CLBC Hosts Big League Precedents Databases

For years, legal publishers have resisted licensing premier collections of precedents (i.e., pleadings, affidavits, legal briefs, etc. from real-life court matters) to Courthouse Libraries BC for use by our clients through our public access computers. This meant it was hard for many lawyers to get access to quality precedents unless they had helpful colleagues, or were willing to pay for a premier subscription themselves. This summer, however, CLBC had something of a breakthrough. We signed some new talent to our roster, and you can now access Quicklaw’s pleadings, motions and facta package at our branches. We signed them, so that you can see for free how other pros prepared their work product for litigation.

Try browsing your way through the Quicklaw collection of precedents by topic. If your interest is “sports and athletics,” you will find dozens of Canadian precedents, from a petition protesting mandatory face shields in junior hockey, to a notice of claim about price gouging and ticket sales. Of course, “sports law” intersects with practice areas as diverse as might be imagined, so you can add other legal topics. Sports fishing disputes might involve Fisheries Act issues, sports injuries involve other torts and liability topics, and cases involving rights of transgender athletes bring in human rights and discrimination law. All in all, there are over 500 facta, over 14,700 motions, and over 6,600 pleadings for British Columbia alone. Next time you’re near a CLBC branch, stop by and ask us how to access the Quicklaw precedents collection.