Form books are secondary authority, but they serve an especially useful service for paralegals. Many of the documents you prepare have, of course, been created countless times previously. Your firm probably has form books or even templates, both in a library and on computer. But sometimes you need more assistance. Lexis can help.

Again, to find form books, start on the SEARCH tab.

On the right side of the page you will see a choice for Secondary Legal. Underneath you will see the choice for Matthew Bender, one of the best publishers of form books.

You will be able to choose to search for forms by Area of Law or by Jurisdiction. You can then enter a search query, or click on the symbol next to a particular topic. This will expand your choices.

You need to browse through several form books to get a feel for the power of these tools. There are thousands of forms available on Lexis, if you know how to find them.