fall 2003 vol.9 no. 2                                                                                                                            Return to Contents
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Legal Research 101: Class Eleven

Joan Olson, CLA, MACP Parliamentarian

TREATISES

A treatise is a book on a given legal subject matter addressing many topics from substantive to procedural law. They range from multi-volume surveys on a topical matter, i.e. Couch on Insurance to short monographs on a limited aspect of a single topic. Overall, they lack legal authority, but some are written by esteemed scholars and render legal respect. Others are used as convenient guides on a particular field of law and provide practice checklists and sample forms. They cite cases, statutes, administrative regulations, legal periodicals and Restatements of the Law and can be useful as a finding tool for other legal authority.

There are three types of treatises:
1 . Expository treatise—basically states the law.
2. Interpretative treatise—deep analysis of the law.
3. Critical treatise—analyzes the law and says whether the law makes sense, is just, is outdated or needs to be changed. These are most useful for changing the law.

RESEARCHING
You research for treatises just like you would any other library book. It is necessary to review each treatise to determine how it is organized and what resources are available.

UPDATING
Most treatises do not have supplementation devices because they are one-shot publications. However, successful treatises will have some form of updating, whether by loose-leaf inserts, pocket parts, supplements or periodic revisions.

COMPONENTS OF A TREATISE
CITATION
• Volume number (if more than one);
• Full name of the author or editor (if given);
• Title of the publication (underscored or italicized);
• Edition or series number (if available); and
• Year of publication.

William P. Statsky, Torts: Personal Injury Litigation 2d ed. (1990)

Texas Paralegal Journal © Copyright 2003 by the Legal Assistants Division, State Bar of Texas.

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