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November 2015, 2:02 p.m.

How to write a legal opinion

The following will be a guide to writing an effective and legally sound

legal opinion .It will begin by discussing the qualities of good writing which is central to writing a
successful legal opinion. It will then move on to discussing the formulation of the legal opinion itself.
Finally it will discuss the use of law in a legal opinion and how to refer to both case law and statute
effectively and efficiently.

Quality of Writing

The primary purpose of a legal opinion is communication of advice to either a lay or professional client. It
is therefore of the utmost importance that it is clear and in plain, understandable English. Every word of
the legal opinion should be chosen by the writer because it communicates precisely the advice which the
writer intends to convey. It is important to write in plain English wherever possible. A good legal opinion
will avoid archaic language and legalese. Use of legalese will create a barrier between lawyer and client and
divert the main purpose of the legal opinion; to communicate. That is not to say that the legal opinion
should be over simplified. It will no doubt be conveying specialized legal advice and must therefore be as
detailed as the writer thinks necessary. The use of plain English simply involves saying what needs to be
said in the clearest way possible and avoiding unnecessary verbosity. There are times where technical terms
will have to be used if they carry the precise meaning of the advice being delivered. This should not be shied
away from. Perfect grammar, punctuation and precision of language are essential. Clarity defines good
writing. A legal opinion will often contain a complicated set of facts which will have to be sorted into
specific legal issues and defined in legal terms. Clarity of expression is therefore vital. Clarity of expression
can only be achieved through thorough planning and thought. A thorough plan will lead to a logical
structure. Any legal opinion will be conveying a particular point, but that point will inevitably need to be
broken down into sections. Each section will culminate in an opinion and each opinion must be fully
explained and justified. Clarity of legal writing also requires conciseness. This does not necessarily imply
brevity, but once the point has been made, nothing more need be said. Having said that, completeness and
total accuracy is vital and conciseness should not come above giving full and precise advice.

Formulation of a Legal Opinion

A request for a legal opinion will usually come in written form. Such a request will usually include any
documents in the case. The request for a legal opinion will include at least one and usually a number of
questions which the legal advisor is being asked to address. For a barrister an instruction to provide a legal
opinion will come from a solicitor so any response will be written with the solicitor in mind as the reader,
but the solicitor will have requested the legal opinion in order to advise the client and therefore the client
must be borne in mind as well. The client will want to know for example not “will liability be established?”,
but “will I get any money out of this and if so how much?”A legal opinion will often have the over arching
question of does the client have a good and viable case. This is clearly the most important question to any
client and must be approached with honesty and directness. If the client’s case is not viable they must be
advised of this in the course of the legal opinion, if there is something which can be done to improve the
client’s prospects of success, a good legal opinion will spell this out very precisely. Numbered action points
are one way of achieving clarity in this regard. Above all it is vital to remember that in being asked to draft a
legal opinion, you are being asked to advise. Sitting on the fence is not an option. Lay out the pros and cons
of a particular course of action, but always come down on one side or the other. Giving a percentage chance
of success at the beginning of a legal opinion is one way of being clear about what you think the client’s
prospects are. Drafting a legal opinion can and should always be split into two processes: The thinking
process and the writing process.

General Writing Tips

There aren't many rigid rules when it comes to writing. These are some of the tips I have found helpful.

1. No legalese. First and foremost, write in plain, straight forward, easy to understand language. Avoid
long and complicated sentence structures.

2. Active voice. Active voice is more compelling and easier to understand than passive voice. Only use
passive voice to intentionally downplay an incident. See my passive voice guide here.

3. Use pronouns sparingly. Using pronouns can obscure who or what you are referring to in a
sentence. Avoid pronouns whenever possible and generally avoid using “one” as a pronoun.

4. Avoid "it" and "to be." By avoiding the pronoun “it” and the verb “to be,” will make your writing
clearer and more active.

5. Comma and grammar use. Grammar mistakes make your legal writing appear sloppy and
unprofessional and, worse, can change the meaning of your writing. Online resources are very helpful. I
prefer Purdue's Online Writing Lab.

6. Be concise but thorough. Good luck finding the balance.

7. Organize your writing using sections and subsections. Organize your writing so it is
intelligible and convincing. Using effective sections and subsections makes it easier for the reader to
effortlessly follow your argument. As with paragraphing, be sure to stay on point within each of your
sections and subsections. Legal writing is all about being focused narrowly on the issue (or sub-issue) at
hand. If you include extraneous information when addressing an issue, you will confuse the reader and
lose the reader's focus. For example, if you are analyzing facts using a four-part legal rule, discuss each part
of the rule independent of the other. When discussing part two, don’t allow yourself to begin analyzing part
three. You can do that in a separate section.

8. Clear headings. You should use number and/or letter your sections and subsections (I., a., (1), A., i.,
etc.), and you should label each section with clear headings, which can be complete sentences if you choose
(e.g., “The defendant’s behavior was extreme and outrageous.”). The advantage of using clear headings is
that it allows the reader to quickly identify what you are analyzing and to get a sense of the essentials of
your overall argument by simply reading through the headings.

9. Effective paragraphing. Within each section, separate your discussion of a topic into several
paragraphs that each addresses a specific theme/subtopic relating to the larger topic. Within each
paragraph, stick to a single, clearly articulated topic. Do not stray from that topic.

10. Topic sentences. Start each paragraph with a clear topic sentence that informs the reader of what
topic the paragraph will address. Stick to the topic that you set out to address within that paragraph.

11. Don’t be vague or conclusive. When discussing the law, focus on detail, detail, detail. Legal
analysis usually depends on the facts of a case, and to understand the facts of a case a reader needs detail.
Do not use vague or conclusive statements to explain facts. For example, “The defendant was abusive,”
without further explanation, does not tell the reader anything about whether the defendant was in fact
abusive. Explain what the defendant actually did to demonstrate why the defendant's actions were abusive.

12. Avoid block quotes (50+ words). Readers gloss over block quotes. Unless the 50+ word quote is
truly crucial, which is in fact the case at times, put the substance of the quote into your own words or use
ellipses to shorten the quote.

13. Past tense. As a general rule, use past tense when referring to case law and facts. Lawyers often use
present tense when referring to the litigation itself: "Defendant argues that . . . ."

14. Avoid unnecessary adjectives and adverbs. Back up your argument with facts, not with fancy
words. And don't use exclamation points (unless included in a written quote).

15. Limit use of nominalizations (making verbs into nouns – marginalize turns into marginalization,
or nominalize to nominalization).

16. Be consistent with style and formatting. Many issues of writing style are flexible. When you
choose an approach or convention, be consistent throughout a document.

17. Order of importance. As a general rule, put the most important information at the start of the
sentence or at the start of your legal argument. On occasion, you may choose not to do so for the sake of
impact or for organization sake.

18. No contractions. Don't use contractions in formal writing.

19. Noun agreement. Do not use “their” when referring to a singular noun.

20. Write, read, revise, and repeat. You are NOT supposed to create a master legal document on your
first effort (or your second or third). The best legal writers in the world review and revise their written
works over and over again. Do not get hung up when writing your initial drafts by striving for perfection.
Start with an outline, organized according to the structure of the relevant law. Then start filling in each
section of your outline. After you have written a bunch, read through what you have written, make sure it
comports with controlling case law, so some more research if necessary, and then revise some more. Very
importantly, seek out others to review your work if possible, and do not be overly sensitive about others
critiquing your work. Indeed, you should urge your peers not to be too polite when reviewing your work.
You want critical feedback as it will improve your writing.

Passive Voice, Don't Use It!!

 YOU SHOULD WRITE IN THE ACTIVE VOICE

Why write in Active Voice?

For clarity. When you write in the passive voice, readers have a more difficult time understanding exactly
what you are trying to convey, particularly if you fail to include a subject in your sentence.

What is Active Voice?

Basically, sentences written in the active voice feature subjects that precede the predicate or main verb of
the sentence. That is, the subject of the sentence acts.

Example 1: Jane delivered the paper.

[Jane = the subject; delivered = verb]

What is Passive Voice?

When a writer composes a sentence in passive voice, the subject of the sentence follows the verb, or,
worse, the subject is missing from the sentence all together.

Example 2: The paper was delivered by Jane.

[delivered = verb; Jane = the subject]
- or (worse) -
Example 3: The paper was delivered.
[delivered = verb; who delivered the paper??= no subject]

Easy ways to identify Passive Voice:

1) Make sure the subject precedes the predicate.

a. The Subject – the person, place or thing that is acting, doing, establishing, or being something in the
sentence.
b. The Predicate or Main Verb – the action or the being of the sentence.

Example 4: Active: Joe submitted the assignment late.

“Joe,” the subject, precedes “submitted,” the predicate.

Example 5: Passive: The assignment was submitted late by Joe.

“Joe” is still the proper subject, but does not precede “was submitted,” the predicate.

Example 6: Passive: The assignment was submitted late.

“Joe” is still the proper subject and “was submitted” is the predicate, but “Joe” the subject does not even
appear in the sentence! This is the most maddening form of passive voice. Never leave the subject out of
your sentences unless you are doing so for effect (i.e., to not make Joe look so bad).

2) Look out for “to be” and other helping verbs. Whenever you use the “to be” verb and follow with a past
participle (verb ending in “-ed”) you are likely using passive voice. Here’s a list of examples to watch out
for:
a. The offer is rejected.
b. The offers are rejected.
c. The offer has been rejected.
d. The offers have been rejected.
e. The offer was rejected.
f. The offers were rejected.
g. The offer(s) had been rejected.
h. The offer(s) will be rejected.
i. The offer(s) will have been rejected.
j. The offer is being rejected.
k. The offers are being rejected.
l. The offer was being rejected.
m. The offers were being rejected.
Notice that none of the above examples included a subject in the sentence, so we do not know who is
rejecting the offers.

3) Look out for sentences that end with a noun which follows the word “by.”

Example 7: Passive: The offer was rejected by Jenny.

The proper subject, “Jenny,” does not precede the predicate, “was rejected.”

Is there ever a good time to use Passive Voice?

Yes. But as a general rule, No!

In a particular circumstance you may prefer the sound or impact of a sentence when written in passive
voice. For example:

Example 8: Active: My client took the diamond from the tray.

Example 9: Passive: The diamond was taken from the tray.

Here, notice that writing in passive voice allows you to omit mention of your client, perhaps deemphasizing
your client’s actions. However, as you may be able to sense from this example, when you use passive voice
readers often get the impression that you are either (1) not a very good writer, or (2) not being straight
forward. So, when you intend to be straight forward, avoid using passive voice.

Commas, semicolons, and what not

There is far too much to try to say about comma usage and other common grammar pitfalls here. I am not
a grammarian, so I regularly seek out resources to clean up the many grammatical errors that manage to
find their way into my legal writing. Assuming that you are not a grammarian either, you should also seek
out such resources.

The Purdue Online Writing Lab has an excellent resource for basic comma usage. I strongly suggest that
you use it as a resource. While you are at it, be sure to tackle the semicolon and colon as well.
If you are so inclined, you should explore some of the countless other online writing resources that may aid
you in your writing.

Pronouns
Be very cautious about pronoun use. Often, when you use a pronoun instead of the actual noun that you
are replacing, the meaning of your statement becomes thoroughly obscured. Whenever you are unsure as
to whether the use of a pronoun will make your writing too vague or confusing, the safest bet is to use the
actual noun instead, even if that means that your writing will be somewhat repetitive.

For example, "Ms. Jones told Ms. Smith about her plans, and then she hurried to the scene of the crime."
This sentence does not clearly convey who hurried to the scene of the crime. For that reason, using "she"
rather than the name of the person who hurried to the scene of the crime is a bad idea.

Getting started with writing a Memo

Included in this section are basic guides to writing each of the main sections of a legal memorandum.
There is no one way to write a memo, and you should feel free to experiment with other methods.
However, if you follow the advice here, you should not stray too far from most attorneys’ expectations.

Note that throughout this section, I have included excerpts from one of my student's assignments regarding
whether or not a fictitious client could succeed with a misappropriation of trade secrets claim. These
excerpts should serve as a decent model for how to write a legal memorandum.

Before you get started writing your memo, and throughout the legal writing process, consider the following:

1. Be aware of who you are writing to. When you know who will be reading your memo, then you should
cater your writing style to the reader's preferences. Whether a judge, supervising attorney, non-profit
agency, or legal writing instructor, your reader is your priority. If your audience wants you to include a
detailed facts section, you should do so. If your supervisor tells you that you need not include a facts
section, then do not include one. The same is true regarding writing style, grammar usage, the level of
background you provide concerning the area of law, etc. Your audience should dictate your approach to
legal writing.
2. When writing a legal memo, chances are that your reader will want an "objective" memo, which plainly
explains the legal issue at hand and, if appropriate, analyzes the likelihood of success for a client or
potential client with regard to that issue. An objective memo should not be overly argumentative
or doctrinaire. You are presenting your best, most honest estimate of what the law is and how it should be
applied to the facts at hand.

3. Only address the issues that you set out to address. Identifying the issues that you will address in a
memo is a crucial preliminary step. You want to narrow down the scope of your memo as much as possible.
Once you have done so, you must stick to the issues that you present in your memo. Do not get side
tracked by related (or unrelated) issues. You may make reference to other issues of concern, but you
should only discuss and analyze the issue or issues that you identify at the start of your memo.

4. Be as concise as possible, but not at the expense of being thorough. In practice, attorneys have very little
time to read lengthy legal memos. Be as concise as you can. Still, do not sacrifice necessary detail. In this
regard, clear and detailed headings in your Discussion section help to quickly guide the reader through
your memo.

5. Organize your memo according to the relevant legal rules. Once you identify the proper legal issue,
analyze the law and identify the appropriate rules that govern that legal issue. Most legal rules are made up
of sub-rules/elements/components. Get to know these sub-rules as well as you can and organize your legal
analysis according to the structure of the legal rule.

6. Make your memo as easy to understand as possible. Legal writing should not be convoluted and
impossible to understand. Draft and revise your memo again and again until you are confident that an
average reader could read through your memo and understand exactly what you are attempting to convey.

Memo Outline
To:
From:
Date:
Re:

______________________________________________________
MEMORANDUM

Issue(s)
Brief single sentence issue statement, which appropriately defines the legal question addressed and
includes a few relevant facts that go to answering that legal question.

Brief Answer(s)
Brief answer to your issue statement that begins with a "yes" or a "no" and follows with a succinct
explanation of your basis for that answer, preferably including the facts that support your conclusion.

Facts
Succinct statement of facts that includes all facts that you analyze in your discussion section and any
other facts necessary for relevance.
Discussion
Umbrella paragraph(s) outlining your discussion section, introducing the various topics you will address
below (usually in the form of statements of the controlling legal rules that you analyze below).

I. Subsection(s) - Your heading should be a statement of your Conclusion to the first legal rule you are
analyzing.

¶ Your first sentence of your analysis should clearly state the applicable Rule. Your second and possibly
third sentence should provide and Explanation of the Rule, which serves as a road map to your reader by
informing your reader of the topics that you are going to address in the remainder of your analysis section.
¶ Following your introductory paragraph comes your first analysis paragraph, which you should start
with a topic sentence that mirrors the first topic that you listed in your Explanation of the Rule above.
Following your topic sentence, you should analyze cases that discuss that topic, and you should then
compare the facts of your cases to the holdings and facts of the cases that you discussed.
¶ You will likely have a number of analysis paragraphs, depending on the nature of your legal issue. If
the legal issues are complex, you may choose to break up your analysis by subsections.
¶ Your final paragraph/sentence should succinctly repeat your Conclusion for this analysis section.

II. Subsection(s)
Repeat above.

III. Subsection(s)
Repeat above.

Conclusion

-------------

Sample Outline:
MEMORANDUM

Issue
Whether Linda Petersen, owner of Petersen Pilates, Inc. fitness center ("PPI") and developer of a unique
personalized Pilates training method, has a claim against Alexandria Dimitri, a former PPI employee, for
misappropriation of a trade secret resulting from Ms. Dimitri's unauthorized use of a similar training
method at another fitness center.

Brief Answer
Yes, a court would most likely find that Ms. Petersen's personalized Pilates plan method could be a trade
secret and Ms. Dimitri's use of this method at another fitness center could constitute misappropriation of
that trade secret because Ms. Dimitri should have known that her acquisition of the method was improper
and Ms. Dimitri used the method without Ms. Petersen's express or implied consent.

Facts
[[Include concise explanation of facts]]
Discussion
The validity of Ms. Petersen's claim for trade secret misappropriation depends upon whether (1) the PPI
System could be a trade secret, (2) Ms. Dimitri should have known that her acquisition of the PPI System
was through improper means, and (3) Ms. Dimitri used the PPI System without Ms. Petersen's consent.
These issues are governed by the Colorado Uniform Trade Secrets Act ("CO UTSA"), C.R.S.A. § 7-74-102
(2009).Mineral Deposits Limited v. Zigan, 773 P.2d 606, 608 (Colo. App. 1989). Whether the PPI System is
a trade secret and whether Ms. Dimitri's acquisition and use of the PPJ System constituted
misappropriation are questions of fact. Gold Messenger, Inc. v. McGuay, 937 P.2d 907, 911 (Colo. App.
1997); Powell Products, Inc. v. Marks, 948 F. Supp. 1469, 1482 (D. Colo. 1996).

I. A court would likely find that Petersen's PPI System constitutes a trade secret.

a. Ms. Petersen's PPI System was not known outside of her business.
[[Analysis in the form of CREAC]]
b. Ms. Petersen's employees did not know how the PPI System operated.
[[Analysis in the form of CREAC]]
c. Ms. Petersen took adequate measures to protect the trade secret.
[[Analysis in the form of CREAC]]

II. Ms. Dimitri should have known that she improperly acquired the PPI System.
[[Analysis in the form of CREAC]]

III. Ms. Dimitri used the PPI System without Ms. Petersen's consent.
[[Analysis in the form of CREAC]]

Conclusion

Ms. Petersen should succeed with her misappropriation of trade secret claim against Ms. Dimitri because
(1) Ms. Petersen's PPI System is likely a trade secret, (2) Ms. Dimitri acquired Ms. Petersen's PPI System
through improper means, and (3) Ms. Dimitri used the PPI System without Ms. Petersen's consent.

Issue Statement

Issue statements or Questions Presented should, in a single sentence, clearly articulate the issue addressed
in your memo.

1. You will know whether the statement is sufficiently clear if answering the question in either the
affirmative or the negative fully resolves the issue at hand. In other words, your issue statement should be
able to be answered, in a word, with a “Yes” or a “No.” If not, then your statement is not refined enough.
Effectively refining your issue statement requires an intimate understanding of both the relevant facts and
law.
2. In stating the issue, try to mention several of the most salient facts relating to the issue. This provides
the reader with some context.

3. Generally, if you are addressing more than one issue, separate the issues into separate, single sentence
paragraphs, comporting to the advice above.

Sample Issue Statement: (Misappropriation of trade secret)

Whether Linda Petersen, owner of Petersen Pilates, Inc. fitness center ("PPI") and developer of a unique
personalized Pilates training method, has a claim against Alexandria Dimitri, a former PPI employee, for
misappropriation of a trade secret resulting from Ms. Dimitri's unauthorized use of a similar training
method at another fitness center.

NOTE: The sample Issue Statement above addresses ONE issue--whether Ms. Petersen's program
constitutes a trade secret. Of course, whether the program is a trade secret involves a number of more
discrete sub-issues, which you would address in your trade secret analysis section in separate subsections.
The facts included within the issue statement give the reader some context regarding how you will analyze
the legal issue.

Brief Answer
Your Brief Answer should begin with a simple “Yes” or “No” and should include a succinct, preferably one
sentence, explanation of your reasoning. Several sentences may be necessary, but try to be as concise as
possible. Include mention of the more salient facts that relate to the legal issues involved to assist the
reader in understanding your reasoning.

Sample Brief Answer:

(Answering the sample provided in the Issue Statement)

Yes, a court would most likely find that Ms. Petersen's personalized Pilates plan could be a trade secret and
Ms. Dimitri's use of the method at another fitness center could constitute misappropriation of that trade
secret because Ms. Dimitri should have known that her acquisition of the method was improper and Ms.
Dimitri used the method without Ms. Petersen's express or implied consent.
Facts
When drafting your facts section:

 Include all of the relevant facts, including facts necessary to provide the reader with sufficient
context.
 Be sure to include any facts that you discuss later in your memo.
 Be clear and succinct.
 While being succinct is very important, if you have a fact intensive issue, then you will need to be
careful to fully develop the facts section.
  Use plain language and active voice.
 Generally, organize your facts chronologically.
 Do not be argumentative, but frame the facts in a way that is favorable to your argument.
 Keep the governing legal standards in mind when drafting your facts section. The legal issues at
hand largely inform which facts are most relevant.
 If useful, break up the facts section by using thematic headings, particularly where the facts section
is lengthy.
 Discussion
 This is the heart of your memo. Here is where you discuss/analyze the issue at hand in detail.

1. Begin your Discussion section with an Umbrella Paragraph that provides an overview of the law.
In providing that overview, start off with a broad statement of the law, then narrow down to the
more finite elements of the law and the issues that you will discuss in the memo.

2. Whenever possible, breakdown your discussion of the law into separate sub-issues (and
corresponding subsections) based on the legal standards at hand. This helps the reader to
understand the particulars underlying the law and what is necessary to bring a successful claim.

Thus, you will start your Discussion section with an Umbrella Paragraph and then delve into your
analysis with separate subsections as appropriate, each identified with separate headings (see
Analysis Subsections).

Organizing your argument

You must organize your discussion of the law clearly and logically to allow the reader to easily follow your
rationale. Generally, you should organize your discussion according to the structure of the relevant legal
rules. If the broad legal issue you are analyzing has four main subparts, then organize your analysis into
four main subparts.

Although you can use traditional paragraphing and narrative to separate your discussion of each of these
sub-issues, I strongly recommend using numbered or lettered sections to make it easier for your
reader to follow your analysis. Thus, each numbered subsection will address one sub-issue, and one sub-
issue only.

While each of these sub-sections relate to each other in some capacity, you should treat each subsection
distinctly. Once you have broken down your Discussion into separate subsections, you have
demonstrated to the reader that the relevant rule at hand is made up of different elements. Each
subsection addresses one, and only one, of those elements. Do not confuse the reader by either discussing
one of the other elements that you have identified, or by discussing the law in more general terms. Strictly
discuss the element identified at the start of the subsection and how that element relates to the the ultimate
determination in terms of satisfying the law.

Discussion Umbrella Paragraph

Umbrella. The first paragraph of your Discussion will serve as an “umbrella” paragraph where you
provide an overview of the relevant area of law and a road map that shows the reader what your memo will
address and the structure by which you will address the issues at hand.

1. Begin with a broad discussion of the law, and then narrow your discussion as appropriate.

2. When providing an overview of the particular law at hand, try to breakdown your explanation of the law
into separate elements or factors that you will analyze in your memo. These “elements” or “sub-
issues” are like ingredients - together, they make up the law. By clearly separating out and identifying
each of the elements of the law, you provide the reader with a much clearer understanding of how the law
operates and therefore of the likelihood of success in the particular circumstance at hand.

3. When possible, number these separate components of the law when you present them in your umbrella
to ensure that the reader identifies the sub-issues as being distinct from each other. Ideally, you will
organize your discussion in the same manner and order as you presented them in your umbrella
paragraph. Therefore, the clearer your statement of the rule and its components in your umbrella, the
easier your reader will follow your analysis.

4. Your umbrella paragraph could also be a good place to inform the reader of the standard of review -
the manner by which a court will consider each element of the law. In this regard, it is important that you
clearly explain what is necessary to succeed with regard to the law generally and with regard to each
element of the law specifically. Must you satisfy the requirements of every sub-issue to succeed? Or do you
have a balancing test that only requires you to consider each of the factors and weigh the totality of the
evidence? Who has the burden of proof? Is the issue one of fact or one of law? You need not answer all of
these questions, but they are the types of procedural issues that may belong in your umbrella paragraph.

5. Beyond a statement of the law and of the standard of review, you may provide additional information as
you feel is appropriate, but refrain from getting too specific as you will delve into each of the sub-issues in
more detail below.

Sample Umbrella Paragraph:

(Trade Secret example from Issue Statement)

Discussion

The validity of Ms. Petersen's claim for trade secret misappropriation depends upon whether (1) the PPI
System could be a trade secret, (2) Ms. Dimitri should have known that her acquisition of the PPI System
was through improper means, and (3) Ms. Dimitri used the PPI System without Ms. Petersen's consent. See
Colorado Uniform Trade Secrets Act ("CO UTSA"), C.R.S.A. § 7-74-102 (2009); Mineral Deposits Limited v.
Zigan, 773 P.2d 606, 608 (Colo. App. 1989). Whether the PPI System is a trade secret and whether Ms.
Dimitri's acquisition and use of the PPI System constituted misappropriation are questions of fact. Gold
Messenger, Inc. v. McGuay, 937 P.2d 907, 911 (Colo. App. 1997); Powell Products, Inc. v. Marks, 948 F.
Supp. 1469, 1482 (D. Colo. 1996).

NOTE: Based on this umbrella paragraph, the first section of the memorandum should concern whether
the method at issue constitutes a trade secret, and a heading such as the following would be suitable:
I. Ms. Peteresen's PPI System is likely a trade secret.

Analysis - CREAC
CREAC Overview (Conclusion, Rule, Explanation of Rule, Analysis, Conclusion). This is the heart of
your memo. At this point, you have introduced the reader to the issues at hand, the underlying facts, and a
brief overview of your argument. Further, you have decided how to structure your argument in terms of
sections and subsections. Now, based on that organization, you are going to analyze each of the sub-issues
that you have identified using the CREAC model--one CREAC per subsection.

Tackle one sub-issue at a time. According to this model, you will craft analysis based on
the CREAC model to discuss each individual element/sub-issue, one at a time. One sub-issue=One CREAC.

CREAC Structure. As mentioned above, CREAC stands for Conclusion, Rule, Explanation of
Rule, Analysis, Conclusion. The CREAC model (like other models for legal writing, e.g., IRAC), provides a
simple template to guide you in structuring your analysis so that your analysis is easier for the reader to
follow. Follow the hyperlinks below to learn more about each element of CREAC.

In terms of actually laying out your CREAC analysis, I recommend the following:
1. Heading (Conclusion): Use your Conclusion as the heading to your subsection. Remember, this
Conclusion should only speak to the particular sub-issue that you are analyzing. Thus, if your memo
addresses whether your client committed a crime, the larger issue is, "Whether Defendant Jones
committed the crime." However, if you divided your memo into two sections to address the two
main elements of the crime--i.e., mens rea and actus reus--then, in your mens rea section, you
should limit your Conclusion to whether your client had the requisite mens rea to be found guilty of
committing the crime. Thus your Conclusion would read: "Based on the evidence before the court,
Defendant Jones did not have the necessary mens rea." Mind you, this is totally fictitious. The point
is strictly that--in your fictitious mens rea subsection--you would not have a Conclusion that simply
stated, "The Defendant cannot be found guilty of the crime," because that would be too broad. You
must limit your conclusion to the sub-issue at hand.
2. First Paragraph (Conclusion, Rule, Explanation): Your first sentence of the paragraph should
clearly state the relevant Rule. Remember, as with the Conclusion, this Rule should speak only to
the specific sub-issue that you are analyzing (e.g., "A jury must find that Defendant Jones had
criminal intent in order to convict him of the crime." And, once again, this is totally
fictitious.). Following your single sentence rule, your second sentence should provide the reader
with an Explanation of the Rule, which could be anywhere from a single sentence to many
sentences. Ideally, your Explanation would include a list of factors/considerations that you plan to
discuss in the remainder of your subsection. If you include such a list, then you should organize the
remainder of your subsection according to that list of factors.
3. Analysis Paragraphs: Following your introductory paragraph, you should separate
your Analysis into individual, thematic paragraphs, with each paragraph discussing a separate
aspect of the sub-issue that is made clear in the first sentence of each paragraph by use of effective
topic sentences, hopefully corresponding to the list of factors that you articulated in your
 Explanation above. In each of these paragraphs, you should include discussion of relevant case law,
and you should compare that case law to your client's circumstances.
4. Conclusion: Restate your Conclusion at the end of the subsection in a single, one or two sentence
paragraph.
If your analysis of the issue at hand is incredibly brief, perhaps because the particular sub-issue does not
require much discussion, then you can make your entire CREAC into a single paragraph.

Follow the links below for more detailed tips on drafting each element of CREAC.

C (Conclusion)
R (Rule)
E (Explanation)
A (Analysis)
C (Conclusion)
Conclusion (Heading)
C (Conclusion). The first sentence of your analysis/CREAC is your Conclusion.

1. Your Conclusion should only be a single sentence.

2. Your conclusion should only address the sub-issue at hand. That is, when stating the Conclusion to
a subsection, you are not stating a broad conclusion that answers your Question Presented (unless the issue
does not feature sub-rules). Instead, you are only providing an explanation of whether the facts at hand
satisfy the elements/sub-rule at issue in the subsection itself.

3. In your Conclusion, use specific language from the corresponding legal rules (often referred to as
"terms of art") or standards to make the link between your Conclusion and the law obvious to the reader.

4. If possible, incorporate a few salient/relevant facts into your Conclusion that relate to the particular
sub-issue at hand. However, do not allow your Conclusion to become endlessly long.

Rule
R (Rule). Your Rule is a succinct statement of the law governing the specific legal element/factor at issue
in the subsection.

1. Assuming you included your Conclusion as your heading to the subsection, your Rule should be the
first sentence of your first paragraph in the subsection.

2. Identifying your Rule is easier said than done. As a preliminary matter, there is the Macro-Rule,
the big picture that governs the larger issue that you are addressing--the issue that you introduced in
your Issue Statement. This Macro-Rule is what you explained briefly in your Umbrella paragraph,
beginning with the broadest aspect of the rule. It is the larger Rule that controls the area of law. However,
most Macro-Rules are made up of a number of Mini-Rules--smaller rules that together comprise
the larger rule, like ingredients in a cookie recipe. And most legal disputes involve arguments over how an
arbiter should interpret these Mini-Rules in a given context. In the course of composing your CREAC, you
will mostly be focused on the individual Mini-Rules that comprise the larger Macro-Rule. Thus, like your
Conclusion, your Rule is not the rule that governs the central issue that you are addressing in the memo as
a whole (unless your memo only has a single analysis section). Rather, your Rule is actually a sub-rule
that only speaks to the element at issue in the subsection at hand, which you should have
identified in your Umbrella as a component of the macro-rule that your memo addresses as a whole. Thus,
tailor your subsection Rule accordingly, addressing only the sub-issue as it relates to the macro-issue.

3. Distill the law to identify the rule. Beyond differentiating between your Macro- and your Mini-
Rules, you also need to be careful to accurately depict the nature of the Rules that you are analyzing. You
will read statutes, regulations, and cases that often speak to the same legal issue, but with different
language, standards, and criteria. Your job is to distill these varying sources of law to come up with what
you think IS the law. This means giving appropriate weight to various sources of law and identifying how
those various source converge on the particular issue that you are addressing.

4. Do not overstate your rule. One of the most common pitfalls for legal writers is to end up
overstating the law. For example, if your overall test is a balancing test, and no single sub-issue is
dispositive, then write, “The court will consider . . . .” But if the rule is dispositive, meaning that a plaintiff
MUST satisfy the element, then make that clear by writing something to the effect of “To succeed with this
claim, a plaintiff must prove . . . .” If you over- or understate the rule, then your reader will not properly
understand the law.

5. Be sure to cite legal authority in support of your rule. Without citing some sort of legal authority,
your Rule may as well be, quite literally, your Rule, and not that of the of law. Citing case law assures your
reader that you are not just making stuff up, which lawyers at times attempt to do.

6. Combining a conclusion and a rule into a single sentence can be tricky, but it can also be
compelling, particularly with a solid citation followed by a parenthetical that clearly states the law.

Sample Rule:
(Trade Secret hypothetical from Issue Statement)

To succeed with her claim for misappropriation of a trade secret, Ms. Petersen must first prove that her
Pilates training method is a trade secret. Porter Industries, Inc. v.Higgins, 680 P.2d 1339, 1341 (Colo. App.
19

Explanation of Rule
E (Explanation). Your Explanation, which immediately follows your Rule, should explain relevant
nuances of the law and the various factors that a court will likely examine when considering the sub-issue.

1. Try to keep your Explanation as brief as possible, only including further discussion of the Rule that is
necessary for the reader to understand the nature of the law. Your Explanation of the Rule can be as short
as a single sentence and should probably be no more than three to four sentences, unless the issue is
particularly complex and warrants a lengthier discussion.

2. Use your Explanation to identify the factors that a court would likely consider when analyzing
the sub-issue at hand. In this way, your Explanation is like a mini-Umbrella, providing the reader with a
road map for this particular sub-rule. Identifying the relevant factors that underlie your sub-rule is not
always easy. Sometimes the law identifies these factors for you--perhaps because the statute at issue
contains discrete requirements. More often, you must identify the relevant factors at issue by engaging in
extensive research. Courts will often articulate what factors control an issue, but often times different
courts will use different factors. Your job is to distill what factors you think are most relevant and to inform
the reader accordingly.

3. Once you have identified the relevant factors, present the factors in a list to make it clear to the
reader what you will be analyzing throughout the subsection. I recommend a numbered list to draw
attention to the factors that you plan to discuss and to ensure that the reader understands that the factors
are distinct form one another.

4. Most importantly, once you have laid out factors in your Explanation, proceed to discuss each factor
in separate Analysis paragraphs in the same order that you listed them in your Explanation.
At the start of each of those Analysis paragraphs, include clear topic sentences to alert the reader of the
factor that you are discussing, using common language in both your Explanation and your topic sentences
at the start of your Analysis paragraphs.

Sample Explanation:

(Explaining the Trade Secret sub-rule from Rule)

In determining whether Ms. Petersen's PPI System is a trade secret, a court will weigh the extent to which
(1) the PPI System was known outside of PPI, (2) the PPJ System was known to employees within PPI, (3)
Ms. Petersen attempted to guard the PPI System's secrecy, (4) PPI increased in value by having the PPI
System remain secret, (5) Ms. Petersen expended time and money in developing the PPI System, and (6)
other fitness businesses would need to expend time and money to acquire or develop a similar system.
Porter Industries, Inc. v. Higgins, 680 P.2d 1339, 1341 (Colo. App. 1984). Courts balance facts relating to
each of these factors, and no one factor is dispositive of whether a trade secret could or could not exist.
Harvey Barnett, Inc. v. Shidler, 338 F.3d 1125, 1132 (l0th Cir. 2003).

NOTE: In the above example, the Explanation is based on the relevant case law and is quite detailed. Based
on the advice above, you would model the remainder of your discussion in this subsection to mirror these
factors, doing so by including subsections or paragraphs that deal with each of these factors one-by-one.
Analysis

A (Analysis). Following your opening paragraph to your subsection are your Analysis paragraphs.
1. Follow the Factors that You Presented in Your Explanation. The easiest way to ensure that your Analysis
section is well organized and compelling is to follow the road map that you should have provided in your
Explanation. If you identified relevant Factors in your Explanation, then simply discuss each of those
factors, one by one in separate paragraphs (or subsections) in your Analysis section. For this reason, you
should make sure that your Explanation of your Rule effectively lays out the specific factors that you will
address in your Analysis.

2. Rule-based reasoning. Another benefit to organizing your Analysis according to the factors that you
identified in your Explanation is that you will then naturally organize your writing by factor or theme,
according to the nature of the law, and not simply by case. Legal writers often refer to this thematic
approach as "rule-based reasoning." In essence, using rule-based reasoning, you will analyze the Rule
based on the legal factors or elements that courts consider when making determinations based on that
rule. Once you have identified those factors and chosen the factors that you wish to discuss, you will
analyze those factors one-by-one. Writers who do not consciously adopt the rule-based reasoning approach
often analyze the issue at hand by simply discussing relevant cases one-by-one, often discussing one case
per paragraph. That is not a terrible approach, but it makes your Analysis seem more anecdotal and
shallow - based on a few select cases rather than on the intricacies of the law.

3. Paragraphing or Subsections. Try to discuss each one of the factors identified in your Explanation in
individual paragraphs. If you feel that you have too much to discuss, then you might consider breaking
your discussion out into further subsections. It is fine to have multiple layers of subsections, but it can get
confusing to the reader.

4. Organizing Your Analysis Paragraphs. You should begin each analysis paragraph with a topic sentence
that clearly identifies the relevant theme or factor. Follow the topic sentence with a discussion of
controlling case law. Then apply that case law to your facts by discussing the relevant similarities or
differences between the case law and your case. Whenever possible, you should use more than one case per
theme as it makes your argument more convincing, but you will sometimes find that you only have one case
to discuss for a given theme/paragraph, which is fine. Thus, as a general rule for organizing your Analysis
paragraphs, as mentioned above:

a. Topic Sentence. Begin with a topic sentence that identifies the theme of the paragraph;
b. Precedent Case Law and Other Relevant Authority. Following the topic sentence, briefly discuss
precedent case law relating to the theme at hand; and
c. Your Facts. After discussing precedent case law, usually within the same paragraph, discuss the facts
from your case that relate to the topic addressed within the paragraph.

5. Topic sentence. Begin each Analysis paragraph with a clear topic sentence, and, in each paragraph, only
discuss facts and cases that relate to that topic and that topic alone. It is impossible to stress this latter
point enough. If you stray from the topic at hand, your writing will quickly become confused and less
convincing.

6. Precedent case law. After your topic sentence, discuss relevant case law to demonstrate how courts have
previously treated the issue, preferably in situations relatively similar to yours. Be sure to:
a. Cite to cases that address the specific legal sub-issue at hand, preferably with fact patterns that are
relatively similar to yours,
 b. Discuss relevant facts from those cases - the facts that pertain to the sub-issue that you are discussing
in the subsection, and
c. Include the holdings of each case that you discuss so the reader knows which way the court decided
based on the facts from that case, which will allow the reader to compare each of those cases to your case.
d. Model format to discuss cases. I have found that the easiest way to succinctly discuss a case in a single
sentence is with the following format: In [case name], the court held [holding as to relevant legal issue]
because [statement of facts that caused the court to rule as it did] (e.g., "In Smith v. Jones, the court held
that the defendant should have known that his conduct would cause the plaintiff injury because the plaintiff
asked the defendant to cease threatening her as the threats were causing her severe distress."). You may of
course analyze cases using multiple sentences, and you often should do so. However, the more succinct you
are, the easier it is for the reader to compare the cases that you are citing to the facts of your own case that
you are analyzing.

As you feel more comfortable, you can combine your discussion of two cases into a single sentence, or
you can combine your discussion of a case with your analysis of your facts all in a single sentence.
However, when you are just getting started, try to stick to one case per sentence. Additionally, you can
eventually experiment with squeezing analysis into crafty citations by using effective parentheticals.
NOTE: While I recommend that you first discuss controlling case law and then discuss your facts, you
are welcome to try reversing that order.

7. Your client's facts. After you have introduced precedent case law, compare and contrast your client's
facts to the facts and holdings that you presented from those cases to demonstrate your client's likelihood
of success. The aim is for you to compare/analogize and contrast/distinguish your facts from those of
precedent cases to demonstrate to the reader which way the court is likely to hold.

8. Be Sure to Compare and Contrast. You will benefit from discussing cases where the court ruled
favorably on an issue, as well as cases where the court ruled unfavorably.
-Compare/analogize. Compare your facts to the cases where the court ruled favorably by showing that
your case is similarly strong, perhaps even stronger.
-Contrast/distinguish. Contrast your facts to the cases where the court ruled opposite from what you are
arguing by showing that your case is different and will therefore be more likely to receive favorable
treatment from the courts.

9. Spectrum of cases. I like to think of precedent cases on a spectrum that ranges from definite loser to
definite winner. Once you have collected enough cases to flesh out the spectrum, you should determine
where in that case law spectrum, based on your facts, you case fits. Discuss the case law in comparison to
your case to demonstrate the likelihood of success for your client, analogizing to the cases where the court
ruled favorably and distinguishing from those where the court ruled unfavorably.

X-----------------x------------------X

Definite Your Definite

Loser Case Winner

10. Repeat. Repeat this process for each additional theme/factor that you discuss within the subsection.
Remember, each paragraph should include a topic sentence that clearly articulates the theme you are
discussing. And, most importantly, stick to that theme throughout the paragraph. Do not stray into topics
that you should discuss elsewhere.

11. Paragraphing. Try to keep your paragraphs under one double-spaced page. Additionally, if your
analysis is confined to a single, concise paragraph, you should combine it with your Rule, Explanation, and
second Conclusion to form a single paragraph, rather than separating your CREAC into three separate
paragraphs.

Sample Analysis:

(Trade Secret hypothetical)

NOTE: Here, the analysis is broken down into a subsection to correspond to the first factor listed in the
Explanation of the Rule. The analysis is organized as a mini-CREAC, with (1) a conclusion used for the sub-
heading, (2) a mini-rule/topic sentence used as the first sentence of the subsection is mini-rule, (3)
followed by a brief elaboration/explanation of the rule, (4) followed by the core analysis - first case law
discussion of the factor and then discussion of the client's facts that relate to the factor (which you can
repeat as appropriate), and (5) a repetition of the mini-conclusion.

Example 1:

A. Ms. Petersen's PPI System was not known outside of her business.

In determining whether Ms. Petersen's PPI System is a trade secret, a court would consider the extent to
which information pertaining to the System was known outside of her business. See Rivendell Forest
Products, Ltd. v. Georgia-Pacific Corp., 28 F.3d 1042, 1046 (10th Cir. 1994). Even where alleged trade
secrets include elements that are known outside of the business, courts have still found that such methods
could constitute trade secrets. Id. In Rivendell Forest Products, Ltd., plaintiff designed a database that
generated on-demand, customer-specific statistics. Id. at 965-66. The appellate court reversed the trial
court's ruling that the database could not be a trade secret because it had publicly known elements and held
that, even if plaintiff s database contained publicly known elements, plaintiff's integration of such elements
in a non-publicly know methodology gave plaintiff a competitive advantage and could therefore constitute a
trade secret. Id. at 1046. In Ms. Petersen's case, although her client assessment method is known to
current and former employees, this technique, in conjunction with the PPI Program, is a methodology that
is not known to the public. Furthermore, courts have viewed evidence that a plaintiff is the exclusive user of
a business method as evidence that the method is not publicly known. See Harvey Barnett, 338 F.3d at 1131.
The Harvey Barnett court found the fact that no other aquatic organizations taught plaintiff's aquatic
instruction program compelling in determining that the progranl was not publicly known. Id. In Ms.
Petersen's case, the requests by fitness professionals for Ms. Petersen to present her methodology at public
conferences indicates that her PPI System is not known among her competitors.

NOTE: In the example above, after introducing the topic/mini-rule, the writer first discussed one case in
comparison to her client's facts, and then discussed a second case, also in comparison to her client's facts.

Example 2:
 C. Ms. Petersen took sufficient precautions in guarding the secrecy of the PPI System.

In determining whether Ms. Petersen's PPI System is a trade secret, a court would consider the extent to
which she took precautions to protect the secrecy of her PPI System. See Network Telecommunications,
Inc. v. Boor-Crepeau, 790 P.2d 901, 902 (Colo. App. 1990). The Network Telecommunications court
indicated that reasonable efforts may consist of advising employees of a trade secret's secrecy and sharing
information with employees only on a need-to-know basis. Id. A plaintiff's effort to patent or copyright a
purported trade secret may also be evidence of precautions taken to guard secrecy. See Mineral Deposits,
773 P.2d at 607; Gates Rubber Company v. Bando American, Inc., 9 F.3d 823, 830 (10th Cir. 1993). In
Mineral Deposits, plaintiff had applied for a patent on its mining equipment. 773 P.2d at 607. In Gates
Rubber, plaintiff copyrighted its computer program. 9 F.3d at 830. Both courts found that plaintiffs could
have trade secrets. Mineral Deposits, 773 P,2d at 607; Gates Rubber, 9 F.3d at 830. In Ms. Petersen's case,
Ms. Petersen provided Ms. Dimitri with information about the PPI System only on a need-to-know basis,
Ms. Petersen advised Ms. Dimitri of the system's secrecy by telling Ms. Dimitri about her plans to copyright
the system so that no other fitness centers could use it, and Ms. Petersen is working with an attorney to
procure copyrights and patents on the PPI System. These facts demonstrate that Ms. Petersen is actively
guarding the PPI System's secrecy.

A court may weigh the fact that Ms. Petersen has not had her employees enter into confidentiality or non
compete agreements against her. See Hertz v. Luzenac Group, 576 F.3d 1103, 1112 (10th Cir, 2009). In
Hertz, the court noted that plaintiff's employee confidentiality agreements enhanced plaintiff's claim that
its manufacturing process was a trade secret. Id. However, the court explained that there always are more
security precautions that can be taken, just because there is something else that could have been done does
not mean that the efforts were unreasonable under the circumstances." Id. at 1113. Thus, PPI's lack of
confidentiality agreements may detract from Ms, Petersen's trade secret claim, but should not be
dispositive in determining whether or not the PPI System could be a trade secret.

NOTE: In the example above, the writer again starts with a topic sentence/mini-rule, then more
discussion/explanation of the topic, followed by specific reference to prior case law and discussion of her
client's facts. Additionally, the writer includes a second paragraph that features "counter analysis," which
mentions one of her client's weaker factual points, but concludes with the reassurance that the weakness is
not fatal.
Conclusion (2nd)
C (Conclusion). At the end of each subsection, you should include a very brief Conclusion, which more or
less restates the Conclusion you used at the start of your section. This should typically be its own
paragraph and should be no more than one to three sentences. However, if your Analysis section is a single
paragraph, then you may simply include the Conclusion as a single sentence at the end of the paragraph.

Conclusion
Your Conclusion should be incredibly brief. At this point, you have analyzed all of the necessary issues, so
you need not rehash your arguments again. Merely restate your overall conclusion, similar to what you
stated in your Brief Answer. Your Conclusion can be as short as a single sentence, but should generally be
no longer than three or four sentences. Do not introduce any new issues, facts, or arguments in your
Conclusion - - unless to make note of related factual or legal issues that you recommend looking into more
that you did not discuss in your memo.
Links
Writing Tips
Purdue's Online Writing Lab (OWL)
A Plain English Handbook (SEC)
Plainlanguage.gov
Plain English Campaign (Lots of free guides)
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Froomkin's legal writing tips (Geared to academic writing)
Elements of Style, William Strunk, Jr. (1869–1946)
About.com, Seven Ways to Improve Your Legal Writing
Trial Practice Tips Weblog
LegalWriting.net
Legalwritingpro.com

Legal Research
http://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/Philippines.html, 2 November 2015, 2:30 p.m.

4.2 Sources of Law

There are two primary sources of the law:
 Statutes or statutory law - Statutes are defined as the written enactment of the will of the legislative branch of
the government rendered authentic by certain prescribed forms or solemnities are more also known as
enactment of congress. Generally they consist of two types, the Constitution and legislative enactments. In
the Philippines, statutory law includes constitutions, treaties, statutes proper or legislative enactments,
municipal charters, municipal legislation, court rules, administrative rules and orders, legislative rules and
presidential issuance.
 Jurisprudence - or case law - is cases decided or written opinion by courts and by persons performing judicial
functions. Also included are all rulings in administrative and legislative tribunals such as decisions made by
the Presidential or Senate or House Electoral Tribunals. Only decisions of the House of Representatives
Electoral Tribunal are available in print as House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal Reports, volume 1
(January 28, 1988-October 3, 1990) to present. They will be available electronically at the Supreme Court E-
Library and as a separate CD.
 For Muslim law, the primary sources of Shariah are Quran, Sunnaqh, Ijma and Qiyas. Jainal D. Razul in his
book Commentaries and Jurisprudence on the Muslin Law of the Philippines (1984) further stated there are
new sources of muslim law, which some jurists rejected such as Istihsan or juristic preference; Al-Masalih, Al
Mursalah or public interest; Istidlal (custom) and Istishab. (deduction based on continuity or permanence).
Classification of Legal Sources
Primary Authority is the only authority that is binding on the courts.
Classification by Authority
“Authority is that which may be cited in support of an action, theory or hypothesis.” Legal of materials primary
authority are those that contain actual law or those that contain law created by government. Each of the three
branches of government: Legislative, Executive and Judiciary, promulgates laws.
The legislature promulgates statutes, namely: Act, Commonwealth Act, Republic Act, Batas Pambansa. Executive
promulgates presidential issuances (Presidential Decrees, Executive Orders, Memorandum Circular, Administrative
Orders, Proclamations, etc.), rules and regulations through its various departments, bureaus and agencies. The
Judiciary promulgates judicial doctrines embodied in decisions. We however need to clarify that the Presidential
Decrees or law issued by President Ferdinand E. Marcos during Martial Law and Executive Orders issued by Aquino
President Corazon C. Aquino before the opening Congress in July 1987 can be classified as legislative acts, there
being no legislature during these two periods.
Primary Authority or sources may be further subdivided into the following:
 Mandatory primary authority is law created by the jurisdiction in which the law operates like the Philippines;
 Persuasive mandatory authority is law created by other jurisdictions but which have persuasive value to our
courts e.g. Spanish and American laws and jurisprudence. These sources as used specially when there are no
Philippine authorities available or when the Philippine statute or jurisprudence under interpretation is
based on either the Spanish or American law;

It is in this regard that the collections of law libraries in the Philippines include United States court reports, West’s
national reporter system, court reports of England and international tribunal, important reference materials such as
the American Jurisprudence, Corpus Juris Secundum, Words and Phrases and different law dictionaries. Some of
these law libraries subscribe to the Westlaw and/or LexisNexis. The Supreme Court , University of the Philippines,
University of Santo Tomas and a number of prominent law libraries also have a Spanish collection where a great
number of our laws originated.
Secondary authority or sources are commentaries or books, treatise, writings, journal articles that explain, discuss or
comment on primary authorities. Also included in this category are the opinions of the Department of Justice,
Securities and Exchange Commission or circulars of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. These materials are not
binding on courts but they have persuasive effect and/or the degree of persuasiveness. With regards to
commentaries or books, treatise, writings, journal articles, the reputation or expertise of the author is a
consideration. Some of the authors of good reputation and considered experts in the field are Chief Justice Ramon
C. Aquino and Justice Carolina Grino Aquino on Revised Penal Code or Criminal Law, Senator Arturo M. Tolentino
on Civil law, Chief Justice Enrique M. Fernando and Fr. Joaquin Bernas on Constititional Law, Prof. Perfecto
Fernandez on Labor Law, Vicente Francisco, Chief Justice Manuel Moran on Remedial Law, and Justice Vicente
Abad Santos and Senator Jovito Salonga on International Law, etc.
Classification by Source
It is important for legal research experts to know the source where the materials were taken from. One has to
determine whether they came from primary (official) sources or secondary (unofficial sources). Primary and
secondary sources for the sources of law are found in the Philippine Legal Information Resources and Citations
section - part II - of the 2009 Update.
Primary sources are those published by the issuing agency itself or the official repository, the Official Gazette. Thus,
for Republic Acts and other legislative enactments or statutes, the primary sources are the Official Gazette published
by the National Printing Office and the Laws and Resolutions published by Congress. For Supreme Court decisions,
the primary sources are the Philippine Reports, the individually mimeographed Advance Supreme Court decisions
(discontinued by the Supreme Court effective January 2009) and the Official Gazette. Publication of Supreme
Court decisions in the Official Gazette is selective. Complete court reports for Supreme Court decisions from 1901 to
the present can be found in the Philippine Reports.
The Secondary Sources are the unofficial sources and generally referred to as those commercially published or those
that are not published by government agencies or instrumentalities.
 Some of the Secondary sources of statutes are the Vital Legal Documents, published by the Central Book Supply,
contains a compilation of Presidential Decrees (1973). The second edition contains Republic Acts. Prof. Sulpicio
Guevara published three books which contain s the full text of legislative enactments or laws namely: a). Public
Laws Annotated (7 vols.) , compilation of all laws from 1901 to 1935, b). Commonwealth Acts Annotated (3vos.).
compilation of laws from 1935-1945 c). The Laws of the First Philippine Republic (The Laws of Malolos) 1898-
1899. For the Supreme Court decisions, Supreme Court Reports Annotated (SCRA), a secondary source, published
by the Central Book Supply is more updated and popular in the legal community than the Philippine Reports, the
primary and official source. Citations in commentaries or books, treatise, writings, journal articles, pleading and even
court decisions show SCRA’s popular acceptance. The general rule is that in the absence of a primary source, the
secondary source may be cited. This was the primary rationale for the SCRA’s popularity. There was no primary
source for complete compilation of Supreme Court decisions for more than twenty (20) years. The publication of the
Philippine Reports by the National Printing Office ceased in 1960s. It was only in 1982 when the publication of the
Philippine Reports was revived by then Chief Justice Enrique M. Fernando who requested then President Ferdinand
E. Marcos to take charge of its publication with special appropriation in the Judiciary’s annual budget.
With the advent of the new information technology, electronic or digitized sources are popular sources of legal
information for the following reasons: a) updated legal information is readily available and b) the search engines
used facilitate research, and c) no complete and update manually published search tools for statute and case law.
These electronic sources are in the forms of CD ROMS, online or virtual libraries of the issuing government agency or
instrumentality and the now growing websites of law offices such as Chan Robles Law Firm Library and Jaromay,
Laurente Law Office On Line Library, or law schools such as the Arellano Law Foundation Lawphil. Net. In case of
conflict between the printed and electronic sources, the printed version coming from the issuing government agency
prevails. This policy prevails even for the Supreme Court E-Library, where it is explicitly provided in its website.
Legal research for statute law in the Philippines benefited remarkably from the use of the latest technology due to
two major problems: a) no complete and updated published or printed search tools or law finders for statute law
and b) no complete compilation of statute law from 1901-present were available. Problems of the publication of
compilations of statute law or the existence of the full-text of Presidential Decrees was even brought to the Supreme
Court in the Tanada v. Tuvera, G.R. No. 63915, April 24, 1985 (220 Phil 422), December 29, 1986 (146 SCRA 446)
case. This case which was first decided before the bloodless revolution popularly known as People Power or the EDSA
Revolution was modified in the December 29, 1986 or after the People Power or the EDSA Revolution.
Still, with regards to Statute Law in the Philippines, the other problem is how to classify sources published in the
newspapers. Since 1987, based on the definition of primary and secondary source, they may be considered as
primary sources pursuant to Executive Order No. 200, s. 1987 which provides that laws become effective fifteen (15)
days after publication in the Official Gazette or in two newspapers of general circulation. In case of conflict between
the two versions, the version of the Official Gazette holds.
In finding the law, our ultimate goal is to locate mandatory primary authorities which have bearing on the legal
problem at hand. If these authorities are scarce or nonexistent, our next alternative is to find any relevant persuasive
mandatory authority. If our search is still negative, the next alternative might be secondary authorities. There are
however instances where the secondary authorities, more particularly the commentaries made by experts of the field,
take precedence over the persuasive mandatory authorities. With the availability of both, using both sources is
highly recommended.

Classification by Character
This refers to the nature of the subject treated in books. This classification categorizes books as : a) Statute Law
Books, b) Case Law Books or Law Reports, c) a combination of both and d) “Law Finders.”

Law Finders refer to indexes, citators, encyclopedias, legal dictionaries, thesauri or digests. A major problem in the
Philippines is that there are no up-to-date Law Finders. Federico Moreno’s Philippine Law Dictionary, the only
available Philippine law dictionary was last published in 1988, and, Jose Agaton Sibal’s Philippine Legal Thesaurus
which is likewise considered a dictionary was published in 1986. Foreign law dictionaries like Blacks’ Law
Dictionary, Words and Phrases are used as alternate. To search for legal information, legal researchers go online
virtual libraries such as the Supreme Court E-Library (http://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph), Chan Robles Virtual Law
Library, and the different databases in CD-ROM format from CD Asia Technologies Asia Inc. The databases
developed by CD Asia include not only the compilation of Laws (statutes) and Jurisprudence, but also include a
compilation of legal information that are not available in printed form such as Opinions of the Department of
Justice, Securities and Exchange Commission and Bangko Sentral (Central Bank) rules and regulations. Search
engines used in these databases answer for the lack of complete and updated indexes of legal information. In this
regard, effective legal research can be conducted with one cardinal rule in mind: "ALWAYS START FROM THE
LATEST." The exception to this is when the research has defined or has provided a SPECIFIC period.
5. Philippine Legal Research

5.1 Research of Statute law

Statute laws are the rules and regulations promulgated by competent authorities; enactments of legislative bodies
(national or local) or they may be rules and regulations of administrative (departments or bureau) or judicial
agencies. Research of statutory law does not end with consulting the law itself. At times it extends to the intent of
each provision or even the words used in the law. In this regard, the deliberations of these laws must be consulted.
The deliberation of laws, except Presidential Decrees and other Martial law issuances, are available.
Constitution
The different Constitutions of the Philippines are provided in some history books such as Gregorio F. Zaide’s
Philippine Constitutional History and Constitutions of Modern Nations (1970) and Founders of Freedom; The
History of Three Constitution by a seven-man Board. The Philippine legal system recognizes the following
Constitutions: Malolos, 1935, 1973, Provisional or Freedom and 1987 Constitutions.
Text of the Malolos Constitution is available in some history books such as Gregorio F. Zaide’s Philippine
Constitutional History and Constitutions of Modern Nations, p. 176 (1970). For the rest of the above mentioned
Constitutions, the texts are available in published Philippine constitutional law books. Full text of these Constitutions
will be available at the Supreme Court E-Library.
The Constitutional Convention proceedings provide for the intent and background of each provision of the
Constitution. Sources for the 1934-1935 Constitutional Convention are: 10 volumes of the Constitutional
Convention Record by the House of Representatives (1966), Salvador Laurel's seven volumes book entitled
Proceedings of the Constitutional Convention (1966); 6 volumes of the Philippine Constitution, Origins, Making,
Meaning and Application by the Philippine Lawyers Association with Jose Aruego as one of its editors (1970) and
Journal of the Constitutional convention of the Philippines by Vicente Francisco.
Proceedings of the 1973 Constitutional Convention were never published. A photocopy and softcopy of the complete
compilation is available at the Filipiniana Reading Room of the National Library of the Philippines.
Journals (3 volumes) and Records (5 volumes) of the Constitutional Convention of 1986 were published by the
Constitutional Commission. This publication does not have an index. This problem was remedied when CD
Technologies Asia Inc. came out with a CD-ROM version which facilitated research for it has a search engine.
The proceedings and text of the 1935, 1973 and 1987 Constitutions will be available at the Supreme Court E-Library.
Commentaries or interpretations on the constitution, decisions of the Supreme Court and other courts, textbooks or
treaties, periodical articles of the different Constitution are available. (See. Legal Bibliography on page 34)
Treaties and other International Agreements
A treaty is an agreement or a contract between two (bilateral) or more (multilateral) nations or sovereigns, entered
into by agents appointed (generally the Secretary of Foreign Affairs or ambassadors) for the purpose and duly
sanctioned by supreme powers of the respective countries. Treaties that do not have legislative sanctions are
executive agreements which may or may not have legislative authorization, and which have limited execution by
constitutional restrictions
In the Philippines, a treaty or international agreement shall not be valid and effective unless concurred in by at least
two-thirds of all members of the Senate (Constitution, Article VII, section 21). Those without the concurrence of the
Senate are considered as Executive Agreements.
The President of the Philippines may enter into international treaties or agreements as the national welfare and
interest may require, and may contract and guarantee foreign loans on behalf of the Republic, subject to such
limitations as may be provided by law. During the time of Pres. Marcos, there was the so-called Tripoli Agreement.
The official text of treaties is published in the Official Gazette, Department of Foreign Affairs Treaty Series
(DFATS), United Nations Treaty Series (UNTS) or the University of the Philippines Law Center's Philippine Treaty
Series (PTS). To locate the latest treaties, there are two possible sources: Department of Foreign Affairs and the
Senate of the Philippines. There is no complete repository of all treaties entered into by the Philippines. There is a
selective publication of treaties in the Official Gazette. The DFATS was last published in the 1970s while the PTS's
last volume, vol. 8 contains treaties entered into until 1981.With the UN Treaty Series, it is available only in UN
depository libraries in the country and its United Nation Information Center in Makati. Forthcoming will be the
compilation of treaties from 1946-2007 in CD-ROM at the Supreme Court Library.
For tax treaties Eustaquio Ordoño has published a series on the Philippine tax treaties. Other sources of important
treaties are appended in books on the subject or law journals such as the American Journal of International Law or
the Philippine Yearbook of International Law.
To locate these treaties, the Foreign Service Institute published the Philippine Treaties Index (1946-1982) and UN
Multilateral Treaties Deposited with the Secretary General. Electronically, major law libraries use the Treaties and
International Agreements Researchers Archives (TIARA), WESTLAW, LEXIS, other online sources and the Internet.
Statutes Proper (Legislative Enactments)
Statutes are enactments of the different legislative bodies since 1900 broken down as follows:
4,275 ACTS - Enactments from 1900-1935
 733 Commonwealth Acts - Enactments from 1935-1945
 2034 Presidential Decrees - Enactments from 1972-1985
 884 Batas Pambansa. – Enactments from 1979-1985
 9547 Republic Acts - Enactments from 1946-1972, 1987- April 1, 2009
The above figures clearly show that during Martial Law, both President Marcos and the Batasang Pambansa
(Parliament) were issuing laws at the same time - Presidential Decrees by President Marcos and Batas Pambansa by
the Philippine Parliament.
During Martial Law, aside from Presidential Decrees, the President promulgated other issuances namely: 57
General Orders, 1,525 Letters of Instruction, 2,489 Proclamations, 832 Memorandum Order, 1,297 Memorandum
Circular, 157 Letter of Implementation, Letter of Authority, Letters of Instruction, 504 Administrative Order and
1,093 Executive Orders.
As previously stated, the Presidential Decrees issued by Pres. Marcos during Martial Law and the Executive Orders
issued by Pres. Aquino before the opening of Congress may be classified as legislative acts for there was no
legislature during those two periods.
Laws passed by the new 1987 Congress started from Rep. Act No. 6636, as the last Republic Act promulgated by
Congress before Martial Law was Rep. Act No. 6635.
The following are the Philippine codes adopted from 1901 to present:
 Child and Youth Welfare Code
 Civil Code
 Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Code
 Coconut Industry Code
 Code of Commerce
 Cooperative Code
 Corporation Code
 Family Code
 Fire Code
 Forest Reform Code
 Intellectual Property Code
 Labor Code
 Land Transportation and Traffic Code
 Local Government Code
 Muslim Code of Personal Laws
 National Building Code
 National Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes and Supplements
 National Internal Revenue Code
 Omnibus Election Code
 Philippine Environment Code
 Revised Administrative Code
 Revised Penal Code
 Sanitation Code
 State Auditing Code
  Tariff and Customs Code
 Water Code
From the above list of codes, recently amended is the Fire Code of the Philippines, Republic Act No. 9514 - "An Act
Establishing a Comprehensive Fire Code of the Philippines Repealing Presidential Decree No. 1185 and for Other Purposes",
Approved by the President on December 19, 2008.
The House of Representatives prepared the procedure on how a bill becomes a law. This procedure is pursuant to the
Constitution and recognized by both Houses of Congress. To better appreciate the procedure, a diagram was
prepared by the House of Representatives.
SOURCE: Congressional Library; House Printing Division, Administrative Support Bureau, July 1996.
Administrative acts, orders and regulations of the President touching on the organization or mode of operation of the
government, re-arranging or adjusting districts, divisions or parts of the Philippines, and acts and commands
governing the general performance of duties of public officials and employees or disposing of issues of general
concern are made effective by Executive Orders. Those orders fixing the dates when specific laws, resolutions or
orders cease to take effect and any information concerning matters of public moment determined by law, resolution
or executive orders, take the form of executive Proclamation.
Executive Orders and Proclamations of the Governor-General were published annually in a set Executive Orders and
Proclamations. Thirty three (33) volumes were published until 1935 by the Bureau of Printing. Administrative Acts
and Orders of the President and Proclamations were published. Only a few libraries in the Philippines have these
publications for the majority were destroyed during World War II. There are copies available at the Law Library of
Congress, Cincinnati Law Library Association (who offered to donate them to the Supreme Court of the Philippines)
and some at the Library of the Institute of South East Asian Studies in Singapore.
In researching for Proclamations, Administrative Orders, Executive Orders and Memorandum Orders & Circulars of
the President, the year it was promulgated is a must, or if no year is available, the President issuing it must be
stated. As a new President is sworn in, all the Presidential issuances start with No. 1. The only exception was
Executive Orders issued by President Carlos Garcia after he assumed the Presidency because President Magsaysay
died in a plane crash. He continued the number started by President Magsaysay. When President Garcia was elected
President, he started his Executive Order No. 1.

To look for the intent of Republic Acts, we have to go through the printed Journals and Records of both houses of
Congress which contain their deliberation. To facilitate the search, the House Bill No. or Senate Bill No. or both
found on the upper left portion of the first page of the law is important. The proceedings of the House of
Representatives and the Philippine Senate are now available on their websites. The Batasang Pambansa has likewise
published it proceedings. There are no available proceedings for the other laws Acts, Commonwealth Act and
Presidential Decrees.
Administrative Rules and Regulations
Administrative Rules and regulations are orders, rules and regulations issued by the heads of Departments, Bureau
and other agencies of the government for the effective enforcement of laws within their jurisdiction. However, in
order that such rules and regulations may be valid, they must be within the authorized limits and jurisdiction of the
office issuing them and in accordance with the provisions of the law authorizing their issuance. Access to
administrative rules and regulations have been facilitated due to the two developments: a) government agencies,
including government owned and controlled corporations, have their own websites where they include the full-text of
their issuances, and b) the National Administrative Register, which is available in print, CD-Rom and in the Supreme
Court website.
In handling these types of materials, there are two important items needed: a.) Issuing Agency and b.) Year it was
promulgated. This is due to the fact that all Departments, Bureaus, and other government agencies use the
administrative orders, memorandum orders and memorandum circulars for their administrative rules and
regulations and they start always with number 1 every year. Even the Supreme Court issues Administrative Orders,
Circulars, Memorandum Orders, and Administrative Matters.
Before the Administrative Code of 1987, these orders, rules and regulations were selectively published in the Official
Gazette. Thus, the only source to be able to get a copy of the text of these rules and regulations is the issuing
government agency itself.
 When the 1987 Administrative Code (Executive Order No. 292) was promulgated, all governmental and department
orders, rules and regulations have to be filed with the University of government agencies including government
owned and controlled corporations have to file three (3) certified copies of their orders, rules and regulations with
the University of the Philippines Law Center's Office of National Administrative Register and are required to publish
quarterly in a publication called National Administrative Register. Aside from the printed copies, the National
Administrative Register is available electronically on CD-ROM (CD Asia Technologies Inc.) and online at the
Supreme Court E-Library. Rules in force on the date on which the Code took effect which are not filed within three
months from the date not thereafter shall be the basis of any sanction against any person or party. Each rule
becomes effective 15 days after the filing, unless a different date is fixed by law or specified in the rule, such as in
cases of imminent danger to public health, safety and welfare, the existence of which must be expressed in a
statement accompanying the rule. The court shall take judicial notice of the certified copy of each rule duly filed or as
published in the bulletin or codified rules
University of the Philippines Law Center’s Office of National Administrative Register is not only tasked to publish
this quarterly register but must keep an up-to-date codification of all rules thus published and remaining in effect
together with a complete index and appropriate tables. Every rule establishing an offense or defining an act which
pursuant to law is punishable as a crime or subject to a penalty shall in all cases be published in full text. Exceptions
to the “filing requirement" are Congress, Judiciary, Constitutional Commission, military establishments in all
matters relative to Armed Forces personnel, the Board of Pardons and Parole and state universities and colleges.
As previously stated, there are no up-to-date or complete Statutes finders. Those published are listed in the
Philippine Legal Information Resources and Citations (part II of the 2009 Update ). As previously stated, to
facilitate legal research, one has to go online to virtual libraries such as the Supreme Court E-Library, Chan Robles
Virtual Law Library, Arellano Law Foundation’s The I Lawphil Project, and CD Asia Technologies or the different
databases in CD ROM such as those of CD Asia Technologies Asia Inc., !e-library! A Century and 4 Years of
Supreme Court Decisions and i-Law Instant CD.
5.2 Research of Case Law
SOURCE: 2002 Revised Manual of Clerks of Court. Manila
, Supreme Court, 2002. Organizational Chart was amended due to the passage of Republic Act No. 9282 (CTA)
Case Law or Judicial decisions are official interpretations or manifestation of law made by persons and agencies of
the government performing judicial and quasi-judicial functions. At the apex of the Philippine Judicial System is the
Supreme Court, or what is referred to as court of last resort. The reorganization of the Judiciary of 1980 (Batas
Pambansa Bldg. 129) established the following courts:
 Court of Appeals;
 Regional Trial Courts divided into different judicial regions,
 Metropolitan Trial Court;
 Municipal Trial Court in Cities;
 Municipal Trial Courts;
 Municipal Circuit Trial Courts.

The Shariah (Sharia’a) Circuit and District Courts (Presidential Decree No. 1083), Court of Tax Appeals (Republic
Act No. 1125) and the Sandiganbayan (Presidential Decree Nos. 1486 and 1606), sec. 4, Art XI of the 1987
Constitution were created by separate laws.
Conventional decisions are decisions or rulings made by regularly constituted court of justice. Subordinate decisions
are those made by administrative agencies performing quasi-judicial functions.
One major problem in conducting research on case law is the availability of published or printed decisions from the
Court of Appeals to the rest of the judicial and quasi-judicial agencies. The Judicial Reform Program of the Supreme
Court with the establishment of the Supreme Court E-Library aims to address this problem and also those from
statute law. The decisions of the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Sandiganban and the Court of Tax Appeals will be
made available in the Supreme Court E-Library. Downloading of the decisions of the Appellate Courts have started
from the most recent and will continue until all their first decision from their creation will be completed. The
Reporters Office of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals keep all the original and complete copies of the court
decisions. For the rest of the members of the Judiciary or the quasi-judicial agencies, copies of their decisions may
be taken from the Legal Office, Office of the Clerks of Court or their libraries.
Supreme Court Decisions
Decisions of the Supreme Court bind the lower courts and are a source of law, the law of the land. It is the judgment
of this court which determines whether a law is constitutional or not. Unconstitutional laws even though it is signed
by the President and passed by both house of congress can not take effect in the Philippines.
Decisions of the Supreme Court are classified as follows:
 "Regular decisions" and extended Resolutions are published in court reports either in primary or secondary
sources. These decisions provide the justice who penned the decision or ponente and the other justices
responsible for promulgating the decision, whether En Banc or by Division. Separate dissenting and/or
concurring opinions are likewise published with the main decision. These regular and extended resolutions
are available electronically in the Supreme Court E-Library under Decsions.
 Unsigned Minute Resolutions are not published. Although they bear the same force and effect as the regular
decisions or extended resolutions, they are signed and issued by the respective Clerks of Court En Banc or by
either of the three (3) Divisions. Since these Minutes Resolutions are not published, the Supreme Court has
now incorporated these Minute Resolutions, more particularly those that resolve a motion for
 reconsideration or those that explain or affirm a decision; and (2) Administrative Matters in the Supreme
Court E-Library, under RESOLUTIONS.
Case Reports in the Philippines such as the Philippine Reports, Supreme Court Reports Annotated (SCRA), and the
Supreme Court Advance Decisions (SCAD) come in bound volumes which generally cover a month per volume. The
Official Gazette and Philippine Reports are the official repositories of decisions and extended resolutions of the
Supreme Court. The difference between the two lies in the fact that the Official Gazette selectively publishes
Supreme Court decisions while Philippine Reports contains all decisions of the Supreme Court except minute
resolutions. However, from 1901 until 1960, there were unpublished decisions of the Supreme Court. The list and
subject field are found at the back of each volume of the Philippine Reports. Some of these decisions are cited in
treatises or annotations. In view to the importance of these decisions, the late Judge Nitafan of the Regional Trial
Court of Manila started publishing Supreme Court Unpublished Decisions; vol. 1 covers decisions from March 1946
to February 1952.
Even before the war, there were unpublished decisions of the Court. The source of these unpublished decisions is
the Office of the Reporter of the Supreme Court. Due to World War II, a number of the original decisions have been
burned. So, there is no complete compilation of the original decisions of the Supreme Court. This problem is being
addressed by the Supreme Court E-Library where are great number of these unpublished decisions of the Supreme
Court before the war were retrieved from different sources such as the United States National Archives in Maryland,
private collection of former Supreme Court Justices such as Chief Justice Ramon Avancena and Justice George
Malcom (collection is found in the University of Michigan) and private law libraries who were able to save some of
their collection such as the University of Santo Tomas, the oldest university in the Philippines. Search for the
unpublished decisions still continues. A list of these unpublished decisions is in the Supreme Court E-Library,
Project COMPUSDEC, under JURISPRUDENCE.
The early volumes, particularly those before the war were originally published in Spanish in the Jurisprudencia
Filipina. They were translated in English to become the Philippine Reports. Some decisions after the second
Philippine independence were still in the Spanish language. There are a number of decisions now in the Filipino
language. The Philippine Reports until volume 126 (1960's) was published by the Bureau of Printing, now called the
National Printing Office. Printing was transferred to the Supreme Court in the 1980s due to the need for a complete
official publication of the Court’s decision. The Supreme Court’s Philippine Reports started with volume 127.
The most popular secondary source is the Supreme Court Reports Annotated (SCRA). Actually, legal practitioners
cite it more than the Philippine Reports and the Lex Libris Jurisprudence CD ROM.
How can we search for Supreme Court decisions:
1. Topic or Subject Approach: (Please See Complete title of the publication from the Philippine Legal
Bibliography chapter)
o Philippine Digest
o Republic of the Philippine Digest
o Velayo's digest
o Magsino's Compendium
o Supreme Court's unpublished Subject Index
o Martinez's Summary of Supreme Court rulings 1984 to 1997
o UP Law Center's Supreme Court decisions: subject index and digest's
o SC's Case Digest's
 o Philippine Law and Jurisprudence
o Castigador’s Citations
o SCRA Quick Index Digest
o Lex Libris Jurisprudence

2. Title Approach or Title of the Approach: (Please See Complete title of the publication from the Philippine
Legal Bibliography chapter)
o Philippine Digest - Case Index
o Republic of the Philippines Digest
o Ong, M. Title Index to SC decisions 1946-1978 2v.; 1978-1981 1st Suppl; 1981-1985, 2nd Suppl; 1986
to present is unpublished but available at the SC Lib
o Ateneo's Index & Aquirre's Index
o Lex Libris Jurisprudence/Template search

Court of Appeals decisions

Decisions of the Court of Appeals are merely persuasive on lower courts. They are cited in cases where there are no
Supreme Court decisions in point. In this regard, they are considered as judicial guides to lower courts and that
conclusion or pronouncement they make can be raised as a doctrine.
Sources of Court of Appeals decisions are:
 Text:
o Official Gazette (selective publication)
o Court of Appeals Reports which was published by the Court of Appeals until 1980. Even this
publication is not a complete compilation. It is still considered selective for not all CA decisions are
published.
o Court of Appeals Reports (CAR) by Central Book Supply. One volume was published
o Philippine Law and Jurisprudence
o Reports Office of the Court of Appeals
Subject or Topic Approach:
o Velayo's Digest;
o Moreno's Philippine Law dictionary

Decisions of Special Courts

Sandiganbayan and the Court of Tax Appeals do not have published decisions. The Sandiganbayan has only one
volume published; Sandiganbayan Reports vol. 1 covers decisions promulgated from December 1979 to 1980.
Court of Tax Appeals decisions from 1980 to 2004 are found in the Lex Libris particularly in Taxation CD ROM.
Decisions of Administrative Agencies, Commissions and Boards
Laws have been promulgated which grants some administrative agencies to perform quasi-judicial functions. These
functions are distinct from their regular administrative or regulatory functions where rules and regulations are
promulgated. The Securities Regulations Code (Republic Act No. 8799) signed by President Joseph E. Estrada on
July 19,2000 affects Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) quasi-judicial functions. The other agencies
performing said functions are National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC), Insurance Commission, Housing and
Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB), Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), Social Security System (SSS)
and even the Civil Service Commission (CSC). Some of their decisions are published in the Official Gazette. Some
have their own publication such as the SEC and the CSC or some include them in their own websites
CD Asia Technologies’ Lex Libris series has individual CD ROMs for the Department of Justice, Securities and
Exchange Commission, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (Central Bank of the Philippines), and the Bureau of Internal
Revenue. Included in these individual CD ROMs are the pertinent laws, their respective issuances as well as
Supreme Court decisions. It CD ROM on Labor (vol. VII) incorporated issuances from the Department of Labor and
Employment and its affiliated agencies and offices. The Trade, Commerce and Industry CD ROM includes Supreme
Court decisions, laws and issuances of its various agencies such as the Department of Trade and Industry, Board of
Investments, Bureau of Customs, Bangko Sentral and the Philippine Stock Exchange.