Research Guides: Practical Legal Writing: Order

Information

Definition

An instrument that reflects the judgment of the decision maker and directs the subsequent actions of one or more of the parties.

Drafting Purposes

While most orders are effective from the day they are verbally pronounced, entering a written order into the court's registry allows for easier enforcement, and gives all parties access to a written record in which their obligations are clearly stated. In family and civil cases, it is often responsibility of the successful party's lawyer to write such an order based on the verbal ruling of the decision maker. Additionally, parties may agree to terms and work together to write a consent order, which the decision maker can then choose to accept. A party may also submit a draft order with a desk application.

These resources will assist you in writing the substance of the order:

Written reasons for the judgment, if there are any.
The clerk's notes or a transcript of oral reasons. These can be ordered for a fee.
Your notes on what the parties agreed to and what the decision maker decided.
The names of all parties and the decision maker.
The date that the decision was rendered.
Standard wording pick lists provided by the court. See for example:
- The British Columbia Provincial Court's Standard Wording of Family Law Orders pick list;
- The Supreme Court of British Columbia's Standard wording of Civil and Family Orders pick list.

These resources will assist you in formatting the order:

The correct form of order, which can be found on the court's website.
Precedents/similar orders drafted by other lawyers in your firm in the past.

These resources will assist you in doing both:

Legislation.
- Always read the rules of the court you are appearing in.
- Some acts will require that certain information must be included , e.g. the incomes of the parties in orders related to spousal and child support.

See CLEBC's Family Law Deskbook for their Checklist for Preparing Court Orders in Family Law Matters at §15.1.

The order as written must accurately reflect the order delivered by the decision maker.

The order may have to be interpreted and enforced by lay persons, or people other than the parties and their current counsel. Ideally, anyone will be able to pick up your order and interpret it accurately. This requires minimizing the use of legal jargon and thinking about things that might be obvious to you right now, but would not be obvious to a person who knows nothing about the situation. Think especially hard about how clearly the order indicates timelines. Does Saturday through Wednesday mean Saturday and Wednesday inclusive? If a party has until the 10th, is that the 10th at 12:01 AM, 5:00 PM, or 23:59 PM?

Do not simply copy and paste the reasons for judgment. If someone would need to read additional sources (e.g., the pleadings) to fully understand the wording from the reasons, clarify the statement in the order. The order should be the only document required for enforcement.

If you are drafting a consent order (an order resulting from an agreement between the parties rather than a decision made by a third party), consider whether the order relies in any way on the actions of third parties, e.g., for document production. If so, how reasonable is this reliance? Does the third party have specific notice requirements or forms of order? Are there privacy considerations (e.g. organization X cannot provide information about category Y)?

Practical Legal Writing