.
Similarly, in a company, a notice is to be sent to the company as well as the concerned director or authorised representative at the registered and corporate address of the company.
Pro tip:
Suppose an entity has a separate legal identity. In that case, the notice must be sent to the entity at its registered address and authorised representative—for example, a Company, LLP, etc.
If an entity does not have a separate legal identity, the notice must be sent only to its representative. For example, in the case of a Partnership Firm, the notice must be sent to the Partners and not to the Firm.
We will try to understand the same with the help of the following examples:
- Notice to a Company: As mentioned before, the notice is sent to a company’s registered and corporate addresses. In practice, the company’s directors are also made parties in a legal notice. The company’s registered address is taken from MCA Master Data or as available in the communication documents. The same can also serve the company’s directors when they are sent the legal notice.
- Notice to a Proprietorship: It is a fact that a proprietorship is not a separate legal entity. Therefore, in such a case, it is essential that apart from addressing the legal notice to the proprietorship, the proprietor(s) is also made a party to it.
- Notice to a Partnership Firm: There can be two scenarios/possibilities here:
- Scenario One: You are one of the partners. The legal notice will be sent according to the terms and conditions of the partnership deed. This could be for a business deal that requires a monetary settlement or for a situation in which one of the partners wishes to opt out of the partnership.
- Scenario Two: The legal notice is being sent by a third party. In such a case, it must also be sent to all its partners and the partnership firm.
- Notice to a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP): In the case of an LLP, a document including a legal notice may be served on the LLP or its partner or its designated partner. The LLP Act, 2008 further provides that a document may be served by sending it by post under a certificate of posting, registered post, or any other manner at the registered office and any other address declared explicitly by the LLP.[1]
- Notice to a Hindu Undivided Family (HUF): A Hindu undivided family is one person in the eyes of the law. Therefore, if a third party has to send a notice, it addresses it to the HUF and its Karta (head).
- Notice to the Government: Section 80 of the Civil Procedure Code, 1908, requires legal notice to be delivered to the Secretary, Collector of the District, or the Public Officer at his office address. Similarly, the Constitution also contains Article 361(4), which provides that two months’ notice is mandatory to institute a suit against the President or the Governor.
Sender of a Legal Notice (Aggrieved Party)
The aggrieved party or their authorised agent may issue and sign a notice. When an advocate issues a notice, the presumption is that it was issued based on his client’s instructions.
Hence, in a notice issued by an advocate, there is an averment – “under the instructions from my client,” etc.- that the addressor is continuously referred to as ‘my client’.
Subject of a Legal Notice
In statutory notices, the subject of the legal notice must be mentioned. Although there is no such compulsion to state the subject in an optional notice, it is advisable to do so.
Though you must mention the subject, where you place it is debatable. It could be before the salutation (Sir/Ma’am) or after it.
Body of the Legal Notice
A notice by a pleader generally starts with the opening sentence “under instructions from my client Sri./Smt./Km. ____ son/wife/daughter of ___ resident of ___, I hereby serve you the following legal notice.”
The paragraphs following this sentence should para-wise set out:
- Firstly, the relevant and material facts, just as in a plant,
- Next comes the grievance leading to giving the legal notice,
- Third comes the redressal required from the opposite party,
- Finally, mention the consequence of not complying with the notice.
The Facts
Once you have completed the subject and salutation, the next step is clearly stating the facts (followed by the dispute or grievance).
The purpose of the legal notice is to clarify the origin of the grievance for which the notice is being sent.
An advocate must learn to present facts coherently and chronologically so that the receiving party quickly understands the grievance.
The essence of the notice is in the delicate balance between making it readily understood by a layman and not losing its legal rigour.
It is also important that the factual background is outlined so that its presence aids in establishing the ingredients of the wrong/offence done by the receiver of the legal notice.
Each fact should be explicitly stated, and the dates of each fact should also be enumerated well.
The chronology of the facts should lead to the act or an omission of the act which caused the grievance.
Facts should be such that they lay down the background and cause of action for the action or omission of the required action.
The Dispute or Grievance
Once the facts of the case are outlined, the next step is to describe the grievance caused by the notice receiver. In common parlance, all damages (remote and direct) are analysed to determine the extent of the damage caused by such action or omission.
This is where the legal expertise kicks in. The grievance is explained by indicating the precise ingredients of the wrong/offence committed by the sender.
Pro tip:
While describing the grievance, try to use the keywords (as mentioned in the statute) so that the ingredients of the offence align with the facts.
For example, if the grievance is cheating, you can use keywords like “deceived fraudulently..” to indicate the offence.
It is not mandatory that the description be exceptional in detail. While detailing can help at times, there are also times when it is more fruitful to leave room for ambiguity. An example of when leaving ambiguity makes sense is when another offence or breach of contract is possible.
This section also mentions the relevant clause that is breached, the laws broken, and the section that mandates sending the legal notice.
The grievance should also be in line with the redressal required.
For example, If the grievance is that a cheque bounced, the redressal cannot require the opposite party to buy the aggrieved party a car.
Relief Sought
After the grievance has been made clear, the notice progresses to explain what exactly is required to counteract the damage caused. The redressal must clearly explain:
- The acts and expectations of the sender towards the receiver of the legal notice,
- How does the sender want the grievance to be addressed by the receiver?
Here, being specific in the required relief aids the sender of the legal notice.
The receiver may not know the best way to counter the damage. The damage may be so severe that the sender may require the receiver to perform an utterly third act to rectify the harm.
The specificity in this section is of utmost importance as it is why the legal notice is being sent.
You can ask for damages under various categories, such as:
- Actual damages
- Interest
- Damages for physical stress and mental agony
- Damages for sentimental value
- Damages for loss of reputation
- Damages for loss of prospects/business, etc.
Impending Litigation
Once everything else has been stated, the sender releases the final bow in the quiver. The sender can initiate legal proceedings if the relief mentioned above is not made available to the aggrieved party within a given time frame. It could be towards the civil or criminal side, but it is ambiguous.
The notice never gives a heads-up on the specifics of the litigation coming the receiver’s way. This part further mentions that the opposite party will also bear the legal costs incurred in litigation.
Time for Compliance
The section that mentions impending litigation also discusses the time period provided to the receiver to address the grievance.
This time frame is based upon various factors required for the specific act mentioned in the redressal.
Apart from statutory notices, there is no legal mandate towards a time frame. Sometimes, the client would want a 7-day time frame; sometimes, a month is also provided to make the grievance go well.
For example, if the act is just to send some money, a time frame of 14 days is sufficient. If the act requires procuring a particular good and customising it to the needs of the sender of the notice, a time frame of 3 months may also be provided.
The sender of the legal notice decides. In cases where an agreement mandates the notice, the conditions of sending the notice as specified must be met.
Conclusion of the Legal Notice
The legal notice usually ends with the following line: “My client will be compelled to initiate legal proceedings, civil and Criminal, against you as it may be advised without further notice. Please note that any such action will be at your cost and peril.”
Language
(a) The language should be clear, crisp, and straightforward. Apart from being able to be comprehended by the receiver, who is a layman, the legal language should also be balanced to accommodate his understanding.
(b) The acts of which notice is intended to be given should be stated concisely and clearly, and the claim or demand of the notice-giver should be clearly and precisely made. In addition, if any other fact is provided by the contract or statute to be entered in the notice, the same should be mentioned.
(c) The ordinary and accustomed instruments and technical language forms should be employed. The language should be precise and accurate to the utmost possible extent.
(d) The language of the draft must be readily intelligible to laymen
Improving your Legal Notice
The following tips should be considered:
Remember that the first draft is written to put thoughts into words. Read, review and edit the draft multiple times before sending it. The legal notice should be comprehensive to the person reading it.
In the process of editing the document, make sure that you keep the following points in mind:
- Clarity: The draft should be written in clear and simple English language. It must be comprehensible and easy to understand on the first reading itself. The words must make sense and have appropriate legal jargon and correct meanings.
- Use of appropriate language: The appropriate language is plain English but with the right degree of formality. Avoid archaic, pompous, and overly dense language. However, keep your drafting from becoming too informal or conversational. Legal writing is factual and objective; therefore, using expressive, exaggerated, or prejudicial language must proceed cautiously. Using the correct legal terminology when drafting a legal document is imperative. Legal terms must not be translated into modern English merely for the sake of it.
- Be Concise: Be efficient and succinct in your writing. Avoid loose and rambling sentence structures. Do not put in unnecessary words and phrases. The overall effect should be that your draft is clear, easy to read, and has a professional and confident tone.
- Be precise: The precision of a lawyer’s drafting ultimately makes it a professional piece of work. If you’re using a term’s definition, stick to it consistently.
- Grammar, punctuation, and spelling: There should be no grammatical, spelling, or typographical errors. The tenses used also need to be consistent. Take advantage of words or use short forms. Sentences should be constructed appropriately.
This is not all! There is much more to legal notices, such as types of legal notices, Services and modes of service of a legal notice, Replies to a legal notice, etc. Do you wish to gain expertise in income-generating skills? Look no further. Lawctopus Law School invites enrollments for its online self-paced certificate course on ‘Drafting a Legal Notice’.
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How will the Course on Legal Notice Drafting help you?
- Understand what a legal notice is, its type, and its relevance.
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- Know about replying to legal notices.
- Lawyers…start offering this service to your clients and generate additional income through that
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[1] Section 13 of the Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008
Source: Lawctopus
