Research
Authority, decisions, and opinions handed down by the courts.
What is case precedent?
A detailed explanation and application of a precedent case is used to set this up.
What is a case comparison?
This is the acronym we have been using all year to organize analysis of a legal issue in objective and persuasive memoranda.
What is TREACC?
This is the voice you want to edit out of your legal writing, for the most part.
What is passive voice?
This is the punctuation you use to separate cases which support each other in a string cite.
What is a semicolon?
The filter you would use to find cases in a specific geographic area on Westlaw or Lexis.
What is jurisdiction?
Organize your legal analysis by this rather than by case.
What is a legal issue or rule?
You should always use this at the beginning of your discussion section.
What is a roadmap or thesis sentence/paragraph?
You should not rely on spellcheck to eliminate these simple common problems.
What are missing or duplicative words or typos?
This citation form can only be used when citing to the same single source cited in the prior citation.
What is Id.?
Use this to determine if your case or statute is still good law.
What is a citator (or Shepard's or KeyCite)?
These are the facts used in the precedent court's holding and/or reasoning that we want to analogize to our client's facts.
What are the legally significant facts?
Full sentences that are used to organize and persuade throughout your argument section.
What are point headings?
You should always use this typeface for case names in your legal writing.
What is underline or italic?
One should use this tool to indicate page number for almost every case citation.
What is a pincite?
Use this connector to ensure that two search terms are in the same paragraph of the course.
What is /p?
Do this when comparing your client's facts to a precedent case.
What is an analogize or distinguish?
Every fact that you mention in your application sections of your memo must also be found here.
What is the Statement of Facts?
When editing, you only need to provide this type of cite in the first instance that you refer to the case.
What is a full cite?
These types of primary authority should never be underlined or italicized in a citation or textual sentence.
What are statutes and constitutions?
Use this function on Westlaw (or by another name on Lexis) to find cases that involve the same legal topic.
What is Key Search or the Key Number System (on Westlaw) or Legal Issue trail (on Lexis)?
A decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is what kind of authority for a District Court in the First Circuit?
What is persuasive authority?
The style of writing you use when trying to present a general overview of the legal issue to the supervising attorney or client.
What is objective?
Be sure you use this format with quotations of 50 words or more.
What is a block quote?
This is the place in the Bluebook where you will find the correct citation format for each state's courts and statutes.
What is Table 1?