Litigation

Litigation Resources

This guide features links to litigation resources, from court rules to forms to information on civil appeals. For jury instructions, see the separate Legal Research - Jury Instructions guide.

I. Court Rules

II. Expert Witnesses

III. Forms-Legal and Procedural

IV. Evidence

V. Jury Verdicts and Settlements

VI. Professional Practice Sites

VII. Reports and Publications

VIII. Alternative Dispute Resolution

IX. Civil Appeals

I. Court Rules

• Circuit Court of Cook County - From the Office of the Chief Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County
  • Rules of the Circuit Court
  • General Orders of the Circuit Court
  • General Administrative Rules of the Circuit Court
  • General Administrative Orders of the Circuit Court

• Divisions of the Circuit Court of Cook County - Provides information and publications from the various division of the Circuit Court. The Law Division provides calendars, Major Case Court-Annexed Civil Mediation and Black Line Trial Call information.

• Illinois Rules of Evidence - Rules effective as of January 1, 2011, including amendments through the present.
• Illinois Rules of Evidence: A Color-Coded Guide: a side-by-side comparison with the Federal Rules of Evidence including commentary. By Gino L. DeVito.

• Illinois Supreme Court Rules - Text of Supreme Court Rules including committee comments.

• Public Domain Citation (pdf) - Press release from the Illinois Supreme Court

• Rule 6 - Text of the Illinois Supreme Court rule on citations

• Style Manual for the Supreme and Appellate Courts of Illinois (pdf)

• Federal Rules of Civil Procedure - Including most recent amendments. From the Cornell Legal Information Institute (LII)

• Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure - Including most recent amendments. From Cornell LII.

• Federal Rules of Evidence (FRE) - Including most recent amendments. From Cornell LII.

• Rules of the U.S. Supreme Court

• Official Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals site - Includes federal and circuit rules, proposed rule changes, court calendar, docket sheets, briefs, oral arguments, court opinions, Practitioner's Handbook, standards for professional conduct, 7th Circuit Operating Procedures, Pattern Civil Jury Instructions, Pattern Criminal Jury Instructions, guidelines for briefs and other papers, brief examples and a checklist.

• United States District Court, Northern Circuit of Illinois - Includes forms, opinions, court rules, and calendar.

• LLRX: Court Rules, Forms, & Dockets - Browse or search by jurisdiction for court rules, forms, and dockets.

II. Expert Witnesses

• Best's Directory of Recommended Expert Service Providers

• ExpertLaw.com - Search for experts by category. A free directory. By Law Offices of Aaron Larson.

• Illinois Bar Association Expert Services Directory

• JurisPro Expert Witness Directory - A free online expert witness directory. Searchable by name or area of expertise.

• National Directory of Expert Witnesses - Search by keyword, browse by subject, or by personal or company name. From Claims Providers of America.

• ALMExperts.com - Search by area of expertise or name or browse by topic.

• Experts.com - A searchable worldwide directory of experts and consultants.

III. Forms - Legal and Procedural

Legal

• EBSCO Legal Information Reference Center - Access this subscription service provided by Cook County Law Library for self-help publications on dozens of topics and many forms.

• FindLaw: Forms Collection and Forms Indexes - Includes sample business contracts and links to federal court forms by circuit and court forms by state. Note that not all forms are available free of charge.

• Internet Legal Research Group Forms

• LawInfo.com Forms Center

Procedural

• State Circuit Court Forms by county
  • Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court Forms
  • DuPage County Clerk of the Circuit Court Forms
  • Lake County Clerk of the Circuit Court Forms
  • Will County Clerk of the Circuit Court Forms

• United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois: Online Forms

• Seventh Circuit Forms

• Illinois Supreme Court Standard Interrogatories (pdf) - Covers motor vehicle, matrimonial, and medical malpractice cases. See S.Ct. Rule 213 from the Illinois Supreme Court site.

IV. Evidence

• Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence, 3rd ed., 2011 - From the Federal Judicial Center.
  • Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence, 2nd ed., 2000 
  • Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence, 1st ed., 1994

• Managing Discovery of Electronic Information: a pocket guide for judges, 3rd ed., 2017 - From the Federal Judicial Center.

• Electronic Discovery Law - A blog focusing on electronic discovery with case summaries, resources and news. Includes the Electronic Discovery Case Database of over 1500 electronic discovery cases collected from state and federal jurisdictions around the United States. Search results contain lists of case citations and brief case descriptions. Published and maintained by K&L Gates.

• Forensic Examination of Digital Evidence: A Guide for Law Enforcement, April 2004 - A NIJ Special Report for the law enforcement community responsible for the examination of digital evidence.

• E-Discovery Resources - Provides publications, glossary, case summaries, rules & statutes, newsletters, and podcasts. Provided by Kroll OnTrack.

• Legaltech News - Formerly Law Technology News.

V. Jury Verdicts and Settlements

• Center for Jury Studies - A collection of guides, publications, and links from the National Center for State Courts.

• Cook County Jury Verdict Reporter - A subscription service. The free Illinois Litigation Highlights newsletter provides monthly summaries of selected verdicts and settlements.

• MoreLaw Verdict Search - Search for jury verdicts and settlements nationwide. Must select field to search. Founded by Tulsa lawyer Kent Morlan.

• Securities Class Action Clearinghouse - The Clearinghouse provides detailed information relating to the prosecution, defense, and settlement of federal class action securities fraud litigation. From Stanford University.

VI. Professional Practice Sites

• Illinois State Bar Association
  • Illinois L@wyer Now - Includes news, briefs, and galleries.

• Chicago Bar Association

• American Bar Association

• DuPage County Bar Association
  • DCBA Brief - The journal of the DuPage County Bar Association.

• Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education
  • FLASHPOINTS - Brief articles on current legal topics.

• Bar Admissions Guide - Current bar admission requirements. From the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE)

• Martindale Hubbell Lawyer Locator

• AMA Doctor Finder

• Physician Profile Search - From the Illinois Department of Financial & Professional Regulation. Search for physicians licensed in the state including legal actions, discipline and education.

• International Judicial Assistance - From the United States Department of State. Arranged by country, information on service of process abroad, and obtaining evidence abroad.

• Illinois Trial Practice Weblog - Tips and techniques for trial lawyers appearing for the plaintiff or defense. New posts on hiatus since August 2015.

• MyShingle.com - Tips and information for solo and small firm lawyers.

For more resources see our page on legal news sources.

VII. Reports and Publications

• Federal Judicial Center - Select Publications and Videos to access the catalog of available resources. Includes a wide variety of topics: discovery and disclosure, evidence, expert witnesses, mass torts, attorneys' fees, and more.
  • Manual for Complex Litigation, Fourth (2004)
  • Manual for Complex Litigation, Third (1995)
  • Benchbook for U.S. District Court Judges, 6th ed. (2013)
  • Sealed Settlement Agreements in Federal District Court (2004)

• ABA Civil Trial Practice Standards - Includes most recent revision of the Standards, the Civil Discovery Standards, the Standards Report, as well as conduct guidelines including the ABA Social Media Policy.

• Understanding the Federal Courts - From the Administrative Office of the United States Courts.

• American College of Trial Lawyers Library - Includes codes of trial conduct, white papers, and reports on various aspects of trial practice.

VIII. Alternative Dispute Resolution

• Resolution Systems Institute (RSI) - Includes full-text articles, introductory materials and a bibliography on alternative dispute resolution in Illinois. Also includes links to description of ADR programs in Illinois, relevant statutes and rules, and a searchable, annotated database of court-related ADR resources.

• Center for Conflict Resolution (CCR) - CCR is a not-for-profit mediation center, established by the Chicago Bar Association in 1979. It provides mediation services in court-annexed programs in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois.

• Alternative Dispute Resolution - For the 19th Judicial Circuit, Lake County.

IX. Civil Appeals

• Illinois Supreme Court Rules - Civil appeals rules, Rules 301-400.

• Illinois Appellate Court Local Rules By District

• Cook County Circuit Court Civil Appeals Division - Includes rules, forms, an FAQ, and brochures.

• Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals - Federal and circuit rules, proposed rule changes, court calendar, docket sheets, briefs, oral arguments, court opinions, Practitioner's Handbook, standards for professional conduct, 7th Circuit Operating Procedures, Pattern Civil Jury Instructions, Pattern Criminal Jury Instructions, guidelines for briefs and other papers, brief examples and a checklist.

• Illinois Legal Aid - Includes a Guide to Illinois Civil Appellate Procedure. Also includes guides for appealing specific kinds of cases.

PLEASE NOTE: The websites listed in this guide are for information only and are not endorsed or supported by the Cook County Law Library. Please independently verify the accuracy and currency of all information. Consult an attorney for legal advice.

Compiled by Jean M. Wenger

Revised January 2019 by David Sanborne

Revised August 2020 by Jenik Nichols