Introduction
Secondary sources of law are background resources in the field that interpret, explain and analyze aspects about primary sources (Tufts University Library, 2019). Secondary sources include law reviews, encyclopedias, restatements, treatises but not limited to practice books of law and form books. Secondary sources have citations to primary sources and are often a good way to start research. However, the objective of the article is to explore the different aspects of practice books and form books and how they can be applied in law.
Legal Practice and Form Book
Practice books is a book dedicated to the proceedings in a court or different categories of courts. A practice book will, therefore, contain court forms, practice directions and court rules. In some scenarios, the practice book will contain Superior Court amendments as well as the Rules of Appellate Procedure. A form book is a publication that seeks to provide law practitioners with guidelines, templates, examples and other assistance material that a practitioner may need. Sometimes, a form book is referred to as a treatise which is a law book written by a private individual on a specific contingent of law.
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Finding the Proper Practice or Form Book
The proper practice or form book can be found depending on the subject the law practitioner wishes to develop. Despite the two different categories of forms (BYU Law Library, 2013): substantive/instruments which are forms in legal transactions like leases and Procedural/Pleadings that deal with procedural standards for forms to be used in court procedures, proper practice and form books can be found in law libraries in loose-leaf, books and electronic databases with some titles available in Lexis or Westlaw (Georgetown Law Library, 2020). Proper, practice and form books can also be on the internet but the practitioner has to be wary of charges involved. Reputable sites include IRS forms page, FindLaw Forms and UpCounsel.
Uses for a Client
Form books present a wealth of information to a paralegal and therefore becomes an asset. The information makes work easier for a paralegal because there is no need to create work from scratch while you can build the same work from an already formulated template. Therefore, apart from making the paralegal's work easier, it also saves the paralegal's client time as less time is spent in formulating something.
Careful Use of Practice or Form Books
A legal practitioner can formulate a checklist of what the facts about the case are and what they intend to achieve for the client. With this checklist, they can determine the problem and outcome they wish to have. This information helps in understanding what practice and form book they require to raise a template form. Using the same checklist, the legal practitioner can check off what the template offers and leave out what it doesn’t. In most cases, the template will not offer the full needs of the legal practitioner or for that matter what the client needs (Texas Law Help, 2020). Therefore, the legal practitioner is allowed to tailor the form to meet the clients needs so long as they meet the courts' procedures and standards.
Conclusion
Practice and form books play an integral part in Law, they assist legal practitioners to become efficient and effective in their practice, therefore, saving both their clients and the courts time as they develop cases. These secondary materials also assist to sharpen the skills of legal practitioners in the field of Law.
References
Tufts University Library. (2019). International Law and Organizations: Home . LibGuides. https://researchguides.library.tufts.edu/c.php?g=248934.
Georgetown Law Library. (2020, April 2). Guides: Legal Forms Research Guide: Introduction . Introduction - Legal Forms Research Guide - Guides at Georgetown Law Library. https://guides.ll.georgetown.edu/legal_forms.
BYU Law Library. (2013). Library Guides: Locating Legal Information in Primary and Secondary Resources: Legal Resource Guides . Legal Resource Guides - Locating Legal Information in Primary and Secondary Resources - Library Guides at BYU Law Library. https://lawlibguides.byu.edu/c.php?g=315332.
Texas Law Help. (2020, February 23). Legal Research: Steps to Follow . TexasLawHelp.org - Providing Free and Reliable Legal Information & Forms for Civil Legal Issues in Texas. https://texaslawhelp.org/article/legal-research-steps-follow.
