§5.2
		Introduction
		Paralegal Perspectives
		Labs
		Audio Companion: Form Books
		Lecture Notes

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:

• Bender's Forms (found on Lexis)
  and
• Am. Jur. Proof of Facts, or Am. Jur. Pleading & Practice Forms (found on Westlaw)

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 Perspectives . . .

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.