Lessons · Law foundations · reading a file in order
Reading a file you have never seen, in order
A file is read from the outside in: who and when first, where it stands today second, what it is about third, and the detail last.
Hone is a place to practise a career, one idea a day. This is one of its lessons, written out in full and free to read without an account.
What it is for
Somebody hands you a box at nine in the morning and a question at ten past. Reading it front to back gets you a third of the way by lunch; reading it in this order answers the question before the coffee is cold.
How to think about it
Four passes, each one quick, each one answering one question. Do not start reading correspondence until the first three passes are done.
Worked example
Pass one, the front sheet: the parties, which side we act for, and the dates that cannot move.Two minutes. Everything else is read in the light of this.
Pass two, the most recent document: where the matter actually stands today.The back of the file, not the front, tells you what stage it is at.
Pass three, the pleadings: what the case says it is about.The claim and the response, read against each other.
Pass four, the detail: correspondence and documents, oldest first.Now it can be read quickly, because you know what you are looking for.
Your turn
Every note added to a matter is headed with one identifier so it can never be filed in the wrong place. Write what it is.
Head every note with the number
Solve one, graded on the server
The trap
Starting with the correspondence because it is the thickest part. It is the part that makes least sense cold, and an hour spent there before the first three passes is an hour spent twice.