English Diagnostic Series: Direct Answers

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If you don’t want clients questioning the quality of your English advice, you definitely want to avoid the junior lawyer habit of providing extremely indirect answers. (There is nothing better than paying lawyers for a non-answer.)

Sorry for the negativity. But, there is some good news. You can quickly fix painfully indirect answers via a simple, three-step method for generating quality answers in your English advice.

Demonstration

Imagine that you firm has been asked by a client to advise them on how to fire an annoying employee. Unfortunately, your junior associate has provided an answer that sounds like: “it’s complicated and you have a lot of options”.

Here’s a step-by-step explanation on how to fix this up.

Step One: Express the reader’s problem as a question

You should begin by identifying the reader’s problem by stating it as a question. Make sure that your question addresses the specific problem of the reader.

  • What is the law on employee terminations? No

  • What are our options for terminating an employee? No

  • How should we terminate the employee? Yes

Step Two: Answer the question by solving the problem

Once you identify the reader’s question, you should answer it in the form of a solution. Tip: Use the words of the question to state your answer.

  • There are several methods for terminating the employment of employees No

  • You should terminate the employee via mutual agreement Yes

Comment: Yes, I hear those malpractice warning signals too. Calm down. I’m going to protect you. (See Step Three (option 2) below for a great approach for covering your ass).

Step Three: Support your answer (option 1)

Once you state your answer, your reader will expect you to support it. You should support your answer by listing the main reasons for your answer. Before you state the reasons, insert the conjunction because.

  • You should terminate the employee via mutual agreement because

    (i) you can avoid the risk of a lengthy and costly court procedure; and

    (ii) you should be able to agree to a severance payment that is close to the statutory amount for an ordinary termination.

Step Three: Condition your answer (option 2)

If you are uncertain about the answer, restate the reasons as conditions to the answer. Before you state the reasons, insert the conjunction if (for a more positive answer) or unless (for a less positive answer).

For example, imagine that the reader’s question was “can we terminate the employment via mutual agreement?” In this case, you could state the answer as follows:

  • You can terminate the employment via mutual agreement if

    (i) you can agree on a severance payment amount;

    (ii) you can agree on the termination date; and

    (iii) you and the employee execute a written termination agreement.

  • You cannot terminate the employment via mutual agreement unless:

    (insert same conditions as above)

Learn More

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