IRAC is an acronym for Issue, Rule, Analysis/Application, and Conclusion. This method for organizing legal writing tasks is one of the first things aspiring lawyers and paralegals are taught in legal writing and legal analysis courses.
As authors Katherine A. Currier and Thomas E. Eimermann explain in Introduction to Law for Paralegals, legal writers who use IRAC are forced to think about what they are writing. As a result, they are less likely to leave out important information and they tend to produce better organized and clearer work product.
What is the IRAC Method?
The IRAC method is a four-step process for legal analysis. It consists of:
- Issue: formulating the legal issue raised by the facts;
- Rule: identifying the legal rule that governs the issue;
- Analysis: determining how the legal rule applies to the issue; and
- Conclusion: stating the results of the legal analysis.
Formulate the Issue
According to William H. Putman, author of Legal Analysis and Writing, legal analysis refers to the process of identifying the issue or issues presented by a client’s facts and determining what law applies and how it applies. Thus, the first step in the IRAC method is to identify the issue or issues raised by the facts of the client’s case. Putman describes the issue as “the precise question raised by the specific facts of the client’s case.”
Putman cautions that the issue should be stated in an objective manner. Stating the issue objectively means “to write the issue in a manner that fairly and completely presents all the key facts and not to construct it in a manner that favors an outcome.” Additionally, it is important to remember that a single set of facts may contain multiple issues. The legal writer should separate the issues and analyze each of them individually.
Identify the Legal Rule
The next step in the IRAC method is to identify the rule of law that governs the issue. This is where legal research comes in. The legal writer will need to research the law to determine the rule of law that governs the issue. The rule of law that applies to the issue may be enacted law, such as a statute, ordinance or regulation. It may be case law, which is legal precedent set forth in court opinions. Or the rule of law may be a combination of enacted law and case law.
Determine How the Rule Applies to the Issue
The third step of the IRAC method of legal analysis is the analysis or application part. In this step, the writer will determine how the rule of law applies to the issue. Putman notes that there are three sub-parts to the analysis or application step of the IRAC method. Proper analysis or application requires the legal writer to:
- Identify the elements of the rule of law;
- Apply each of the elements of the rule of law to the facts of the client’s case and determine if each element is satisfied by the facts; and
- Consider any potential counterarguments that might be made to one’s analysis.
State Your Conclusion
The fourth and final step of the IRAC method is the conclusion. This is where the writer answers the question originally raised by the legal issue. Only by going through the process of formulating a well-stated issue, researching the applicable rule of law, and analyzing the law as applied to the facts, can one reach a viable conclusion. If the issue, rule and analysis sections of one’s legal writing project are well developed, the conclusion will be logically supported.
Sources:
Katherine A. Currier and Thomas E. Eimermann, Introduction to Law for Paralegals (5th ed., Wolters Kluwer 2012).
William H. Putman, Legal Analysis and Writing (3d ed., Cengage 2009).
Jessie Vanwinkle - Jessie Vanwinkle is an attorney in practice since 1998. View her full profile for more information.
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