Forms and Practice Materials   Tags: forms, legal drafting, legal forms, legal writing, litigation, procedural, transactional  

To locate additional forms in the Law Library's collection, conduct a keyword search in Scholar using the word "forms" and the word(s) of a legal subject (e.g., probate) or jurisdiction (e.g., Ohio).

Title Author Keyword Subject Call Number

Contact a Law Librarian:

research.services@law.csuohio.edu

Phone:216-687-6877

Text messages only:  216-539-3331

Copy Edit: 12/17/2012

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Rather than originally drafting documents, one can consult sample form materials.  Form books  may include explanations, checklists and annotations to primary and secondary sources. Some jurisdictions have prescribed official forms, so consult a jurisdiction's practice guides and forms before using general guides and forms. 

The Westlaw and Lexis & Other Databases tabs in this guide provide tips on how to search databases for forms. 

The Pleading and Practice, Transactional, Ohio and Forms by Area of Law tabs list particular form book titles.  

All form sets in this guide are current and up to date unless otherwise specified.

Related Guides:

Briefs, Motions & Pleadings

Jury Instructions

• Form books on Lexis and Westlaw include forms and checklists.  Checklists enumerate what should be in a document, considerations when drafting a document, and/or list the steps in a transaction.
   
• Once you find a form on point it is sometimes a good idea to go to the database with that form book and look at the table of contents.  You can see if there are checklists, additional clauses, or an even more relevant form.
   
• Statutes sometimes contain the text of forms, e.g., deeds.
   
• Search the Title of the Form: Searching the TITLE field (TI in Westlaw) or HEADING segment (Lexis) can bring back the exact form you want, not just forms that mention your search terms somewhere in the text of the form.

• The Lexis HEADING field does not work in all databases.  On Lexis Advance, there is a Post-filter for Form Type (Such as a will).  
• On WestlawNext, do an Advanced Form search, and enter a terms and connectors search in the field for Form Title. 

•   Search words in the text of the form only, not comments:  FO(  ) or Form field search in Westlaw or WestlawNext finds words in the actual text of the forms, not surrounding comments or notes.

Bloomberg Law

DealMaker Documents & Clauses

Transactional Resources

Practical Law Company

WestlawNext Formfinder

Westlaw Classic:

Formsall (FORMS-ALL)

Formfinder (FormFinder)

Ohio Formfinder - OH-FORMFINDER

National Transactional Forms (TRANSFORMS ) 

Ohio and National Transactional Forms (OH-TRANSFORMS)

National Pleading and Practice Forms (FORMS-PP)

Ohio Legal and Business & Pleading and Practice Forms Combined (OH-LFPP)

Lexis Advance (Select Forms from the Content Types pulldown menu)

Lexis Classic

All Transactions LexisNexis Forms - LNFABT

All Litigation LexisNexis Forms - LNFLTA

LexisNexis Transactions and Regulatory Checklists - LNFTRC

Ohio Transactions LexisNexis Forms - LFOHTR

Ohio Litigation  LexisNexis Forms - LFOHLT