Answer to Question 1
A treatise is a formal scholarly work by a law professor or other legal professional that treats a particular subject systematically and in detail. Some treatises are published in multivolume sets, while others are contained in a single book. Single-volume treatises that synthesize the basic principles of a given legal area are known as hornbooks. Some, but not all, hornbooks are available online.
These texts are useful to paralegals who want to familiarize themselves with a
particular area of the law, such as torts or contracts. In addition to providing a clear
and organized discussion of the subject matter, treatises and hornbooks present many examples of case law and references to cases that may be helpful to a researcher.
Answer to Question 2
West's key-number system divides all areas of American law into specific categories, or topics, arranged in alphabetical order. The topics are further divided into many subtopics, each designated by a key number, which is accompanied by the West key symbol. The key-number system organizes millions of case summaries under specific topics and subtopics.
When a paralegal reads through any case in a West's case reporter, she will find that a series of headnotes precedes the court's actual opinion. Each headnote summarizes one portion of the opinion. West editors create each headnote and assign it to a particular topic with a key number. Key numbers correlate the headnotes in cases to the topics in digests and can be very useful in finding cases on a particular subject. Once she finds the key number in a case that discusses the issue she is researching, the paralegal can easily find every other case in her state or region that discusses this issue. She simply goes to the West case digest and locates the particular key number and topic. Beneath the key number, the digest provides case summaries, titles, and citations to cases discussing the issue in the area covered by the digest. When she finds a case that seems on point, she knows exactly where to find it because she has the citation.
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