Where You Have Been
The average student spends
in importance for exam preparation
5.2
InterActive Study: Form Books
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- Bender's Forms (found on Lexis)
and - Am. Jur. Proof of Facts, or Am. Jur. Pleading & Practice Forms (found on Westlaw)
INTRODUCTION
There are dozens of form books. Here we teach you about their function, and how to locate them.
Forms & Templates:
How and When to Use Them
The most important thing you can learn from this part of the manual is to use forms and templates. As the manual says, "Why reinvent the wheel?" Never feel bad for using pre-existing forms. But make sure you proof read your work! Also, the difference between templates and forms are:
Forms
Forms are examples of documents that may be used to create new documents.
Templates
A template is a form in which the formatting has been set, thus making it easy to just "fill in the blanks" to create a new document. Whenever possible, turn a form into a template.
You should complete the exercises in the manual by using the Law Library, Westlaw and Lexis. When you use a law library, you will need to be flexible since each no two libraries contain the exact same materials. Don't stress about it. Just wade in and see what you can find, and see which books you prefer.
When you use Westlaw and Lexis, the hardest part will be wading through the thousands of forms available. Your best bet is to focus initially on:
Reference
Example of Several Form Books
Example of Bender's Forms of Discovery Page
Bender's Discovery Forms (Research Labs)
Am. Jur. Proof of Facts (Research Labs)
When using Bender's Forms on Lexis, you will need to choose from one of the many subject matter areas that appears to be relevant for your research. Most likely, you will select Litigation.
One more note about the online forms. Westlaw and Lexis (and lawyers in general) do not separate form books that contain, well, "forms" from books that are more like practice guides for law. So if you are online and find books with titles such as "McConnell's Bankruptcy Practice Guide," you may want to skip it. Instead, look for books with the word "forms" in the title.
There are many, many form books in any typical law library, but there is no way to know exactly what selection your library will contain. So use this as a great opportunity to learn the following:
1. What form books your law library subscribes to.
2. The various form books and collections on Westlaw and/or Lexis.
3. As you find online forms that you think are good examples, be sure to save them and start creating your own form bank. They are free now, but they won't be once you start working for a firm and they have to subscribe to those online services!
Just as we can't know what form books your law library will contain, you can't know now what subscription plan your law firm will have for online research. Some of your favorite form book databases may not be available to you in your law firm. So knowing how to find them in the law library will be a research safety net.
Paralegal Perspective . . .
FORMS
Two of the most critical habits a great paralegal should develop involve the use of forms. First, always look for a form. An example. A template on the computer. A form in a form bank (a collection of forms the firm may keep). A form book in the law library. You will develop your favorite sources, but always look for a form. Second, as you create documents, create your own form bank, both on your computer and printed versions kept in a three-ring binder. These don't sound like a big deal, but trust me. They are fantastic habits that will benefit your career.
AM. JUR. PROOF OF FACTS
What a great set of books. No book does quite the same thing. It tells the researcher what the elements of a particular legal issue are, and then instructs how to prove those elements or facts. Keep in mind that if you know how to use this research tool, you will have a definite advantage over most other researchers, since most researchers are not familiar with POF.
Lecture Notes . . .
Remember what we talked about earlier in the manual: Never, ever work when you don't have to!
Form books are geared to help you create excellent legal documents with a minimum amount of effort. In other words, if you find a document, set of questions, or some other information that is similar to what you are trying to create, let it do the work for you!
Form follows function!
The form (or structure) of any given legal research book follows its function. This is especially true with form books. Read the following brief descriptions, and click on the examples, taking particular notice of how each set differs in structure. That structure (or form of the book) is directly related to the book's function. Understanding that "form follows function" will make the varying sets less intimidating.
Am. Jur. Proof of Facts establishes the facts that must be proven in specific areas of litigation, then helps with forms and examples to establish those facts at court.
Am. Jur. Trials is all about helping the researcher establish strategy for litigation. It also serves as a wonderful educator regarding the law.
Am. Jur. Pleading and Practice Forms is a pure form book, providing examples of legal documents.
Causes of Action also provides strategy with an eye towards educating the researcher as to what elements are involved in specific causes of action (claims) and what must be alleged and proved for a prima facie case to be established.
Bender's Discovery Forms is one of the form books by Bender. It is also a classic form book providing templates, but Bender's does an especially good job of telling the researcher what area of inquiry a given set of questions is intended to pursue.
West's Federal Forms is another classic form book that provides examples for thousands of legal documents. This set also provides direct references to federal rules relevant to the document being created.
Am. Jur. Proof of Facts
As you will see by reading this section, Am. Jur. Proof of Facts is a great tool. Not many researchers know about it, so you will have an advantage!
There are so many form books available that it is difficult to say where to start. But Am. Jur. Proof of Facts is a very unique research source. It is easy to use, and provides very diverse litigation assistance. Some "Proofs" provide examples, some provide forms, and some provide discovery models. You may even find checklists. Some provide all of the above and more.
One thing is for sure: If you use Am. Jur. Proof of Facts as a regular research source, you will be a step ahead of most other researchers. So take the time to get to know this great set of form books!
Exercise
Am. Jur. Proof of Facts (Progress Check)