Note：This article is for background purposes only and is not intended as legal advice.
作者注：本文僅供參考，并不旨在提供法律意見(jiàn)譯者注：翻譯本文并未得到原作者同意，故譯文僅供學(xué)習(xí)和研究使用
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Why do people hate to get letters from lawyers？They carry bad news. They mean serious business. They‘re hard to understand. They use strange words. They carry the inherent threat of suit.人們?yōu)槭裁从憛捠盏铰蓭煹膩?lái)信呢？因?yàn)樗鼈儾皇菐?lái)壞消息，就意味著生意上出現(xiàn)了嚴(yán)重的問(wèn)題。而且，這些信讓人理解起來(lái)有些難度，因?yàn)槠渲杏幸恍┥У膶I(yè)術(shù)語(yǔ)，還有，在收到律師的來(lái)信之后，往往隨之而來(lái)的是訴訟的威脅。
Why do lawyers send such letters？They mean serious business，and they intend to sue.那為什么律師們還要發(fā)出這些信件呢？因?yàn)榻灰壮霈F(xiàn)了問(wèn)題，也因?yàn)樗麄兿胩崞鹪V訟。
But must they use those ancient，strange words and be so hard to understand，or can lawyers express serious business and imminent suit using words everyone knows？
是不是在律師函中一定要用一些生僻古怪的術(shù)語(yǔ)而讓人費(fèi)解呢？換句話說(shuō)，律師能不能用大家都熟悉的詞語(yǔ)來(lái)表述生意上的問(wèn)題或即將來(lái)臨的訴訟呢？
Whether writing a demand letter to a contract breacher，an advice letter to a client，or a cover letter to a court clerk，the letter fails if the person receiving it cannot understand what it says.其實(shí)，不管是給違約者的正式請(qǐng)求書、給客戶的意見(jiàn)書，還是給法院書記員的說(shuō)明書，只要收信人不能理解其說(shuō)了些什么，那這樣的律師函是不合格的。
All of these letters have one thing in common：They are not great literature. They will not be read in a hundred years and analyzed for their wit，charm or flowery words. With any luck they will be read just once by a few people，followed quickly by their intended result，whether that be compliance，understanding or agreement.所有的律師函都有一個(gè)共同的特點(diǎn)：它們不需要有太強(qiáng)的文學(xué)色彩，它們?cè)谌舾赡暌院笠膊豢赡茉俦婚喿x，而且人們也不會(huì)對(duì)它們所包含的智慧、對(duì)它們的吸引力、對(duì)其中的華麗詞語(yǔ)而給予關(guān)注。實(shí)際上，不論這些律師函上載明的是默許、意向，還是協(xié)議，再幸運(yùn)的話也只會(huì)被少數(shù)人為了特定的目的而閱讀一次。
Lawyers are Letter Factories律師是“信函工廠”
Lawyers write many，many letters. An average for me might be five letters a day. This includes advice letters，cover letters，demand letters，all sorts of letters. Some days have more，some have less，but five is a fairly conservative average，I would think. Five letters a day for five days a week for fifty weeks a year is 1，250 letters a year. This is my 25th year in practice，so it is quite conceivable that I have written 31，250 letters so far.律師會(huì)撰寫很多很多的信函。拿我來(lái)說(shuō)，平均每天要寫5封信函（包括意見(jiàn)書，說(shuō)明書，正式請(qǐng)求書以及其他各式各樣的信函），有時(shí)候一天書寫得多些，有時(shí)候一天書寫得少些，不過(guò)，我認(rèn)為每天5封還是一個(gè)保守的數(shù)字。每天5封，每周5天，每年50周，累計(jì)起來(lái)，每年就有1250封，不可想象，在我25年的執(zhí)業(yè)生涯中，我撰寫的信函達(dá)31250封之多。
Why do lawyers write so many letters？A primary reason lies within the ethics of our profession. Florida Bar Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 4-1.4 says：
“A lawyer shall keep a client reasonably informed about the status of a matter and promptly comply with reasonable requests for information.”
“A lawyer shall explain a matter to the extent reasonably necessary to permit the client to make informed decisions regarding the representation.”
律師們?yōu)槭裁匆獙戇@么多的信函呢？答案在我們的職業(yè)規(guī)范和職業(yè)道德中。美國(guó)佛羅里達(dá)州的律師條例之職業(yè)行為規(guī)則中第4-1.4款說(shuō)道：
“一個(gè)律師應(yīng)向客戶報(bào)告事件的現(xiàn)狀并負(fù)有根據(jù)客戶的合理要求而給予通知的義務(wù)�！�
“一個(gè)律師應(yīng)在適當(dāng)?shù)姆秶畠?nèi)向客戶解釋事由，以便客戶對(duì)代理事項(xiàng)做出決定�！�
While clients can be kept informed and given explanations orally，lawyers certainly know the value of the printed word over the spoken word：it is not as easily forgotten or misunderstood. Letters also create a record of advice given，which is useful to both the lawyer and the client. That is why letters are the preferred method of keeping clients informed and giving clients explanations.既然客戶們都知道要保存那些口頭上的報(bào)告和解釋，那律師們就更明白書面文字比口頭話語(yǔ)更可靠：它們不容易被忘記或被誤解。信函能夠保存法律意見(jiàn)的記錄，這對(duì)律師和其客戶都是有利的。所以，我們說(shuō)信函是保存對(duì)客戶的報(bào)告和向客戶解釋事由的最好工具。
Some Things To Do Before Writing撰寫信函之前需要做的事情
Before you start writing the letter it makes sense to do some preliminary background work.在動(dòng)筆起草信函之前要注意做好一些基礎(chǔ)性的準(zhǔn)備工作。
Find a letter form. Find a similar letter you have sent in the past，or see the Appendix to this article for sample engagement，cover，demand，contract negotiation，contract advice，and fax letters.查找信函范本。您可以在以前起草的信函中尋找類似的范本，也可以參考一下此文附錄中所列的范本（包括預(yù)約書，說(shuō)明書，正式請(qǐng)求書，合同談判備忘錄，合同意見(jiàn)書及傳真函等）。
Review prior letters to this recipient. In a busy world，it is easy to forget. Review prior letters to remind yourself where you are in the work process，what has already been said，and what remains to be said. This will give your letter direction and purpose.參考一下那些以前發(fā)給該收信人的信函。在這個(gè)繁忙的世界上，好多事情容易忘記。回顧以前的信函可以提醒您在工作流程中走到了哪一步，寫了些什么，還需要說(shuō)些什么，所以說(shuō)，這樣做可以讓您把握信函的方向和要旨。
Do not send a letter to another lawyer‘s client without that lawyer’s consent. Before sending the letter，find out if the nonlawyer is represented by someone else. Start by asking your client. Florida Bar Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 4-4.2 says：
“In representing a client，a lawyer shall not communicate about the subject of the representation with a person the lawyer knows to be represented by another lawyer in the matter，unless the lawyer has the consent of the other lawyer.”
未經(jīng)允許，不要發(fā)函給另一個(gè)律師的客戶。在發(fā)送之前，要確認(rèn)收信人是否已經(jīng)有代理律師了。所以，在這之前，最好問(wèn)一問(wèn)您的客戶。佛羅里達(dá)州的律師條例之職業(yè)行為規(guī)則的第4-4.2款有這樣的規(guī)定：
“在為客戶進(jìn)行代理活動(dòng)中，如果一位律師知道當(dāng)事人已經(jīng)有另一位律師在為其代理，除非得到該代理律師的同意，他就不得再同該當(dāng)事人交流有關(guān)代理之事項(xiàng)�！�
Outline your thoughts in a checklist. Before turning on your computer or dictating machine，pull out a yellow pad and jot down the main points for your letter. List what you want the letter to say. Write the points in any order；write them as they come into your mind. You can rearrange them when you write the letter. Right now you‘re just making a checklist for writing the letter.列出您的構(gòu)思提綱。在打開電腦或錄音機(jī)前，拿出一個(gè)黃色的小便箋簿略記下信函的大綱并列出您將在信函中要寫此什么，記錄這些要點(diǎn)時(shí)不要考慮什么順序，想到什么就寫什么，因?yàn)槟憧梢栽谡嬲珜懶藕瘯r(shí)重新安排順序，而現(xiàn)在，您要做的僅僅是為信函準(zhǔn)備提綱。
Keep the legal pad close at hand. When you run out of ideas for the checklist，put the pad at the side of your desk. New ideas always spring forth when writing. Jot these down on the pad as you write the letter；they are easily forgotten.隨時(shí)將上述小便箋簿放在手邊。當(dāng)您不需要所構(gòu)思提綱清單時(shí)，也要將小便箋簿放在桌上。因?yàn)樵趯懽鬟^(guò)程中隨時(shí)可能涌現(xiàn)出新思路，要及時(shí)記下這些新的思路，稍不注意，它們就會(huì)被忘了。
Simple Stuff That Will Make You Look Dumb If It‘s Wrong一些錯(cuò)誤的小細(xì)節(jié)常常會(huì)欺騙您的眼睛
Letters begin with boring things like the date and recipient‘s name and address，but if any of these are missing or wrong the letter writer will look pretty careless，to say the least. So be careful when starting the letter，and you can even include some extra things that will make the letter even better than the regular letters the recipient receives.信函的頁(yè)首常常要注明時(shí)間、收信人姓名、住址等繁瑣事項(xiàng)。如果這些事項(xiàng)有錯(cuò)誤或是被疏漏，說(shuō)得嚴(yán)重一點(diǎn)，會(huì)讓人覺(jué)得書寫者有些粗心大意。所以，從一開始起草信函時(shí)就要小心謹(jǐn)慎，注意那些特別事項(xiàng)，讓收信人覺(jué)得律師函比一般信函確實(shí)要好。
Date your letter. Date your letter the day you write it，and send it the same day. Undated letters are difficult to reply to. I usually reply to them by saying，“This is in reply to your undated letter that I received in the mail on 24 June 1999.”
注明日期。在信函上注明撰寫的日期，并在當(dāng)日發(fā)出信函。未注明日期的信函回復(fù)起來(lái)有些困難，遇到這樣的難題，我常常是這樣寫的，“茲對(duì)1999年6月24日收到之未注明日期函做出答復(fù)�！�
Consider using the international dating convention of day-month-year rather than the U.S. convention of month-day-year. As reported in the 1 June 1999 Wall Street Journal：
“The quirky U.S. style of date-writing is giving way to the day-first standard used by most of the world.……Both the MLA style guide and the Chicago Manual of Style support the day-first format.‘You get rid of the comma that way，’says Joseph Gibaldi，director of book acquisition for the MLA in New York.”
在注明日期時(shí)，最好用國(guó)際通用的格式：日-月-年（day-month-year），而不是美國(guó)通用的格式：月-日-年（month-day-year）。正如華爾街日?qǐng)?bào)在1999年6月1日中所報(bào)道的那樣：
“有點(diǎn)古怪的美國(guó)時(shí)間格式正在讓位于世界通用的日期在先的時(shí)間格式……現(xiàn)代語(yǔ)言學(xué)會(huì)（MLA）文體和芝加哥手冊(cè)文體都支持這種日期在先的時(shí)間格式，美國(guó)紐約州現(xiàn)代語(yǔ)言學(xué)會(huì)（MLA）的圖書采購(gòu)部主任Joseph.Gibaldi也說(shuō)‘你們必須拋棄那些使用了逗號(hào)的時(shí)間格式’�！�
If you are sending a fax or email，then type the time next to the date. While letters“cross in the mail”in days，faxes and emails“cross in the wires”in hours and minutes.如果您是以傳真或電子郵件的形式發(fā)送信函，應(yīng)在信函上印上日期和具體時(shí)間。因?yàn)閭鹘y(tǒng)郵件傳遞可能要幾天，但傳真和電子雜志的傳遞則只需要幾個(gè)小時(shí)或幾分鐘。
Remind your client to preserve attorney-client confidentiality. Sometimes clients show your letters to others without realizing they can lose the attorney-client privilege of that communication. Add this phrase at the top of the letter to remind them not to do this：
CONFIDENTIAL ATTORNEY-CLIENT COMMUNICATION DO NOT COPY OR DISCLOSE TO ANYONE ELSE If the letter is written during or in anticipation of litigation，the following phrase can be used：
CONFIDENTIAL ATTORNEY-CLIENT COMMUNICATION AND WORK PRODUCT DO NOT COPY OR DISCLOSE TO ANYONE ELSE
提醒客戶對(duì)其與律師之間的交流溝通負(fù)有保密義務(wù)。有時(shí)候，客戶們將收到的律師函拿給第三方閱讀，因?yàn)樗麄儾恢浪麄儾荒軐⑵渑c律師之間溝通的內(nèi)容披露給他方，所以，應(yīng)該在信函的首部寫上一些話來(lái)提醒客戶：
“律師與客戶之間的溝通交流為秘密信息，未經(jīng)允許，不得復(fù)制或披露給第三方”
如果信函是發(fā)生在訴訟之中或是訴訟的準(zhǔn)備階段，那最好用下面這段話：
“律師與客戶之間的溝通交流和律師的工作成果為秘密信息，未經(jīng)允許，不得復(fù)制或披露給第三方”
Be sure to use the recipient‘s correct legal name and address. Your letter may be relied upon for its accuracy，so be accurate. Verification of names can be obtained from the public records，the phone book，or the webstes. And when it comes to middle initials，never rely on your memory or guess at it because most of the time you’ll be wrong.寫清收信人的法定名稱和住址。只有信函的內(nèi)容準(zhǔn)確，才能讓人覺(jué)得它是可以信賴的。您可以利用公共檔案、電話本、互聯(lián)網(wǎng)等工具來(lái)核對(duì)這些名稱的準(zhǔn)確性，特別是，如果這些名稱中出現(xiàn)了中間名字（middle initials），千萬(wàn)不要憑想象和猜測(cè)，因?yàn)橄雭?lái)的和猜來(lái)的東西常常都不可靠。
Indicate the method of delivery if other than mail. If being faxed，include the fax number and telephone number. If being sent by FedEx，state whether it is by overnight or second day. If being sent by email，state the email address. This will make it easy for your staff person to send it to the correct place，and it will document for your file how it was sent.不使用傳統(tǒng)郵件送交信函，就要特別說(shuō)明送交的方式。如果是用傳真發(fā)送，就要注明傳真號(hào)碼和電話號(hào)碼；如果是用聯(lián)邦快遞送交，就要說(shuō)明送交的時(shí)間是否會(huì)超過(guò)一天；如果是以電子郵件的形式發(fā)送，就要注明電子郵件的地址；如果是讓您的同事送交到某個(gè)地點(diǎn)，那只需在信函上注明送交的方式即可。
Include a fax notice. When sending by fax，include a notice in case it is sent to the wrong number. Here is the notice I use at the top of my letterhead when sending a fax：
NOTICE：This is privileged and confidential and intended only for the person named below. If you are not that person，then any use，dissemination，distribution or copying of this is strictly prohibited，and you are requested to notify us immediately by calling or faxing us collect at the numbers above. Date Sent ________ Time Sent ________ Number of Pages ________ Person Who Conf‘d Receipt _________
傳真通知。在發(fā)傳真的時(shí)候，最好附一個(gè)傳真通知以防發(fā)錯(cuò)了號(hào)碼。這里有一個(gè)我經(jīng)常放在傳真信函抬頭的通知樣本：
注意：本傳真欲發(fā)送給下述之收件人，該接收人享有專用權(quán)并負(fù)有保密義務(wù)。若您非下文所述之收件人，請(qǐng)不要使用、分發(fā)、發(fā)送、復(fù)制本傳真件，并應(yīng)盡快通過(guò)電話或傳真通知我們更改上文所述之號(hào)碼。
發(fā)送日期_______發(fā)送時(shí)間________頁(yè)數(shù)_______特定收件人_____________
After sending a fax，call the recipient to confirm receipt and write that person‘s name in the space provided. Never rely on the fax machine itself to confirm a fax transmission；fax machines do not yet have the credibility of a human witness.發(fā)完傳真后，要打電話給收件人確認(rèn)其已經(jīng)收到傳真，并在有空余的地方記下收件人的名字。千萬(wàn)不要相信傳真機(jī)顯示的發(fā)送成功的信息，因?yàn)閭髡鏅C(jī)終究是機(jī)器，不具有類似人類智慧的可信度。
The Corpus of the Litterae信函格式
The body of the letter is why you are writing it. You succeed by leaving the reader with full knowledge of why you wrote the letter and what it means. You fail by leaving the reader dumbfound and clueless as to why you sent such a letter. While most letters fall somewhere in between these two extremes，following these suggestions will keep your letters on the successful end of the scale.信函的主體是書寫信函的目的之所在。您必須讓讀者清楚地知道您想要表達(dá)的意思和目的。如果您的信函讓讀者一頭霧水，讓他們不知道您要說(shuō)些什么的話，那這樣的信函是不合格的。大多數(shù)的信函常常會(huì)在某些地方步入這兩個(gè)極端，但遵從下述建議卻可以讓您的信函走上成功之路。
Identify your client. It is important to let others know who is your client at the earliest opportunity. This accomplishes a great deal. First，it tells the reader that your client has a lawyer. This makes your client happy because most clients want the world to know they have a lawyer. Second，it tells the reader that you are not the reader‘s lawyer. This makes your malpractice carrier happy because it’s one less person who‘s going to sue you claiming they thought you were representing them when，in fact，you were not.
Identifying your client is an ethical concern，as well. Florida Bar Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 4-4.3 says：
“In dealing on behalf of a client with a person who is not represented by counsel，a lawyer shall not state or imply that the lawyer is disinterested.”
Therefore，the first time you write someone a letter，the letter should open with the following sentence：“I represent _________.”After that，every time you write another letter reconfirm who you represent by referring to your client by name and as“my client.”
明確你和客戶之間的關(guān)系。讓其他人盡快地了解到誰(shuí)是您的客戶，這樣做很重要，也會(huì)帶來(lái)意想不到的效果。首先，這會(huì)告訴讀者您的客戶有律師。其實(shí)，大多數(shù)的客戶都希望滿世界的人知道他們是有律師的，所以這會(huì)令您的客戶感到高興和自豪。其次，這還讓讀者知道您不是他的律師。如果不這樣做，會(huì)讓那些實(shí)際上和你沒(méi)有代理關(guān)系而自認(rèn)為和你有代理關(guān)系的人起訴你，所以這樣做，也會(huì)讓那些不負(fù)責(zé)任的送交者感到有些輕松。
明確你和客戶之間的關(guān)系真的很重要。佛羅里達(dá)州律師條例之職業(yè)行為規(guī)則中的第4-4.3款也規(guī)定：
“在處理自己代理的客戶和一個(gè)沒(méi)有代理人的當(dāng)事人之間的事務(wù)時(shí)，一個(gè)律師不得聲稱或者暗示自己的處理是公正無(wú)私的。”
因此，您在起草信函的第一時(shí)間、第一部分應(yīng)該寫道：“我代表____.”自此以后每次撰寫信函，您都應(yīng)該再次證實(shí)您所代理的客戶并稱之為“我的客戶”。
State the purpose of the letter. Why leave the reader guessing？Go ahead and say right up front why you are writing the letter. Here are some opening sentences：
“The purpose of this letter is to _________.”
“This letter is to inform you that _________.”
“My client has instructed me to _________.”
“This is to confirm that _________.”
“This confirms our phone conversation today in which _________.”
陳述信函的要旨。為什么要讓讀者自己猜測(cè)呢？您應(yīng)該直截了當(dāng)?shù)卣f(shuō)出您為什么要寫這封信。這里有一些此種表達(dá)法的例句：
“本文旨在______.”
“本文通知您_______.”
“我的客戶指示我____.”
“本文確認(rèn)___________.”
“本文證實(shí)我們今天在電話中交流的內(nèi)容為_____.”
If there are any enclosures，list them first. Listing enclosures at the beginning of the letter will make it easier for your staff to assemble them and for the reader to check to be sure all was received. This is much easier than having to read an entire，perhaps lengthy，letter to ascertain what are the enclosures.
The enclosures should be described with specificity so that there is later no question as to what was enclosed. At a minimum，the title and date of each document should be listed. If the document was recorded，then the recording information should be included. Whether the document is an original or a copy should also be specified. The following is an example：
“Enclosed are the following documents from your closing held on ___/___/1999 in which you purchased the home at _________，St. Petersburg，F(xiàn)lorida，from _________：
Warranty Deed dated ___/___/1999 and recorded on ___/___/1999 at O.R. Book ____，Page ____，_________，County，F(xiàn)lorida（original）
Title Insurance Policy issued on ___/___/1999 by _________ on _________ as policy number _________（original）
HUD-1 Settlement Statement dated ___/___/1999（original）“
如果有隨信附件，首先要列出他們的清單。附件清單應(yīng)該放在信函的首部，這既可以讓您的工作人員輕松地收集這些附件，也可以讓讀者確認(rèn)這些附件是否已經(jīng)全部收到。另外，這樣做，讀者就不需要到信函的全文中去尋找哪些是隨信附件了，特別是信函過(guò)長(zhǎng)時(shí)，這樣做就更省事了。
為了避免將來(lái)引起關(guān)于附件的爭(zhēng)議，對(duì)這些隨信附件需進(jìn)行詳細(xì)地說(shuō)明，至少，這些附件的名稱和時(shí)間應(yīng)該被列出。如果某附件已經(jīng)被登記存檔，那存檔記錄信息也要被列出。另外，不管附件文檔是正本還是副本，都應(yīng)該被說(shuō)明。具體做法請(qǐng)參考下面這個(gè)例子：
“下列附件來(lái)源于您在1999年__月___日的交易，在該交易日中，你從____處購(gòu)買了一座住宅，該住宅位于_____，彼得斯堡大街，佛羅里達(dá)州：
房產(chǎn)擔(dān)保契約，訂立于1999年__月___日，于1999年__月___日登記存檔在佛羅里達(dá)州___縣的公共檔案中第__卷第___頁(yè)上（正本）
產(chǎn)權(quán)保險(xiǎn)單，由_____于1999年__月___日在_______簽發(fā)，單號(hào)為____（正本）
住房和城市發(fā)展部第1號(hào)授與聲明，發(fā)布于1999年__月___日（正本）“
Outline the letter as separately numbered paragraphs. Each paragraph of the letter should state a separate thought，comment，point or concept. No paragraph should be longer than four or five short sentences. If the paragraph is longer，then separate it into subparagraphs. The paragraphs should flow in logical，organized fashion. It is not necessary to write them all at once；you can write them as you think of them. Try to group related concepts in the same paragraphs or in adjacent paragraphs. See the Appendix for sample letters.用一些相互獨(dú)立的段落來(lái)描繪出信函的輪廓。信函的每個(gè)段落最好只表達(dá)一個(gè)獨(dú)立的意思、意見(jiàn)、觀點(diǎn)或概念。每個(gè)段落最多也只用四個(gè)或五個(gè)短句組成。如果某個(gè)段落過(guò)長(zhǎng)，則應(yīng)分成幾個(gè)小分段。段落之間應(yīng)該按邏輯順序有條理地組織起來(lái)。當(dāng)然，不需要一下子把它們都寫出來(lái)，可以邊想邊寫。另外，要力圖在一個(gè)段落或在鄰近的幾個(gè)段落中將相關(guān)的概念解釋清楚。本文的附錄中有幾個(gè)這樣的例子可供參考。
Give each paragraph a title and underline that title. Think of this as the headline for a newspaper article. This makes it easy for the reader to scan the letter and choose how to more fully read and digest its contents. This also makes it easier for you later when you see the letter in your file and try to remember why you wrote
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