Forms & Sample Documents: Overview

See guide for instructions on accessing online forms on each database

1. Accessible through the Law Databases page
2. Click on "Forms"
3. Click arrow in front of "Practice Area" or leave blank to search all
4. Select Form Type from drop down menu or leave blank to search all
5. Enter Search terms or "Form Title" in the search boxes at the top 
6. Click on the Magnifying glass to submit your search

Lexis Practice Advisor is a tool accessible via the product switcher tiled tab in the upper left corner of the Lexis+ screen. There are two ways to access forms using this tool:

1. Select the area of interest to you from the tabs at the top of the page (Mergers & Acquisitions, Banking etc) and then browse the "Tasks" links on the left side of the page to view forms related to specific transactions. Be sure to click on "Show More" links to see the full list of available documents.

2. Click on the links below the red search box at the top of the page, selecting "forms" as your content type. You can also select a topic/practice area or just enter a search term such as "bill of sale" and click "search."

Bloomberg Law provides several different ways to locate forms using the various "tabs" described below:

1.“Search & Browse” tab --> select DealMaker Documents

• Allows you to search by document type for sample documents used in real cases.
• NOTE: For help crafting searches in the DealMaker database, click on “Transactional Law” tab then click on “Example Searches” to search for DealMaker Document example searches and “M& A Clause” sample searches—it will give you sample terms and Boolean connectors to use to locate sample agreements/forms for your topic
• To search for a specific clause, click on “Transactional Law” and then on DealMaker Clauses. You can then enter key terms from your clause or enter key terms and limit your search to a particular type of document

2. “Transactional Law” tab --> “Transactional Resources”:

• Search Documents
• Search Clause Database
• ALI-ABA Forms Library
• PLI Forms & Agreements
• Bloomberg BNA Sample Forms
• Document & Clause Descriptions
• Drafting Guides
• Checklists
• Legal Treatises

3.  “Transactional Law” tab --> “Drafting Guides & Overview”

• Checklists, Document and Clause Descriptions and other drafting materials

4. “Home” tab --> Books & Treatises.

• Many treatises include forms as an appendix but there are several databases devoted just to forms available as well.
• The following publishers offer Model Agreements and Forms on their resource pages:
• American Bar Association
• Bloomberg BNA (look for “Drafting…” titles and titles with the words Contracts or Agreements)
• James Publishing (Model Interrogatories & California Pretrial Practice forms)
• Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (contains titles applying to New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Connecticut too—Lots of “Drafting” titles and Model Jury Instructions)
• Practicing Law Institute (examples include: Documenting Secured Transactions, Drafting for Corporate Finance, Friedman on Contracts

5. “Search & Browse” -->“BNA Manuals.”

• Look for titles like “Client Letters, Checklists & Forms” (labor & employment) and “Health Law Checklists and Forms.” 

Lexis+ Search Options:

1. Locate forms by the title of the form book by clicking on “Browse Sources” and running your search
2. Enter search terms into the main Lexis+ search box and then click on the “Content” drop down box, select “Forms” under Ligation/Drafting Tools and then click OK to save before running your search. You can also select your jurisdiction to narrow your search.
3. If you don’t have an exact title in mind, you can also click on “Browse sources” and then enter a keyword, such as Contracts, and then in the Narrow by column on the left, click on “more” to view a link to just “forms” resources.
4. Go Browse Sources and click on “forms” under content type to see a full list of over 200 forms resources available.

Westlaw Form databases:

1. Click on the “Forms” link on the main “Browse” box on the homepage of WestlawNext
2. State Forms: select your state from the State Materials tab on WestlawNext and forms will be located under both the Secondary Sources heading and also a Forms heading on the state’s resource page
3. Forms by Topic: go to the Topic tab on the main Browse screen, select your topic and then look for the Forms links under the headings such as “Sample Agreements,” “Secondary Sources” or Forms.
4. Conduct keyword search in the main search box for the type of form or some form language of interest to you and narrow your results using the “Forms” or “Secondary Sources” filters.

Practical Law is a database available through Westlaw.

Log into Westlaw and click on the drop down arrow by Westlaw Edge on the left side of the page. Select "Practical Law". Forms can be accessed using one of these three methods:

1. Click on the Resource Types tab directly then click on: 

• Standard Documents to view full contracts and other materials. Will then need to select a Practice Area or Jurisdiction and then narrow down the search using search filters on the results screen
   
• Standard Clauses to view individual clauses/provisions. Will then need to select a Practice Area or Jurisdiction and then narrow down the search using search filters on the results screen

2. Click on the Practice Areas Tab and do one of the following:

• Select your Topic and then narrow down results using Standard Documents or Standard Clauses filters 
• Select your Jurisdiction and narrow down results using Standard Documents or Standard Clauses filters
• Select Resource Types and then narrow down to Standard Documents or Standard Clauses

3. Click on Jurisdiction and do one of the following:

• Select Topic and then narrow search to Standard Documents or Standard Clauses
• Select Resource Types and then select Standard Documents or Standard Clauses