WebCredenza 2024 Responding to demand letters: Tone and substance audio replay

Responding to a demand letter is as tricky as issuing a demanding letter. There are issues of getting the substance right and getting the tone right. How much time do you spend researching the law and laying out your case?  How much do you disclose about your favorable facts? Is your goal settlement and, if so, how does that impact the tone of your letter? Do you know enough about the letter writer and his or her client to gauge their likely reaction to your response? And when do you respond – right away, by any deadline given, or do you wait? These and many other questions will be addressed in this practical discussion of the tradeoffs of responding to demand letters.  

• Goals – do you want settlement or to make it go away – or are you preparing for litigation?  
• Law – how much do you research and push back? 
• Tone – are you assertive, making counter-demands, or conciliatory? 
• Facts – How much of what you know do you lay out? 
• Timing – responding right away, by a deadline in the demand, or later?

Opinions and positions stated by presenters of MoBarCLE programs are those of the presenters and not necessarily those of The Missouri Bar. This program is intended as information for lawyers in Missouri, in conjunction with other research they deem necessary, in the exercise of their independent judgment.