As you’re finishing your Legal Practice memos, remember that citation is a very important step in legal writing.  Your reader – the professor, the judge, opposing counsel – needs to know what authority you are citing to support your argument, along with the date of the source and where they can find it.  The reference librarians are happy to help you navigate the Bluebook or answer questions about legal citation. Make an appointment with a librarian or stop by the Reference Desk. We’re also happy to arrange a Teams or Zoom session. Email us at reference@nyls.edu.

Here are a few important steps to remember:

• Determine the legal authority you’re citing to: case, statute, etc.
• Use the Bluebook’s inside covers, index or table of contents to identify the relevant rule.
• Make sure you have all of the information about the source you will need.
• Review the rule and the examples, cross check the Bluebook tables: Table T1 for preferred citation sources and Table T6 for the proper abbreviations.
• Make sure your source is updated and still good law.