legal-opinion-drafterlisted

# Legal Opinion Drafter ## What this does Drafts a structured written opinion: the precise question being answered, the facts it is based on, issue-by-issue analysis, a conclusion stated with the degree of confidence the analysis actually supports, and the assumptions and limitations the opinion depends on. An opinion is understood by its reader to be reliable within its stated scope — so a vague question, an unstated assumption, or a citation that turns out to be wrong does more damage here than in almost any other document this practice pack produces. ## Before you start **The precise question presented.** A vague brief produces a vague opinion. "Is this enforceable" is not precise enough — enforceable against whom, under which law, on what facts. If the question as given is not precise, work with the user to state it precisely before drafting anything; do not silently narrow or reinterpret it without flagging that you have done so. **The facts the opinion is to be based on.** Supplied by the client or instructing lawyer. The opinion has to rest on stated facts, not assumed ones — if the facts are incomplete, the opinion should say so explicitly and state what it is assuming in their place, rather than filling gaps with a plausible-sounding account. **Governing law, and which mode the opinion runs in.** *Document-based*: analysing the words and their internal coherence, with every point that turns on the law itself left as an open question in the limitations section.