Patrick Hoey's Blog
Legal Writing
Closed Memo
The assignment for this memo was to look at the facts as stated by the client and make a determination of whether the client has viable defenses for a false imprisonment claim and for a negligence claim. This is a closed memo and so we were limited to a relevant statute and five cases already chosen for this assignment.
Download: 
(PDF, 148 KB, 2006)
Open Memo
The assignment for this memo was to look at the facts as stated and make a determination of whether one party could adversely possess a parcel of land as well as analyze whether the client could successfully get a preliminary injunction against said party. This is an open memo assignment and so we could use any relevant statutes and cases that could help in the pre-litigation phase.
Download: (PDF, 136 KB, 2006)
Trial Memorandum
The assignment for this memo was to look at the facts related to a domestic violence situation and advocate for the mother in the custody dispute that followed. As counsel for the mother, we needed to demonstrate that the statements from the children are admissible and reliable, and that we have psychologists prepared to testify as to the severe psychological and emotional trauma of the abuse.
Download: (PDF, 68 KB, 2007)
Appellate Brief
The assignment for this brief was to advocate for the opposing party based on a previous assignment. We were to research and write a brief on the merits addressing the issues that the hypothetical justice has certified. We were to focus on the judge’s conclusion relative to unavailability and reliability of the children’s testimony.
Download: (PDF, 164 KB, 2007)
Legal Ethics: Does the Federal PTO Code of Professional Responsibility preempt the state’s Model Code of Professional Responsibility?
We were to choose a relevant legal ethics issue and to advocate from a position in support of or in opposition of the core issue.
Download: (PDF, 124 KB, 2007)
Intellectual Property: Does the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) erode the “Fair Use” doctrine of copyrighted works?
We were to choose a relevant intellectual property issue and advocate from a supportive position with legal reasoning taken from recent case precedent.
Download: (PDF, 124 KB, 2007)
Internet Law: Copyright issues with user created content in distributed and shared virtual worlds
We were to choose a relevant issue dealing with technology today and advocate from a supportive position. The questions I posed and answered were what rights, if any, should copyright and trademark holders have to stop the players from creating their favorite content in distributed and shared environments similar to Sony’s LittleBigPlanet? What rights, if any, should players have in creating user based content?
Download: (PDF, 180 KB, 2008)
Product Liability
The assignment was to create a 93(a) demand letter under Massachusetts law based upon a set of hypothetical facts advocating for the client.
Download: (PDF, 68 KB, 2009)
Animal Law: Should animals have standing?
We were to discuss the constitutional implications of having third parties represent animals in cases by analyzing the Supreme Court decisions on standing. The issues to be addressed begin with the question of what is standing? How does one acquire standing? Why is advancing standing so difficult? Should animals have automatic standing?
Download: (PDF, 88 KB, 2009)
Drafting Patents: Specification for GUI Design
The assignment was to take a general concept from the hypothetical inventor and create a patent with claims that were not too broad nor too narrow in scope. The software patent was for the “Computerized Method of Dynamically Detaching and Reattaching a Menu Widget”
Download: (PDF, 92 KB, 2008)