Since I am working at a law firm, the documents created in this work place are much different than documents in other fields. The one I will be talking about is a Motion. A Motion is a document asking for something from the judge. There are three essential parts to a Motion: the list of people involved in the cases that the Motion pertains to, the actual Motion itself, and a certificate of service.
Motions can vary in length from 3 pages to up to 10. The first part of a Motion is the list of people involved and their case numbers. These are the cases that are involved with the Motion. This part is set up as follows:
PETITIONER
vs. CASE NO. 1234
RESPONDENT
Once the list is finished, the Motion itself is written. What is written will vary on what is being asked. For example, a Motion of Discovery is a document asking for evidence for the case against the Respondent. It simply asks for proof of why the Petitioner should be filing a case against the Respondent. Usually, Motions have a basic template and format to them. Depending on what you are asking, there is a different basic template that you may use. The information that changes are the specifics (i.e. Respondent and Petitioner's information, exactly what documents you want that could pertain to the case, etc.).
Once the Motion itself is written, you must also provide a certificate of service. This simply means a phrase verifying that on whatever date, you provided a copy for the involved parties. After the statement, you list exactly who you have provided a copy for. A certificate of service helps you to make sure others know that you provided everyone with copies and to whom exactly you sent copies to. And that's it.
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It's good for you to provide this type of specific description for the various documents you're learning to write during your internship. I'd be interested in hearing you say more about how "the specifics" are presented in the body of the motions. That is, when you say that the body of the motion simply provides "information," that can make us overlook the fact that there is some strategy to how lawyers can present this information in the most effective or persuasive way. For example, are there certain strategies that guide decisions about how to arrange the different kinds of information included in a motion. Are there specific ways of writing the individual sentences, of providing specific details or descriptions within the individual bits of information presented, that make these statements more or less effective? And on the topic of effectiveness-what is the specific purpose of a motion, that is, what specific kind of response is a lawyer trying to get (and from whom?) with a motion?
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