作者注：本文僅供參考，并不旨在提供法律意見譯者注：翻譯本文并未得到原作者同意，故譯文僅供學習和研究使用

　　——

　　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硇拍�？因為它們不是帶來壞消息，就意味著生意上出現了嚴重的問題。而且，這些信讓人理解起來有些難度，因為其中有一些生僻的專業(yè)術語，還有，在收到律師的來信之后，往往隨之而來的是訴訟的威脅。

　　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？因為交易出現了問題，也因為他們想提起訴訟。

　　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語而讓人費解呢？換句話說，律師能不能用大家都熟悉的詞語來表述生意上的問題或即將來臨的訴訟呢？

　　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，不管是給違約者的正式請求書、給客戶的意見書，還是給法院書記員的說明書，只要收信人不能理解其說了些什么，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共同的特點：它們不需要有太強的文學色彩，它們在若干年以后也不可能再被閱讀，而且人們也不會對它們所包含的智慧、對它們的吸引力、對其中的華麗詞語而給予關注。實際上，不論這些律師函上載明的是默許、意向，還是協議，再幸運的話也只會被少數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.律師會撰寫很多很多的信函。拿我來說，平均每天要寫5封信函（包括意見書，說明書，正式請求書以及其他各式各樣的信函），有時候一天書寫得多些，有時候一天書寫得少些，不過，我認為每天5封還是一個保守的數字。每天5封，每周5天，每年50周，累計起來，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。美國佛羅里達州的律師條例之職業(yè)行為規(guī)則中第4-1.4款說道：

　　“一個律師應向客戶報告事件的現狀并負有根據客戶的合理要求而給予通知的義務�！�

　　“一個律師應在適當的范圍之內向客戶解釋事由，以便客戶對代理事項做出決定�！�

　　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告和解釋，那律師們就更明白書面文字比口頭話語更可靠：它們不容易被忘記或被誤解。信函能夠保存法律意見的記錄，這對律師和其客戶都是有利的。所以，我們說信函是保存對客戶的報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.在動筆起草信函之前要注意做好一些基礎性的準備工作。

　　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（包括預約書，說明書，正式請求書，合同談判備忘錄，合同意見書及傳真函等）。

　　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，還需要說些什么，所以說，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.”

　　未經允許，不要發(fā)函給另一個律師的客戶。在發(fā)送之前，要確認收信人是否已經有代理律師了。所以，在這之前，最好問一問您的客戶。佛羅里達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：

　　“在為客戶進行代理活動中，如果一位律師知道當事人已經有另一位律師在為其代理，除非得到該代理律師的同意，他就不得再同該當事人交流有關代理之事項�！�

　　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.列出您的構思提綱。在打開電腦或錄音機前，拿出一個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，記錄這些要點時不要考慮什么順序，想到什么就寫什么，因為你可以在真正撰寫信函時重新安排順序，而現在，您要做的僅僅是為信函準備提綱。

　　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.隨時將上述小便箋簿放在手邊。當您不需要所構思提綱清單時，也要將小便箋簿放在桌上。因為在寫作過程中隨時可能涌現出新思路，要及時記下這些新的思路，稍不注意，它們就會被忘了。

　　Simple Stuff That Will Make You Look Dumb If It‘s Wrong一些錯誤的小細節(jié)常常會欺騙您的眼睛

　　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.信函的頁首常常要注明時間、收信人姓名、住址等繁瑣事項。如果這些事項有錯誤或是被疏漏，說得嚴重一點，會讓人覺得書寫者有些粗心大意。所以，從一開始起草信函時就要小心謹慎，注意那些特別事項，讓收信人覺得律師函比一般信函確實要好。

　　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，并在當日發(fā)出信函。未注明日期的信函回復起來有些困難，遇到這樣的難題，我常常是這樣寫的，“茲對1999年6月24日收到之未注明日期函做出答復�！�

　　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，最好用國際通用的格式：日-月-年（day-month-year），而不是美國通用的格式：月-日-年（month-day-year）。正如華爾街日報在1999年6月1日中所報道的那樣：

　　“有點古怪的美國時間格式正在讓位于世界通用的日期在先的時間格式……現代語言學會（MLA）文體和芝加哥手冊文體都支持這種日期在先的時間格式，美國紐約州現代語言學會（MLA）的圖書采購部主任Joseph.Gibaldi也說‘你們必須拋棄那些使用了逗號的時間格式’�！�

　　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，應在信函上印上日期和具體時間。因為傳統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小時或幾分鐘。

　　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

　　提醒客戶對其與律師之間的交流溝通負有保密義務。有時候，客戶們將收到的律師函拿給第三方閱讀，因為他們不知道他們不能將其與律師之間溝通的內容披露給他方，所以，應該在信函的首部寫上一些話來提醒客戶：

　　“律師與客戶之間的溝通交流為秘密信息，未經允許，不得復制或披露給第三方”

　　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，未經允許，不得復制或披露給第三方”

　　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。只有信函的內容準確，才能讓人覺得它是可以信賴的。您可以利用公共檔案、電話本、互聯網等工具來核對這些名稱的準確性，特別是，如果這些名稱中出現了中間名字（middle initials），千萬不要憑想象和猜測，因為想來的和猜來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.不使用傳統郵件送交信函，就要特別說明送交的方式。如果是用傳真發(fā)送，就要注明傳真號碼和電話號碼；如果是用聯邦快遞送交，就要說明送交的時間是否會超過一天；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地點，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)傳真的時候，最好附一個傳真通知以防發(fā)錯了號碼。這里有一個我經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并負有保密義務。若您非下文所述之收件人，請不要使用、分發(fā)、發(fā)送、復制本傳真件，并應盡快通過電話或傳真通知我們更改上文所述之號碼。

　　發(fā)送日期_______發(fā)送時間________頁數_______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其已經收到傳真，并在有空余的地方記下收件人的名字。千萬不要相信傳真機顯示的發(fā)送成功的信息，因為傳真機終究是機器，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些什么的話，那這樣的信函是不合格的。大多數的信函常常會在某些地方步入這兩個極端，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系。讓其他人盡快地了解到誰是您的客戶，這樣做很重要，也會帶來意想不到的效果。首先，這會告訴讀者您的客戶有律師。其實，大多數的客戶都希望滿世界的人知道他們是有律師的，所以這會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，會讓那些實際上和你沒有代理關系而自認為和你有代理關系的人起訴你，所以這樣做，也會讓那些不負責任的送交者感到有些輕松。

　　明確你和客戶之間的關系真的很重要。佛羅里達州律師條例之職業(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沒有代理人的當事人之間的事務時，一個律師不得聲稱或者暗示自己的處理是公正無私的。”

　　因此，您在起草信函的第一時間、第一部分應該寫道：“我代表____.”自此以后每次撰寫信函，您都應該再次證實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呢？您應該直截了當地說出您為什么要寫這封信。這里有一些此種表達法的例句：

　　“本文旨在______.”

　　“本文通知您_______.”

　　“我的客戶指示我____.”

　　“本文確認___________.”

　　“本文證實我們今天在電話中交流的內容為_____.”

　　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，Florida，from _________：

　　Warranty Deed dated ___/___/1999 and recorded on ___/___/1999 at O.R. Book ____，Page ____，_________，County，Florida（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，也可以讓讀者確認這些附件是否已經全部收到。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，特別是信函過長時，這樣做就更省事了。

　　為了避免將來引起關于附件的爭議，對這些隨信附件需進行詳細地說明，至少，這些附件的名稱和時間應該被列出。如果某附件已經被登記存檔，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，都應該被說明。具體做法請參考下面這個例子：

　　“下列附件來源于您在1999年__月___日的交易，在該交易日中，你從____處購買了一座住宅，該住宅位于_____，彼得斯堡大街，佛羅里達州：

　　房產擔保契約，訂立于1999年__月___日，于1999年__月___日登記存檔在佛羅里達州___縣的公共檔案中第__卷第___頁上（正本）

　　產權保險單，由_____于1999年__月___日在_______簽發(fā)，單號為____（正本）

　　住房和城市發(fā)展部第1號授與聲明，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.用一些相互獨立的段落來描繪出信函的輪廓。信函的每個段落最好只表達一個獨立的意思、意見、觀點或概念。每個段落最多也只用四個或五個短句組成。如果某個段落過長，則應分成幾個小分段。段落之間應該按邏輯順序有條理地組織起來。當然，不需要一下子把它們都寫出來，可以邊想邊寫。另外，要力圖在一個段落或在鄰近的幾個段落中將相關的概念解釋清楚。本文的附錄中有幾個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