Tools for Legal Practice: Litigation/Court Practice

Overview of typical tasks in litigation and court practice

Research and drafting tasks common in litigation departments and courts (clerkships and judicial externships) may include:

• legal analysis (for internal memos and for briefs) similar to the types of assignments you prepared in first-year LRW/WOA work
• research and drafting of pleadings and responsive pleadings/dispositive motions, plus discovery requests, responses, and motion practice
• trial prep, trial motions, and evidentiary motions
• drafting client-oriented communications
• researching issues relating to legal ethics and professional responsibility

Practice guidance for litigation

BL > Litigation > Litigation Practical Guidance

• browse for specific tasks and procedural phases of litigation; also browse for Example Search templates for specific pleadings, motions, and litigation tasks (leveraging Bloomberg Law's powerful Dockets coverage)
• federal and multi-state coverage, with leads and example searches to tailor for jurisdiction-specific model documents

LX+ > Practical Guidance >

• browse general guidance for Civil Litigation and Criminal Law, or practice areas (e.g., Labor & Employment > Employment Litigation)
• offers numerous criminal practice templates
• select a procedural phase or task type, then filter for jurisdiction (including some international) and/or resource type (e.g. Templates (forms), Checklists)

WL > Content Type > Practical Law >

• browse general guidance for Litigation (including specialties such as White Collar Crime & Investigations) . or topical practice areas (e.g., IP & Technology > Patent Litigation)
• state and federal coverage, or switch (at top of screen) to Practical Law >Global Home for international jurisdictions

Work like a lawyer: Drafting for litigation & courts

Start with internal briefs/orders banks. Ask a supervising attorney or the firm's librarian about such collections.

Then look for models in practical guidance collections:

• BL > Litigation >Litigation Practical Guidance > [procedural category] > [task type] > [forms] . or search Sample Motions . Sample Pleadings . and more
• LX+ >Practical Guidance > Civil Litigation or Criminal Law > [procedural step] > Templates . or search from home

Finally, find templates with practice tips and expert commentary, often in subject-specific form-books and practice guides:

• Discovery homepage Find Discovery Forms (BL)—template documents (with practice tips) for standard discovery matters
• Sample Forms (LX+) - search or filter by jurisdiction or practice area
• Form Finder (WL) - search or filter by jurisdiction, practice area, and/or publication