Here is a brief overview of the format that all business letters should be in. If your particular attorney asks you to do it another way, by all means – oblige. But coming to the table, without direction, should you be tasked to write a letter, this, or a very similar format, is what you should provide.
 
Sender’s Address
All letters that you draft in the legal field should be drafted to be printed on letterhead; therefore you never need to start the letter with the sender’s address.
If you are drafting a letter that you will never print, you still should have a way for it to look professional and be on some type of letterhead. If you don’t already have something, you can take the highest quality scan that you can of the firm’s letterhead and save it as a pdf. Then draft your letter and add it as text to the pdf.
 
Date
The date should be listed at the top of the page. Then you should hit “Enter” twice to make one space between the date and the recipient’s name.
 
Recipients Name & Address
The Recipients name should be listed and then directly under their address exactly as it will be addressed. If you are sending the letter via fax or email, that should be listed.
 
Greeting
The greeting should always start with “Dear.” Then it should have the proper title, i.e. Mr., Mrs., or Ms. Unless you know for sure a woman is a Mrs., it should always be “Ms.” no matter the woman’s age. As stated, unless she regularly goes by Mrs.
 
Body
All text should be:

• • Justified

• • 12 pt. font

• • Times New Roman, or

• • Garamond

There should be a space between paragraphs. After each paragraph, hit “Enter” twice.
 
Message
Your message should be clear and easy to understand. You should be able to understand the letter, at a minimum. Then ask yourself, what does my client need to know. Always go through the checklist of:

1. 1. Who

1. 1. What

1. 1. When

1. 1. Where

1. 1. Why

1. 1. How

Your job is to make your client’s life easier, as much as possible. Additionally your job is almost an interpreter of this legal field and language. Try to avoid legal jargon at all costs. If the client understood it, they probably wouldn’t need you to include a detailed cover letter. Your job is to help navigate them through their legal issues, so make sure it is easy to understand for them. Confirm that the purpose of the letter is satisfied and always end the body with a kind word, reminding them that you are there for them if they need anything further and how to easily get in touch with you. As paralegals, we should always remind the client how they can reach their attorney directly and that their attorneys are always available to them as well. 
 
Closing
Acceptable salutations are:
“Best Regards” or “Best” in English
“Saludos Cordiales” or “Atentamente in Spanish”
Make sure there are three full spaces, so hit “Enter” four times before typing the sender’s name to allow space for a signature, even if it is an electronic signature. Then under the sender’s name, list their title and email address, if appropriate.
 
Typist’s Initials
If you typed the letter and it is from you, there is nothing to put here. If you are typing this for an attorney or a Senior Paralegal you will type that person’s (the sender) initials in caps first, backslash, then your initials in lowercase.
For example, if I, Valentina Harris, type a letter for Daniel Harris:
DH/vh
 
Enclosures
If you are including anything in the letter whatsoever, even if it is just a self-addressed stamped envelope, it should be listed in 9 pt. font like this:
Enc.: Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope
Copy of Motion for Relief From Stay – Wells Fargo
Questionnaire
Quick Clean Plan
 
The names of the enclosures should be the exact name of the document or pleading that is being included with the letter. 
 
I have a sample letter for you all to review along with an actual Court Order, redacted of course. It is important that you understand it is your job to make that confusing stipulated order make clear, concise sense. It is not your job to try to sound smart or use a lot of legalese – or even three syllable words when communicating with your clients. Good communication is the number one thing that you have control of, that greatly affects how your clients feel about you and your firm. If you can write a good, concise letter that gets to the point and easily explains to the the client what they need to know, you will be adding a great value to your firm.
 
Click here to see the sample letter and corresponding order and don’t forget to join our Paralegal Power Group on Facebook so you can share your thoughts on this blog with the rest of the paralegal community.