Law

Order Description
3 formal legal letters
1 reflective
the grammar needs to be excellent ,these are letters from a solicitor to a client.
also needs to be on time .
Written communication and counselling skills exercise

Instructions
You are a student advisor at the University’s Law Clinic.
Read the record of meeting and client statement below, research the legal provisions indicated and compose all of the following: (allocations of marks are shown in
brackets below

a) A client care letter, (5%)
b) A client advice letter, (30%)
c) A letter to Premnay House Luxury Hotel and Spa Ltd (35%)
d) A reflective statement of 600 words explaining what you believe to be the essential elements of an effective client fact finding interview and how you have reached
your conclusions. (30%)
(See the style letters, and the guidance on reflective learning and writing reflective statements on the BS3177 Moodle page)

Record of Meeting
Client: Noah Sark Action taken by: You
Date 13/2/2017 Start time 11.00 End Time: 11.42
Time spent: 42 minutes (7units)
Action taken: Interview

I welcomed the client NS and introduced myself. I advised him of the details of the clinic, the retainer, and client information including the complaints procedure.
NS was injured in a fall down some stairs at the Premnay House Luxury Hotel and Spa (PHLH&S) on Thursday 17th November 2016. He was at a function at (PHLH&S) Insch
Road, Auchleven Aberdeenshire. At about 9.30pm he went to the gents’ toilets which are situated down a flight of quite steep stairs. He was about half way down when he
felt something slide under his foot and lost his balance and fell down to the bottom of the steps. He landed heavily on his left shoulder. He had not consumed any
alcohol that night.
He was taken to hospital where he found out he needed surgery for a fractured shoulder. He was operated on the next morning and he now has a metal plate and three pins
in his shoulder.

He was off work for two weeks. He could not drive for 3 months and is still undergoing physiotherapy.
He has a 10 day golfing holiday in Florida booked during the last two weeks March 2017. He cannot play golf at present and wishes to cancel the holiday. However his
insurance won’t pay out for cancellation, because they say he is fit to travel. He will lose £1895 if he cancels. The hotel are also trying to charge him £140 for
leaving his car at the hotel while he was injured.

He would like to know if he can seek compensation from the hotel. When the accident happened they tried to blame it on 3F (Fancy Footwork Flooring) at Echt. NS reports
that management at Premnay House told him that since 3F had laid the carpet the day before, it was their fault. He says he believes that PHLH&S are simply trying to
get him to go away.
If he can make a claim against the hotel, he would like us to write to them to get as good as settlement for him as possible. He would also like to have some
information about methods of dispute resolution other than litigation and whether any of them could be used to sort out his case.
The client was advised that we would contact him within 7 days of today’s meeting to advise him if he has a remedy and of the next steps to be taken.

Client Statement
Name; Noah Sark
Address: 26 Castle Gardens, Aberchirder, AB25 6TG
NI number: HW 22 87 56 A
Occupation: Trainee HR Manager
Date of Interview: 13 February 2017
1. My name is Noah Sark and I am 31 years old.
2. I am an HR manager for Mrs Farquhar’s Soup and More, a major food producer based at Fochabers. I worked in hospitality until 2012 and retrained. I earn £33,500 per
annum.
3. On Thursday November 17th 2016. I was at a function in connection with work. The company had taken a table at the Hoorays Awards (As in Hu- man Res- ources) Dinner
at Premnay House Luxury Hotel and Spa at Auchleven.
4. At about 9.30pm I went outside for some fresh air. I checked my phone, replied to a few texts and emails and had a chat with some folk I knew who had gone outside
for a smoke.
5. Before going back into the function suite, I went to the gents toilets which are down a flight of quite steep stairs.
6. I was about half way down when I felt something slide under my foot, and suddenly I lost my balance and fell down to the bottom of the steps.
7. I landed heavily on my left shoulder. It was the most painful thing I had experienced in my life, even though I once had my legs waxed for charity.
8. I had not consumed any alcohol that night as I had taken my car and was intending to drive home.
9. I was taken to hospital where I found out I had fractured my shoulder and needed surgery. I had the operation the next day and I now have a metal plate and three
pins in my shoulder.
10. I was off work for two weeks. I could not drive for 3 months and had to take taxis to work at a cost of £15 each day. I tried taking the bus but it was too painful
with my arm in a sling and it was extremely difficult and time consuming to get from Aberchirder to Fochabers by bus. I am still having physiotherapy. I did not lose
any pay whilst signed off. My car was in the car park at the hotel for two weeks before it could be picked up and they sent me a bill for £140 for the 14 days it was
stuck there.
11. The thing that really upset me though is that I was due to go on a golfing holiday in Florida with my mates in March and because I can’t golf, it is not worth my
going just to hang out on my own.
12. However my insurance won’t pay out for cancellation, because they say I am fit to travel. I will lose £1895 if I cancel.
13. I would like to know if I can seek compensation from the hotel for my injury, the cost of travelling to work and of cancelling the holiday.
14. The hotel tried to blame the accident on Fancy Footwork Flooring at Echt. I was told that since they had laid the carpet the day before the accident they must have
done it incorrectly and so it was their fault. I think they are trying to get me to go away.
15. If I can make a claim against the hotel, I would like you to try and get as good as settlement for me as possible.
16. I am told that there are various methods ways of solving disputes without going to court and would also like to know what these are and whether you would recommend
using any of them to sort out my case.
17. I believe that the facts stated here are true.
Signed Noah Sark
Dated 13/2/17
Legal sources to help you to advise the client
Occupiers’ Liability (Scotland) Act 1960
Porter v Strathclyde Regional Council 1991 SLT 446
Beggs v Motherwell Bridge Fabricators ltd 1998 SLT 1215
Kerr v East Ayrshire Council 2005 SLT (Sh Ct) 67
Porter v Scottish Borders Council 2008 CSOH 163
Wheat v E Lacon & Co Ltd [1966] AC 552 McGlone v British Railways Board 1966 SC (HL) 1
Devlin v Strathclyde Regional Council 1993 SLT 699
Dawson v Page 2012 CSOH 33 – deals with what is a danger which is not such a common issue as what is reasonable care
Textbooks – Joe Thomson, Delictual Liability (5th edn Bloomsbury Professional 2014) Chapter 10
McManus and others, Delict A Comprehensive Guide to the Law ( 2nd ed 2011) Electronic Book in RGU library