How to Cite
As a paralegal or lawyer, you
must back up the arguments you
make with citations to the relevant
law.
Show your Source
You should never make statements
without showing your source; any
statement about a case or statute must be
cited.
 When you read a case or a law review
article, you see many quotes and citations;
the judges and writers of these articles are
backing themselves up by quoting the law
for their readers.

Are you setting your “cites” on
being a lawyer or a paralegal?

If you plan to be a lawyer,
when you write a brief to
the court, you will be
arguing why your client
should win and you must
support your arguments
with cites to the statutes
and case law that are
relevant to the client’s
case.

If you plan to be a paralegal,
when you write an interoffice
memo for the attorney, you
must support everything that
you say with cites and
quotes to the law, so the
attorney will know the
sources upon which you
based your conclusions.
Quote the Key Provisions and Cite
When citing a case to support your argument,
it’s imperative to explain what the court held
and quote the key provisions of the case and
explain its application to the client’s case.
 It is important to cite correctly so that judges
and attorneys will be able to locate the cases
that you are citing.
 Let’s look at a sample citation

Let’s Dissect
a Citation!

Webster v. Blue Ship Tea Room, 347 Mass. 421, 198 N.E.2d 309 (1964)

Plaintiff

Defendant
Versus
Volume #
Page
Volume #
Page
Date Decided
Massachusetts Reports North Eastern Reporter,
Second Series
The above cite is a “parallel citation,” meaning that you can find this case in
two different volumes of reporters (the books that contain court opinions):
Massachusetts Reports (the state official reporter) and North Eastern
Reporter (the unofficial reporter published by West).
Additional Resources on Citing
To see helpful examples of case citations for your state, go
to: Case Citation Examples, click on the “Table of
Contents” in the upper right corner of your screen, scroll
down and click on section 3-210, “Case Citations – Most
Common Forms” and scroll through the examples of federal
citations down to the sample case citations for each state this will be a great resource for learning how to cite your
state’s case law. This web site provides you with excellent
instructions on how to cite according to The Bluebook: A
Uniform System of Citation, which is the book that sets forth
the standards for citations used in the legal profession.
SHOW ME THE LAW!
Just as in “Jerry McGuire,” when the pro football player (Cuba Gooding, Jr.)
yells to his sports agent, “Show me the Money!”, you want to remember that
attorneys and judges will be saying “Show me the Law!” Quote the key
language from a case to support your arguments and always cite correctly.
So, be sure to “SHOW ME THE LAW!” by supporting your arguments using
the law, NOT with your opinion of the law. Personal opinions DON’T stand
up in court.
Show me the
Law!