A legal notice is the letter that precedes proceedings. It states a position, makes a demand, and sets a deadline.
It is also the most under-used and most badly-used instrument in Pakistani practice. Under-used, because a well-drafted notice settles a great many disputes without litigation. Badly-used, because notices are routinely sent that overstate the claim, threaten things that cannot be delivered, or concede a point the sender did not realise they were conceding.
What a notice is for
Three things, in order of practical importance.
It settles matters. A meaningful proportion of disputes end at this stage, once the other side understands that the claimant will actually litigate and has taken advice. That is far cheaper for everyone than a suit.
It creates a record. The notice, and the reply or the silence that follows, becomes part of the case. A defendant who says nothing for two months and then produces an elaborate defence has a problem explaining the silence.
It is sometimes required. Certain claims — notably against government departments and public functionaries — require statutory notice before suit, and failing to give it can be fatal to the claim.
When it is worth sending
- Recovery of a debt or unpaid invoices
- A dishonoured cheque, before proceedings
- Breach of contract, before terminating or suing
- Landlord and tenant matters, before ejectment proceedings
- Employment disputes, though note that grievance deadlines are short
- Trade mark or copyright infringement — a cease-and-desist
- Defamation, before proceedings
- Before suing a government department, where statutory notice applies
When it is not
A notice is a poor idea where surprise matters. If there is a real risk the other side will dispose of assets, transfer property, or destroy records once alerted, the better course is to move for interim relief first and give notice afterwards.
It is also counter-productive in criminal matters, and in family matters where it will simply harden positions.
The decision is tactical, and it is worth taking advice on it rather than defaulting to sending one.
What a proper notice contains
- The parties, correctly identified — including the correct legal name of a company, which is more often wrong than you would expect
- The facts, in chronological order, stated accurately
- The legal basis of the claim
- The demand — precisely what is required, and the exact amount where money
- A reasonable period to comply
- The consequence of non-compliance, stated as what will actually be done
- A reservation of rights
What ruins a notice
Overstating the claim. Demanding a sum that cannot be substantiated damages your credibility for the rest of the matter, and hands the other side an easy point.
Threatening what you cannot do. Threatening criminal proceedings in a purely civil dispute is a particularly common error. It is frequently improper, it is sometimes actionable in itself, and courts notice.
Getting the facts wrong. Every error is quoted back at you later, and each one costs credibility.
Admitting something inadvertently. Notices drafted without advice often concede a fact or a defence the sender did not realise mattered.
Unreasonable deadlines. Seven days to pay a large sum, on a matter that has been dormant for a year, reads as posturing.
Service matters
A notice nobody can prove was received achieves nothing. Send it by a method that produces evidence of dispatch and delivery — registered post or courier with tracking, retaining the receipt — and to the correct address: the registered office for a company, and the last known address for an individual.
Email may supplement but should rarely replace it, unless the contract provides for notice by email.
Keep the original receipt. It is the proof you will rely on.
If you receive a legal notice
Do not ignore it. Silence is read against you and does not make the matter go away.
Do not reply in anger, and do not reply immediately. A hasty response frequently concedes more than the notice claimed.
Take advice before replying. Your reply becomes part of the record, and it will be read alongside whatever defence you eventually run. A reply inconsistent with your later defence is worse than no reply at all.
Check the deadline in the notice, and check whether any limitation or statutory period affects your own position.
A measured, accurate reply — which may deny the claim, put the sender to proof, or propose a resolution — protects your position and sometimes ends the matter.
How the firm can help
We draft and serve legal notices, and reply to them. The value in both is the same: a notice that states a sustainable claim accurately, and a reply that protects your position without conceding ground.
We will also advise when a notice is the wrong move — when interim relief should come first, or when the claim is not worth pursuing at all.
Contact the firm with the underlying documents, and we will advise on whether a notice is the right step and what it should say.