Memo Assignment

Memo Assignments (Due Thursday 13 February):

Note: These Memos should generally range from 4 to 6 pages in length.  Specific Input on Memo Writing will be provided at the class lecture on Wednesday the 5th of February.  

(African Names: A-B) You are associate counsel for the Roman Catholic Church in Uganda.  They are asked you to research whether or not they will be able to withhold information that their priests acquire about homosexual conduct during confession under the current draft of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. You are writing this memo for the chief legal officer of the Roman Catholic Church in Uganda (The draft that was just rejected by the President)  

(African Names: E-L) You are a associate working for a law firm that represents Ndere.  They are wondering whether or not the  current draft of the Anti-Pornography Bill will impact the content of their cultural dance performances.  If the dances would be a violation of the Bill are there legal arguments that can be asserted to preserve the practice of cultural dances at Ndere.  You are writing this memo for the partner in the law firm that represents Ndere.

(African Names: M)  You are a first year legal associate working for Human Rights Action Uganda.  The organization would like to stage a protest where everyone who wants to show solidarity for homosexuals in Uganda will wear pink on the day after the Anti-Homosexuality Bill is made into law.  They have asked you to determine if organizing such a protest will amount to a violation of the the current draft of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. (The draft that was just rejected by the President)  You are writing this memo for the head of the legal department at Human RIghts Action Uganda.  

(African Names: N) You are corporate counsel for Orange Uganda.  You have been asked to assess the legality of the Anti-Pornography Bills criminal sanctions on Internet Service Providers.   Your client is particularly concerned about the restriction on “thighs” in the bill because existing filtering efforts have not been directed to identifying web sites that show thighs.  You are drafting a memo that will be shared with top management of Orange Uganda both in Uganda and in Paris.

(African Names: O-Z) You are an associate working for a law firm doing pro bono work for a women’s group that wants to have the Anti-Pornography Bill declared unconstitutional because it allows men to dress more freely than women.  Please assess the potential of such a constitutional argument for striking down the Anti-Pornography Bill.  You are drafting this memo for the partner in the law firm who does work for the women’s group. 

Client Letter Assignment Due at Class Wednesday 5 February

Congratulations!  Today you opened your own law chambers.  You had one visitor to your office today; a man you know from your church named Bulungi Asiimwe who lives at Plot 18 Tank Hill, Kampala.  Bulungi has two matters of concern.

First Bulungi has a fifteen year-old niece named Lillian in jail in Nguru Remand facing a defilement charge.   Bulungi says this case should not be a big deal because everyone knows that girls cannot commit defilement.  He says there must be some mistake.

Bulungi would like to pay you a flat fee of 3 Million UGX to handle Lillian’s case from now through final appeal.  Bulungi says that Lillian is supposed to come to court for something in one week.

Bulungi says that Lillian told him that an attorney from Uganda Christian Lawyers Fraternity came to see her last week but Lillian does not know if that person is her attorney of not.

Lillian’s Mother is Bulungi’s sister.  According to Bulungi his sister is a drunk and suffers from mental illness.  He says he thinks she suffers from multiple personality disorder.  Lillian’s father died of AIDS five years ago.  Bulungi hates his sister and does not want to speak with her.  He would prefer if you could keep the sister out of this matter by not contacting her.

Bulungi has also asked that you represent him in a marriage matter.  Presently he has a first wife that he married in church.  This wife now lives in Kabale and he never sees here although he supports her financially and lets her live in his home.  The two children that he fathered with this wife are now grown and on their own. 

Meanwhile Bulungi has another woman who he calls his “true wife.”  He has lived with his true wife for 12 years.  He has six school-aged children with his “true wife.   

Bulungi wants you to figure out a way that he can be legally married to both his Kabale wife and his true wife.  He says that both women are simple and will do whatever he tells them to do.   He just wants your help in coming up with a legal strategy that will make his “true wife” an honest woman who will be taken care of if anything should happen to him.

Your task is to write a letter to Bulungi regarding the matters raised in your meeting.  The letter should address general housekeeping and address specific concerns and issues that you believe should be brought to Bulungi’s immediate attention.   In particular you need to focus on issues of establishment of attorney client relationships, definition of the scope of attorney client relationship, conflicts of interest, billing arrangements, ethical issues and important preliminary substantive legal issues that need to be brought to Bulungi’s attention. You need not thoroughly research legal issues that you do not believe you would have time to address in one day.  Instead you may raise them as issues that you will need to spend time researching before you can provide a legal opinion.

The letter may not exceed four pages in length (double spaced, at least 10 point font) and should be typed.  You should write the letter as if you are hand delivering it the day after your initial meeting.  This assignment is due by 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, the 5th of February 2014.  The letter may be submitted in hard copy at class at that time or it may be sent by email to dbriandennison@gmail.com