The Right Use of Land - Assignment Example

Learning Log s: Week 28-08-06 – 02-09-2006) Tasks this week I drafted eight demand letters. I met with the solicitor from my firm, barrister, and client. One of the cases was concerning the right use of land. I was not an active participant, I only took notes. I had to inform myself of the right way of formulating such demand letters. I read similar cases which my principal had me revise. I reviewed the structure and format in order to create my own demand letters (refer to appendix 3). I gathered all the necessary information, such as: the plaintiff´s medical report detailing the plaintiff´s injuries, the police statement of facts, and the vehicle registration documents of both parties. I wrote eight demand letters of which two of the cases are herein. 2. I read two cases and took notes. I read about the right use of land and about Family Law. In the right use of land our clients were the defendants, charged with illegally using a public place. In the Family Law case it involved the issue of which parent should the child live with, after going through a divorce. 3. I prepared a presentation. I prepared the principle and cases for the presentation concerning the Law of Tort. In this case, our client hired a company to decorate his property. The company installed the electrical wires incorrectly and this resulted in damages to the plaintiff´s property. I explained that he had the right to sue in breach of liability, which concerned the Tort of Negligence (discussed in section 3.1). Knowledge gained this week: 1. I learned how to gather information, develop its structure, and format in order to write demand letters. 2. I realised that I should go over the material meticulously so that mistakes do not take place in writing the demand letter and, therefore, I do not need to redo some parts. 3. I was able to identify the laws and the relationships between parties. 4. I learned about Family Law. 5. I realised that I need to read more on Family Law. What can I now do which I could not before: 1. I am able to write demand letters. 2. I am able to take notes in details so that when I write the information, it is correct. 3. I am to revise the materials before handing them so that there are no mistakes. Aspects of work well done and analysis of what made that work go well: 1. I was able to obtain information in order to be able to write about it, in the case of demand letters. By visualising the structure and format of the letters, I was able to produce my own and increase the speed of development. 2. I was able to gather the information to be used during the presentation and develop a standpoint for the presentation. This made me confident of what needed to be presented and I had my notes to support my presentation. List some aspects of your work that you felt did not go so well, and how would you behave differently next time the same situation arose? 1. In writing the first demand letter, I felt it went slow because I was not familiar with the structure and format of the same. Since I had to write several, I knew that I needed to gather the correct information, revise the material before handing it in, make the necessary corrections, and follow the necessary steps of structure and format, which will help me in similar cases in the future. 2. Not knowing anything about Family Law made it difficult for me to help during the process. Next time, I will inform myself of the topic by: reading cases during the research stage, read articles, and read textbooks. What tasks do you have planned for the upcoming week? For the upcoming week, I will make a presentation to a client, develop seventeen demand letters, develop four statements of claim, and go to a Court Hearing. Learning Log Dates: Week 2 Tasks this week: 1. I wrote fourteen demand letters. The demand letters are no longer a hinder. I gathered all the necessary information and revised it before handing it in. There are three outstanding demand letters. 2. I made a presentation to a client. This presentation was cumbersome since our client knew nothing about the Law and the Law had to be explained in Chinese, given that the documents are originally in English. LOUIS, EXPLAIN WHAT THE CASE WAS. IT IS NOT IN YOUR DOCUMENT. 3. I prepared three statements of claim. I found the first part of the statement of claim similar to the demand letter, which gives information concerning the case, the issues of fact, and the injuries. The second part concerns the defendant´s fault (refer to Appendix 2). 4. I went to a Court Hearing. The Court Hearing was about an eighteen year old man facing a robbery charge, for robbing a 24 hour newsagent. He was also alleged, to have frightened a fifteen year old in a basketball court, taken his money (HK$300), and a mobile telephone. This was his third Hearing. The Court was expecting to hear a report on the defendant´s family background. He was convicted and the next Hearing is set-up for September. Knowledge gained this week: 1. I realised that I needed to move faster in developing demand letters. I was three short. 2. I realised that I have to do a better job in correcting mistakes so that I do not redo some parts (work on style). 3. I became familiar with explaining the Law to someone who speaks Chinese and the original materials are in English and he knows nothing about the Law. 4. I realised that I should have considered the differences in language, culture, and customs of the Chinese. 5. I realised that I need to give more details and improve in my English language skills. What I can do now, which I could not before: 1. I am able to write better demand letters. 2. I am able to write statements of claim. 3. I am able to communicate the Law to someone whose English is not the native tongue and the original documents are in English. Aspects of work well done and analysis of what made that work go well: 1. I was able to write statement of claims using as a reference the demand letters. 2. I made lesser mistakes in detailing events, because I was aware of my previous experience in writing the demand letters. 3. I was able to communicate the Law with original documents in English to a non native English speaker. I was patient and reiterated that which the customer did not understand. List some aspects of your work that you felt did not go so well, and how you would behave differently when the same situation arose. 1. I did not perform well in the presentation. For future reference, I will do research on the culture, customs, and language. What tasks have you planned for the upcoming week? For the upcoming week, I will write 12 demand letters, make a presentation to a client, investigate two cases, write three statements of claim, and write one statement of damages. Learning Log Dates: Week 3 Tasks this week: 1. I wrote twelve demand letters. 2. I made a presentation concerning a client and whether he had the right to make claims over a car accident. This case was about our client driving and stopping the car he was driving, in compliance with the traffic light. The defendant failed to stop and ran into our client´s vehicle. Our client suffered property loss and personal injuries (refer to Appendix 2 and section 3.1). I am familiar with the Law of Tort and it was easy for me to gather the information and explain his rights. 3. I prepared three statements of claim (refer to Appendix 1). 4. I did two research projects. One of the projects had to do with a food poisoning case. I had to look for similar cases and find out how much our client was entitled to. I went to the High Court Library seeking a book my principal suggested to read. The other research dealt with the solicitor´s rights and duties. Our client wanted to sue his solicitor for holding up all his personal documents and not returning them to him although the case was closed. 5. I prepared one statement of damages. It dealt with the expenses for which the defendant is liable. I read the Atkinson Court Form, because I was confused with the structure, and the content is different if the defendant and the owner are not the same person.. 6. I finished last week´s tasks. Knowledge gained this week: 1. I overcame drafting demand letters and statements of claim. I am now able to complete the task quickly and accurately. 2. I realised that I have to be more patient when clients are rude and impolite during presentations. 3. I learned how to differentiate between the defendant and the owner in the statement of damages structure. 4. I learned how to draft a Statement of Damages. 5. I understood the purpose of the statement claim and what needs to be included in the same. 6. I realised that in order to expedite looking into volumes, I should refer to the Volume Index. 7. I found out that I needed to attend the Legal Practice Course in order to know more about the solicitor´s rights and duties. What can I do now, which I could not before: 1. I am able to write demand letters without problems. 2. I am able to write statements of claim without problems. 3. I am able to draft a Statement of Damages. 4. I am able to look for information in Volumes by using the Volume Index. 5. I am able to become patient with clients. Aspects of work done well and an analysis of what made it work well: 1. I was able to write the statement of claims and the statement of damages by using volumes pertaining to the subject and what needed to be included. 2. I was able to communicate to the client his position and his rights during the presentation and he understood the concepts. 3. I was able to look into the Volumes using the categories that I was seeking. 4. I am familiar with the Law of Tort, therefore the presentation went well. Our client understood his position and his rights. List some aspects of your work that you felt did not go so well, and how you would behave differently next time the same situation arose. 1. I did not perform well looking into the solicitor´s rights and duties. For future, reference I will take the Legal Practice Course which covers this area. What tasks have you planned for the upcoming week? For the upcoming week, I will write 13 demand letters, make a presentation to a client, attend a Court Hearing, and submit a copy of all of the work I have accomplished to my principal. Learning Log Dates: Week 4 Tasks this week: 1. I wrote thirteen demand letters. 2. I made a presentation concerning our client´s son (who was a certified electrician) and was killed, while repairing wires in a store, when an electric shock accident occurred. Our client wanted to know whether he had the right to sue. Referring to the Duty of Care in the Tort Law (refer to section 3.1) we found that our claimant has the right to sue. 3. I attended a Court Hearing. Our client was the defendant, charged with using 10 illegal software copies. He was found guilty and convicted of illegally using ten Windows XP copies. The evidence was found in his computer hardware. Our client was not aware that he had to install and use the original software. In the Hearing, our solicitor was trying to reduce the client´s penalty. The client had to pay a fine of HK$5000. 4. I submitted a copy of my work to my principal. Knowledge gained this week: 1. I learned about Copyright Laws. I now know that there are two Copyright Law cases. One is criminal (government involvement) and the other one is civil because Microsoft is able to sue for the illegal use of the copy. What can I do now, which I could not do before: 1. I am able to understand more readily the Copyright Laws and make distinctions between the criminal Copyright Law and the civil Copyright Law. Aspects of work done well and an analysis of what made it work well: 1. I was able to make a positive presentation and the outcome of it, was that our client decided to retain our services to claim damages from the store, concerning the death of his son. List some aspects of your work that you felt did not go so well, and how you would behave differently next time the same situation arose. 1. I did not know about Copyright Laws (no courses taken on this subject). I will take Copyright courses so that I may be more useful upon working with this topic in the future. What tasks have you planned for the upcoming week? LOUIS THERE IS NO INFORMATION AVAILABLE THERE MAY BE DETAILS MISSING WHICH ARE NOT IN THE DOCUMENT, HOWEVER, YOU MAY KNOW OF. PLEASE FILL THEM IN. THANK YOU. IT HAS BEEN A PLEASURE WORKING WITH YOU. Read More