Group 1, LAW I- A

Primary Source: A statement of the law itself from a governmental entity, such as a court, legislature, executive agency, President or Governor. Examples of primary sources in law: court decisions statutes text of legislative bills contracts, wills, and other legal documents Secondary Source: Materials that discuss, explain, interpret, and analyze what the law is or what it should be. Sources also provide extensive citations to primary legal materials and other relevant secondary sources. Examples of secondary sources in law: Legal Dictionaries Words & Phrases Legal Encyclopedias Annotated Law Reports Legal Periodicals Legal Treatises, Hornbooks and Nutshells Restatements Loose Leaf Services Legal Directories.

ANNOTATED LAW REPORTS

Law reports or reporters are a series of books that contain judicial opinions from a selection of case law divided by courts.

Examples: Philippine Reports SCRA SCAD

LEGAL ENCYCLOPEDIA
These are works that explain systematically the entire body of legal doctrine, in an alphabetical arrangement of articles There are two primary uses for legal encyclopedias.
First, the articles can be quite useful as a general introduction

to an area of law which is new to you. Second, encyclopedias are a way to find citations to cases and other useful materials on a particular issue.

PRACTICE MANUALS
Practice manuals, like form books, contain lots of forms and instruction for how to use them. These are well written and well-organized.

BOOKS OF DEFINITION / LAW DICTIONARIES

Law Dictionaries are useful for identifying the definitions of words in their legal sense or use. The earliest law dictionary was Berriz, Diccionario de Administracion de las Islas Filipinas, published in 1887.

In 1972, the first dictionary for Philippine Law was published, covering 70 years of law and decision-making from 1901 to 1971. It was written by Federico B. Moreno and entitled Philippine Law Dictionary.
Among the well-known law dictionaries are: Blacks Law Dictionary, of West; Ballentines Law Dictionary, with Pronunciations, of Lawyers Cooperative; and Bouviers Law Dictionary and Concise Encyclopedia of West.

CASE DIGESTS
Digest of cases are compilations of paragraphs containing concise summaries of points in cases, grouped under appropriate headings the chief of which are alphabetically arranged. Each paragraph in case digests is complete in itself when it has concisely and accurately stated the point decided with reference to precise facts. Examples: Philippine Digest Republic of the Philippine Digest Velayos Digest SCRA Quick Index Digest Compendium of Philippine Jurisprudence Supreme Court Digest Summary of Supreme Court Rulings Philippine Judicial Weekly

LOOSE LEAF
A looseleaf service is a form of publication that is periodically updated with materials which are filed in a notebook or binder to ensure that the contents are as current as possible. The updates are usually provided on a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly basis. Looseleaf services bring together into a single secondary source most of the important information from a variety of primary sources on a particular topic or field of law.

CITATORS
They supply references to decisions in which other cases have been cited, reviewed, affirmed, reversed, overruled, criticized or commented upon, and to cases in which statutes have been construed, and to statutes in which prior acts have been amended, renewed or repealed. The first citator published in the Philippines was Dizons Philippine Citations in 2 volumes which contain complete citations in Volumes 2 to 64 of the Philippine Reports and in the Official Gazette. Citations in the decisions of the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, and Court of Tax Appeals, reported in Volume 52 of the Official Gazette are contained in the Citator which forms part of the 1956 Official Gazette Desk Book.

FORM BOOK / PRACTICE BOOK

A form book is a tool used by lawyers to aid in the filing of pleadings, motions and other legal documents with a court or similar decision-making body. It is usually a binder containing loose-leaf pages, each of which has a form, or model, of a different kind of motion that the attorney might file with a court.
Topics Covered in Form Books Typical forms included in a form book are a model complaint, answer, motion to compel discovery, motion for summary judgment, and request for permission to appeal. Other types of forms include: Transactional forms used to draft wills, contracts, and documents.

Types of Form Books

General Form Books
General form books usually fall into one of two categories: a. The transactional, or covering pleading and practice processes and transactional (or legal) forms given examples of contracts, wills, leases, deeds, mortgages, and other substantive matters. b. Pleading and practice forms provide formatting and examples for legal language to be used in various court motions such as complaints, answers, and motions to dismiss. They are usually arranged in alphabetical order and may provide a topical index to aid researchers in finding specific forms.

Form Books for Specific Subjects or Proceedings

Publishers can provide form books that discuss a specific type of practice. Topics which might have their own form books include real estate, business law, and tax.

Form Books Specific to Geographic Jurisdictions

Most states have form books containing state-specific forms. These can be published by various entities such as state courts or individual state bar association organizations. Other court systems may publish their own materials as well.

Other Types of Form Books

Another type of form book is designed for those seeking legal forms but not trained as lawyers, commonly referred to as a self-help form book. Topics included could be leases, wills, and contracts.