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Form Finder: Litigation

Introduction

Forms for litigation can be found in a wide variety of sources. In addition to general form collections, litigation forms are found in encyclopedic pleading and practice sets, sets for specific purposes like complaints, discovery, trial practice, and jury instructions. Forms can also be found in treatises on litigating a particular issue like "employment discrimination" or "securities fraud." What follows are some of the most likely sources for locating litigation-related forms, but this list is not intended to be exhaustive. For more tips on searching forms, see the search tips section on the Introduction page of this guide.

General Practice and Procedure

American Jurisprudence Pleading & Practice Forms Annotated. This set consists of 82 volumes containing more than 43,000 practice and court-tested state and federal forms.  It covers all aspects of litigation, including complaints, motions, interrogatories, and jury instructions. The library no longer maintains this set in print; however, it is available via Westlaw.

Business and Commercial Litigation in Federal Courts. KF8925.C55 B87 – 10th Floor. This 9-volume set provides guidance on all phases of litigation in federal courts, including investigation, pleadings, motions, discovery, trials, appeals, settlement, and enforcement of judgments.  In addition, the set offers more than 30 chapters of detailed discussion and forms for individual cases like antitrust and product liability.  

Federal Procedural Forms, Lawyers Edition. An encyclopedic set that covers all actions before a federal court. Forms include complaints, motions, and responsive pleadings.  Each topic includes a procedural guide, checklists, and timetables for filing. The library no longer maintains this set in print; however, it is available via Westlaw.

Lane's Goldstein Litigation Forms. KF 8836 .L36  2011 – 10th Floor. Three volumes with more than 1,000 practice forms. Detailed sections discuss: initiating litigation, drafting pleadings, discovery, motions, post-trial procedures, etc. Forms tend to be general in nature.  

Manual of Federal Practice: Forms. KF 8836 .G58  1999 – 10th Floor. This comprehensive resource provides essential forms and procedural guidance for various federal court actions, assisting legal professionals in navigating the complexities of federal litigation.

Complaints and Other Pleadings

Causes of Action. KF8863.S53 1983 – 10th Floor. This is a 32-volume set of encyclopedic annotations on particular actions. New annotations are being added all the time (to the online version). Each annotation contains practice guides, checklists, sample cases, and other drafting aids. This resource is no longer updated in print by the law library (last print update 2008).  

Illinois Causes of Action – Elements, Forms, Winning tips: Tort Actions (IICLE). KFI1730.Z9 I44 – 6th Floor (Reserve). A quick, complete reference to the elements and pleading requirements for more than 30 typical causes of action in Illinois. 

IICLE Tort Actions 2022 Edition. Overview of tort actions in Illinois with forms.

Illinois Causes of Action – Elements, Forms, Winning Tips: Estate, Business & Non-Personal Injury Actions (IICLE). KFI1730.Z9 I44 – 6th Floor (Reserve). This set includes more than 50 causes of action in topics such as business, family law, and employment. 

Discovery

Bender’s Forms of Discovery. KF 8900 .A3 B432 – 10th Floor. The most comprehensive source for model discovery with 30 volumes including sample interrogatories and discovery on topics from accounting to zoning. Available on Lexis, but content is provided in separate databases:

  • Bender's Forms of Discovery Interrogatories (Volumes 1 to 10A). This resource provides an A-to-Z selection of sample interrogatories under more than 200 title categories from accounting to zoning. 
  • Bender's Forms of Discovery Treatise (Volumes 11-17). This resource is a comprehensive litigation guide that offers in-depth discussion and action-oriented practice materials for all other discovery methods, including Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 26 through 33; Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 34; an expanded Digest of Items Sought under FRCP 34 and 45(d); FRCP 35 and 36; FRCP 37 and 45(d); Criminal Discovery; and an in-depth discussion of discovery in complex litigation.

Model Interrogatories. KF8900.C84 – 10th Floor. This two-volume set contains 4,500 models covering 19 different types of cases. 

Pattern Discovery. Clark Boardman Callaghan. KF 8900.D3 – 10th Floor. Clark Boardman Callaghan's (CBC) Pattern Discovery series offers sample interrogatories, deposition checklists, and examples of requests to produce for a number of factual situations in a number of different practice situations, including medical malpractice, employment and labor law, product liability, motor vehicles, tort actions, employment discrimination, and product liability.  Each set has a separate title. Certain content is available on Westlaw:

American Jurisprudence Proof of Facts. KF8933.A44 3d – 10th Floor. A set of annotations on proof in different factual situations. Organized like ALR or Causes of Action. Each annotation contains sample checklists, sample interrogatories, model discovery forms and sample proofs as well as a wealth of expert advice.

Trial Practice

American Jurisprudence Trials. KF8915.A74 – 10th Floor. This is an encyclopedic guide to the modern practices, techniques, and tactics used in preparing and trying cases, with model programs for the handling of all types of litigation. The more than 100-volume set provides step-by-step guidance through all the phases of trial—from initial client interview, discovery, pleadings, motions, and the trial itself to post-trial motions and appeals. It contains hundreds of annotated articles on how to try particular causes, including legal guides and sample forms.