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[[File:Scowcroft, Joseph Sisco (State), Former Lebanese President Charles Helou - May 4, 1976(Gerald Ford Library)(1553447).pdf|thumb|Example: Memorandum of conversation of meeting led by [[Brent Scowcroft]] (1976)]]
'''Memorandum of conversation''' (abbrev.: '''MEMCON''') and also '''memorandum of a conversation''' and '''memo to the file''' refers to a method of contemporaneous documentation of a conversation in the form of a [[memorandum]] used by the [[federal government of the United States|United States federal government]].<Ref name=memcon /><Ref name=memfile />
''[[The Weekly Standard]]'' characterized the use of the tactic in the U.S. government as among "the most basic ways of Washington".<ref name=memfile />
==Method==
Typically an individual will document the events of the conversation as soon as possible after the occurrence.<ref name=memcon /> All material statements and discussed items are quoted and described as accurately as possible soon after the discussion and filed for future reference.<ref name=memcon>{{citation|first=Lawrence|last=O'Donnell|authorlink=Lawrence O'Donnell|work=[[The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell]]|publisher=[[MSNBC]]|date=May 16, 2017|title=MEMCON}}</ref> Memcons function as documentation of historical events, such as conversations between heads of state and law enforcement officials.<ref name=ford>{{citation|url=https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/guides/findingaid/Memoranda_of_Conversations.asp|title=Summary Description|work=National Security Adviser. Memoranda of Conversations, 1973-1977|publisher=[[Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum]]|access-date=May 17, 2017}}</ref> Specific developments discussed, the time of the meeting, location, and individuals in attendance are all documented in-depth within the memo.<ref name=memcon /><ref name=memfile>{{citation|url=http://www.weeklystandard.com/a-brief-history-of-the-memo-to-the-file/article/2008086|first=Eric|last=Felten|title=A Brief History of the 'Memo to the File'|date=May 17, 2017|work=[[The Weekly Standard]]}}</ref>
[[United States Department of Justice]] attorneys and [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] [[special agent]]s commonly make use of memoranda of conversation.<ref name=memcon /> A majority of intermediate-rank managerial staff and bureaucrats within the U.S. federal government consistently make use of the method. The creation of a memorandum of understanding allows federal employees to memorialize and keep a record of their conversations and transactions.<ref name=memfile />
Memoranda to file are used in investigations in the private sector. For example, the [[fraud]] unit of a large corporation may use memoranda to file, to report individual interviews and significant telephone conversations. Generally, "the memorandum will show the name of the author, date of preparation, the case name or number, and the specific subject covered. It will also contain the detailed narrative of the event, interview, or other investigative activity described and should be written as close in time as circumstances permit to those events."<ref name=sennewald>{{citation|first1=Charles A.|last1= Sennewald|first2=John K.|last2= Tsukayama|title=The Process of Investigation: Concepts and Strategies for Investigators in the Private Sector|edition=4th|publisher=[[Butterworth-Heinemann]]|year=2015|pages=189-90|isbn=978-0128001660}}</ref>
==History==
{{wikisource|Memorandum of Conversation, by the Officer in Charge of Korean Affairs in the Office of Northeast Asian Affairs July 9, 1951}}
Former Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and subsequently Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, [[Brent Scowcroft]], who served as such in the U.S. presidential administration of [[Gerald R. Ford]], kept copious documentation of his meetings in the form of memorandum of conversation.<ref name=ford /> He would take handwritten notes, and immediately have them transcribed in typewritten format with the assistance of his staff from the [[United States National Security Council]].<ref name=ford /> The [[Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum]] contains over 1,000 such memorandum of conversation documents relating to the [[Presidency of Richard Nixon]] and [[Presidency of Gerald Ford]], mainly related to [[national security of the United States]].<ref name=ford />
==See also==
* [[Bench memorandum]]
* [[Business records exception]]
* [[Good documentation practice]]
* [[Grey literature]]
* [[Memorandum of agreement]]
* [[Memorandum of association]]
* [[Memorandum of understanding]]
* [[Mémoire]]
* [[Presidential memorandum]]
* [[Private Placement Memorandum]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
{{wikisource|Category:Memoranda of conversations}}
[[Category:Legal documents]]
[[Category:Memoranda|conversation]]
[[Category:Business terms]]
[[Category:Documents]]
[[Category:Business documents]]
'''Memorandum of conversation''' (abbrev.: '''MEMCON''') and also '''memorandum of a conversation''' and '''memo to the file''' refers to a method of contemporaneous documentation of a conversation in the form of a [[memorandum]] used by the [[federal government of the United States|United States federal government]].<Ref name=memcon /><Ref name=memfile />
''[[The Weekly Standard]]'' characterized the use of the tactic in the U.S. government as among "the most basic ways of Washington".<ref name=memfile />
==Method==
Typically an individual will document the events of the conversation as soon as possible after the occurrence.<ref name=memcon /> All material statements and discussed items are quoted and described as accurately as possible soon after the discussion and filed for future reference.<ref name=memcon>{{citation|first=Lawrence|last=O'Donnell|authorlink=Lawrence O'Donnell|work=[[The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell]]|publisher=[[MSNBC]]|date=May 16, 2017|title=MEMCON}}</ref> Memcons function as documentation of historical events, such as conversations between heads of state and law enforcement officials.<ref name=ford>{{citation|url=https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/guides/findingaid/Memoranda_of_Conversations.asp|title=Summary Description|work=National Security Adviser. Memoranda of Conversations, 1973-1977|publisher=[[Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum]]|access-date=May 17, 2017}}</ref> Specific developments discussed, the time of the meeting, location, and individuals in attendance are all documented in-depth within the memo.<ref name=memcon /><ref name=memfile>{{citation|url=http://www.weeklystandard.com/a-brief-history-of-the-memo-to-the-file/article/2008086|first=Eric|last=Felten|title=A Brief History of the 'Memo to the File'|date=May 17, 2017|work=[[The Weekly Standard]]}}</ref>
[[United States Department of Justice]] attorneys and [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] [[special agent]]s commonly make use of memoranda of conversation.<ref name=memcon /> A majority of intermediate-rank managerial staff and bureaucrats within the U.S. federal government consistently make use of the method. The creation of a memorandum of understanding allows federal employees to memorialize and keep a record of their conversations and transactions.<ref name=memfile />
Memoranda to file are used in investigations in the private sector. For example, the [[fraud]] unit of a large corporation may use memoranda to file, to report individual interviews and significant telephone conversations. Generally, "the memorandum will show the name of the author, date of preparation, the case name or number, and the specific subject covered. It will also contain the detailed narrative of the event, interview, or other investigative activity described and should be written as close in time as circumstances permit to those events."<ref name=sennewald>{{citation|first1=Charles A.|last1= Sennewald|first2=John K.|last2= Tsukayama|title=The Process of Investigation: Concepts and Strategies for Investigators in the Private Sector|edition=4th|publisher=[[Butterworth-Heinemann]]|year=2015|pages=189-90|isbn=978-0128001660}}</ref>
==History==
{{wikisource|Memorandum of Conversation, by the Officer in Charge of Korean Affairs in the Office of Northeast Asian Affairs July 9, 1951}}
Former Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and subsequently Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, [[Brent Scowcroft]], who served as such in the U.S. presidential administration of [[Gerald R. Ford]], kept copious documentation of his meetings in the form of memorandum of conversation.<ref name=ford /> He would take handwritten notes, and immediately have them transcribed in typewritten format with the assistance of his staff from the [[United States National Security Council]].<ref name=ford /> The [[Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum]] contains over 1,000 such memorandum of conversation documents relating to the [[Presidency of Richard Nixon]] and [[Presidency of Gerald Ford]], mainly related to [[national security of the United States]].<ref name=ford />
==See also==
* [[Bench memorandum]]
* [[Business records exception]]
* [[Good documentation practice]]
* [[Grey literature]]
* [[Memorandum of agreement]]
* [[Memorandum of association]]
* [[Memorandum of understanding]]
* [[Mémoire]]
* [[Presidential memorandum]]
* [[Private Placement Memorandum]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
{{wikisource|Category:Memoranda of conversations}}
[[Category:Legal documents]]
[[Category:Memoranda|conversation]]
[[Category:Business terms]]
[[Category:Documents]]
[[Category:Business documents]]
