Research Guides: Legal Practice Tools: Litigation Form Books & Checklists

Overview

Let’s talk about things that are not treatises, specifically form books and practice guides. There are two types of legal practice:

1) Transactional practice or out of court practice; and

2) Trial Practice

Trial Practice materials involve things used in the actual litigation. Examples of these would be complaints, answers, motions, etc.

One thing to keep in mind any time you are looking to use a form is that you don’t want to just take a form off the shelf and use it. You’re going to need to change and adapt it to your jurisdiction and circumstances.

Selected Practice Form Books

American Jurisprudence Pleading and Practice Forms Litigation forms with procedural timetables and drafting checklists.
Call Number: Law Ref 2 KF8836 .A45
Federal Procedural Forms Forms for federal judicial and administrative matters; includes references to primary law and research resources.
Call Number: Law Stacks KF8836 .F4
Cyclopedia of Federal Forms
Call Number: Law Stacks KF8840 .C93
American Jurisprudence Trials Contains hundreds of model trial articles that cover the spectrum of personal injury, business, and criminal litigation. Provides step-by-step guidance through all the phases of trial from initial client interview, discovery, pleadings, motions and trial itself, to post-trial motions and appeals. It features checklists, model forms, sample opening statements and final arguments, sample litigation aidsphotos, maps, diagrams, charts, tables, graphs, and more.
Call Number: Law Stacks KF8915 .A74
American Jurisprudence Proof of Facts Am. Jur. POF in 3 series explains how to determine and prove the facts essential to winning a case for a wide range of civil litigation and selected criminal defense topics. Checklists included with elements of damages and elements of proof. Sample pleadings, discovery, motions, and other documents are included in each article. Sample Proofs in detailed question-and-answer format show you how to prove particular facts.
Call Number: Law Ref. 2 KF8933 .A43
Causes of Action 2d Identifies the various elements of each case, provides detailed research and procedure guidelines, and a Damages Awards Survey,covers legal interpretations of courts through extensive sample cases. It also includes practice checklists, and litigation forms.
Call Number: Law Stacks KF8863 .S53

Selected Practice Sets on Rules

Moore's Federal Practice -- Civil (Lexis) Law faculty & students only. This is one of the major treatises on Federal practice. This part covers the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Annotations include the legislative history and an historical analysis for each rule.
Call Number: Available on Lexis
ISBN: 0820514101
Moore's Federal Practice -- Civil (NexisUni) This is one of the major treatises on Federal practice. This part covers the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Annotations include the legislative history and an historical analysis for each rule.
Call Number: Available on NexisUni
Federal Practice and Procedure (Wright & Miller) Westlaw is available for law students & faculty only. Wright & Miller's Federal Practice and Procedure is another major treatise on federal practice. Like Moore's it covers Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Criminal Procedure, Appeallate Procedure and Evidence and features extensive annotations.
Call Number: Online via Westlaw and Law Stacks KF8840 .W68

Lexis Litigation Profile Suite

NOTE: These resources are only available to UC Law students and faculty.

Lexis Litigation Profile Suite Demo (YouTube)

Lexis Litigation Profile Suite Brochure and User Tips (PDF)

Expert Witness Searching on Lexis Advance (PDF)

From the Lexis Advance search screen, select “Litigation Profile Suite” from the red "Research" drop-down menu in the upper left corner. The Expert Witness profiles provide information about an expert witness’s current contact information, current position, education, past case involvement, and more. Attorney profiles provide information on an attorney’s prior experience with similar lawsuits, areas of expertise, past verdicts and more. The Judge Profile draws upon courtroom records, news, and other resources to give you an understanding of their past ruling tendencies and experience in a particular area of law.

Lexis Advance Practice Sets & Forms

NOTE: These resources are only available to UC Law students and faculty.

Be sure and also look by subject.

Bender's Forms of Discovery Sample interrogatories arranged alphabetically by subject along with a text that covers discovery more broadly.
Bender's Federal Practice Forms (Lexis) Law students & faculty only. Provides civil and criminal litigation forms needed for practice in any federal court. All of the forms are located in chapters based on the controlling procedural rules.
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Volumes 1-12 deal with civil proceedings in federal district courts. All of the forms appear in chapters based on the relevant Rule of Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The procedures begin with the initial complaint, through responsive pleadings and motions, through disclosures and discovery and pretrial conferences, through trials and post-trial motion. The balance of the forms in Volume 12 are organized into chapters for procedures not fully covered by one of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, including Three-Judge Courts in election contests, statutory motions for change of venue, and civil contempt proceedings. Volumes 16 and 17 deal with criminal prosecutions in the United States District Court. The forms are organized into chapters based on the relevant Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. Volume 17 also deals with collateral attacks (i.e., post-appeal attacks) on criminal convictions that may be brought in United States District courts, including the rules and official forms for Section 2255 motions for relief from federal court convictions and habeas corpus review of state court convictions. Volume 18 covers the forms needed for civil and criminal appeals to the United States Courts of Appeals. All of the forms are organized into chapters based on the relevant Federal Rules of Appellate Practice. Volume 19, covers the few forms required by the Federal Rules of Evidence. This volume also covers proceedings in the United States Supreme Court, including the rare instances of direct appeals and the more ordinary situation of review by petition for certiorari. All of the forms, from the initial petition for certiorari through briefs and post-decision requests for rehearings are organized into chapters based on the relevant Rule from the United States Supreme Court Rules of Practice. Volume 20 contains a comprehensive index of all of the forms. Each chapter in each volume contains a brief, but current, analysis of the procedural rule on which the forms in that chapter are based. The balance of the set includes some forms dealing with Admiralty cases, and reproduces the rules of specialty courts, including Bankruptcy courts, the Court of Federal Claims, the Court of International Trade, and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
Bender's Forms for the Civil Practice (Lexis) Law students & faculty only. Forms for a multitude of circumstances and fact patterns. It covers Civil Practice Law & Rules (CPLR), Real Property Actions & Proceedings Law (RPAPL), Court Acts, Domestic Relations Law, Family Court Act, Surrogate's Court Procedure Act (SCPA), Estates, Powers and Trusts Law (EPTL), General Municipal Law, and No-Fault Insurance Law.
Anderson's Ohio Criminal Practice and Procedure Contains forms and information on criminal law and practice. Contains text with annotations immediately following, forms, the table of lesser included offenses, defense and prosecutor’s checklists, and a comprehensive index.
Ohio Forms of Pleading and Practice Contains every form needed for all aspects of pleading and practice, with coverage on the Civil Rules, Appellate Procedure, Probate Practice, selected Special Proceedings, Criminal and Juvenile Rules and the Rules of Evidence, with annotations to case law and the complete text of the Ohio Rules of Court.
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Every form follows the governing rules or statutes in sequence and includes annotations that refer you to relevant rules, statutes, cases and other related forms. It includes the full text of each rule with a comparison to each rule's federal counterpart, and comparisons to prior Code practice where applicable.
Anderson's Ohio Pretrial Litigation Practice Manual This manual is a complete step-by-step guide to handling a civil case prior to trial, from pre-filing investigation and planning through the final pretrial conference and settlement. It explains the procedures governing initial and responsive pleadings, pretrial motion practice, and discovery. It also identifies potential problems, suggesting effective strategies for dealing with such matters as the argumentative deposition witness or fragmented testimony.
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Helpful guidance concerning the drafting of pretrial documents is also supplied, with a complete set of forms. Ohio Pretrial Litigation features: sample representation agreements, sample pleadings, sample motions, sample discovery forms, sample settlement forms, and Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure.
Anderson's Ohio Civil Rules Practice with Forms Takes readers step-by-step from the beginning of an action through all appellate procedures. Topically organized,the text includes substantive law, special proceedings under the Ohio Revised Code and other areas not affected or covered by the Civil Rules. In addition, a complete collection of forms guides the practitioner from the commencement of an action through final remedies. Hundreds of additional forms cover specific actions.
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Text and form coverage include: complaints, service of process answer and reply, venue, discovery and pretrial, trial, judgments and post-judgment remedies, appellate practice, administrative law.

Westlaw Practice Sets and Forms

NOTE: These resources are only available to UC Law students and faculty.

American Jurisprudence Pleading and Practice Forms (Westlaw) Law students & faculty only. Litigation forms with procedural timetables and drafting checklists. Use Index, Table of Contents, or search.
Federal Procedural Forms on Westlaw Law students & faculty only. Federal Procedural Forms is a comprehensive set of forms, "how to" text, and practice aids for use in the federal courts and administrative agencies. Includes references to primary law and research resources.
Cyclopedia of Federal Procedure
Cyclopedia of Federal Procedure Forms
American Jurisprudence Trials (Westlaw)
Law students & faculty only. Based on actual cases, Am Jur® Trials provides techniques, strategies, and guidance for success in the litigation of every practice area, including civil rights, consumer protection, criminal, employment, insurance, medical malpractice, products liability, real estate, and tort law.

The authors detail successful strategies, and caution about unsuccessful ones, for every stage of trial - from initial client interview, pre-trial motions, jury selection, and trial itself, to post-trial motions - to give practitioners the perspectives and tools necessary to succeed. In American Jurisprudence Trials, you'll find practical tips on admitting and preventing the admission of evidence, navigating complex procedural law, distinguishing unfavorable facts, and much more.
American Jurisprudence Proof of Facts
Causes of Action
Lane's Goldstein Litigation Forms
Ohio Jurisprudence Pleading and Practice Forms

CALI Lesson on Litigation Materials

Available to Law Students only (see a reference librarian if you do not have a CALI activation code).

Preparing for Trial (CALI Lesson) This lesson is designed to familiarize law students with legal materials that can be used when preparing for litigation. Rather than creating from scratch many of the documents needed in preparing for a trial, it is much more efficient to find sample documents that can help guide you. Students will be introduced to the various sources that attorneys turn to, including sample forms, pleadings, interrogatories, and other useful resources.
Researching and Working with Procedureal Forms (CALI Lesson) This lesson will familiarize students with the use of procedural forms designed to assist in litigation practice.