NALS ALP cheat sheet

U.S. Const. art. III, § 2 defines the federal judicial power as arising under the Constitution, federal law, and treaties, plus cases between specified parties; state courts hear most claims that do not satisfy these categories.

Subject-matter jurisdiction cannot be waived or conferred by agreement; personal jurisdiction can be waived by appearance or consent, so a defendant who litigates without objecting generally loses the objection.

A complaint must contain a short and plain statement of the grounds for jurisdiction, a short and plain statement of the claim showing entitlement to relief, and a demand for the relief sought (Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)).

The two common bases for federal question jurisdiction are a federal cause of action on the face of the well-pleaded complaint and diversity of citizenship with an amount in controversy exceeding $75,000; complete diversity requires no plaintiff share citizenship with any defendant.

Under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b), defenses of lack of personal jurisdiction and improper venue are waived if not raised in the first responsive pleading or motion; failure to state a claim is not waived and may be raised later.

Summary judgment is proper when the pleadings, discovery, and affidavits show no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law (Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a)).

The statute of limitations is an affirmative defense that is waived if not pleaded, while lack of subject-matter jurisdiction may be raised at any time, including on appeal or by the court sua sponte.

Discovery scope under Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(1) is any nonprivileged matter relevant to a party's claim or defense and proportional to the needs of the case, considering importance, stakes, resources, and burden.

Under the doctrine of respondeat superior, an employer is vicariously liable for torts committed by an employee acting within the scope of employment; independent contractors generally fall outside that liability.

IRAC structure: state the Issue, the governing Rule, the Application of the rule to the facts, and the Conclusion; each section should track that order so the reader can find the rule before the analysis.

Case citations follow Bluebook form: party names italicized or underlined, volume, reporter abbreviation, first page of the opinion, and pinpoint page, e.g., Smith v. Jones, 123 F.3d 456, 460 (9th Cir. 2019).

Use a pinpoint citation whenever a proposition rests on a specific page or passage rather than the opinion as a whole; a citation to the first page alone does not support a statement about reasoning on page 460.

The first full citation to a case includes the court and year in parentheses; later citations may use a short form such as Smith, 123 F.3d at 461, provided the reader can identify the earlier reference.

Plain-language drafting: prefer active voice, keep subject, verb, and object close together, limit each sentence to one main proposition, and define every defined term on first use.

Statutes are cited by title, code section, and year where required, e.g., 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (2018); session laws are cited to the volume and page of the enacting compilation.

Quotations of fewer than 50 words take double quotation marks inline; quotations of 50 or more words are set off as block quotations, indented, without quotation marks, and introduced by a colon.

A well-drafted contract states the parties, recitals, operative obligations, conditions, representations, remedies, and governing law, and an integration clause prevents reliance on prior negotiations.

ABA Model Rule 1.1 requires competent representation; Comment 8 defines competence as including the legal knowledge, skill, thoroughness, and preparation reasonably necessary, which includes keeping abreast of changes in technology relevant to the matter.

Model Rule 1.6 prohibits revealing information relating to the representation without informed consent, subject to exceptions such as preventing reasonably certain death or substantial bodily harm and responding to court orders.

Model Rule 1.7 bars concurrent conflicts of interest unless the lawyer reasonably believes competent and diligent representation is possible, the representation is not prohibited by law, and each affected client gives informed consent confirmed in writing.

Model Rule 1.9 governs duties to former clients: a lawyer may not represent a new client whose interests are materially adverse to the former client in the same or a substantially related matter without informed consent.

Model Rule 1.15 requires client funds to be held in a separate trust account, with earned fees and client funds segregated, and requires prompt notice and delivery of funds to which a client is entitled.

Model Rule 1.5 prohibits unreasonable fees and requires the scope and basis of the fee to be communicated, preferably in writing, before or within a reasonable time after the engagement begins.

Model Rule 4.2 prohibits communication about the subject of the representation with a person the lawyer knows is represented by counsel, absent counsel's consent or authorization by law or court order.

Model Rule 5.3 makes a lawyer responsible for the conduct of nonlawyer assistants, requiring reasonable efforts to ensure their conduct is compatible with the professional obligations of the lawyer.

Model Rule 1.4 requires the lawyer to keep the client reasonably informed, promptly comply with reasonable requests for information, and explain matters to the extent necessary for informed decisions.

Metadata in a document can reveal author names, tracked changes, and prior versions; scrubbing metadata before production or filing is a routine step in document handling.

The ABA Model Rules do not prescribe specific software; competence under Rule 1.1 Comment 8 and confidentiality under Rule 1.6 govern how technology is selected, configured, and used.

A litigation hold suspends routine deletion of potentially relevant data once litigation is reasonably anticipated; failure to issue one can support spoliation sanctions.

Privileged and confidential material should be segregated in the file system and marked, and access limited to personnel who need it to perform assigned work.

Timekeeping records should capture date, matter, task, duration, and description contemporaneously; reconstructed entries are less reliable and harder to defend if a fee is challenged.

Calendar deadlines with a documented tickler system and redundancy: at least two independent reminders, plus a backup maintained by a second person, reduce the risk of a missed limitation date.

A conflicts database should be checked at intake for all party names, adverse parties, and related entities, and the results documented in the matter file.

Secure communication practices include encryption in transit and at rest, unique credentials per user, and role-based permissions rather than shared logins for case management systems.