How To Write A Case Report

Case reports, or law reports, are one of the most common types of documents in the legal community, designed to provide a relatively short analysis of a particular legal problem. Writing a quality law report takes practice, but once mastered, can be a valuable tool.

Use the ILAC principles:
(I)ssue/issues, (L)aw/legal principles, (A)pplication, (C)onclusion

ISSUE/ISSUES

State the issue or issues that the report addresses. This section should begin with a centered heading called "ISSUE" or "ISSUES" in capital letters. If there is more than one issue, each issue should be given its own numbered paragraph. 

Each issue statement should begin with the word "whether" and end with a question mark. The issue statement should include a combination of law and facts. In other words, does this law apply to these facts, or vice versa? For example: "Whether the defendant is liable for battery where he kissed the plaintiff while the plaintiff was sleeping?"

LAW/LEGAL PRINCIPLES

The answer to each issue should begin with either "yes" or "no". Write a brief statement that explains your answer by applying the facts to the law. 

For example: "Yes. Because battery is a harmful or offensive contact to a reasonable person that does not require the plaintiff to have actual knowledge of the contact, and because kissing has been found to constitute an unreasonable harmful or offensive contact, the defendant is liable for battery."

Apply the facts to the law. This section follows the Facts section, and begins with a centered heading entitled "DISCUSSION." Begin this section with applicable law. If a statute applies, it should be provided first. If not, a discussion of the case law should be used. The source must follow each rule statement, whether a statute number or a case citation. After the relevant law is provided, the facts should be applied to that law. Do the facts satisfy the legal requirements?
For example: "In Jones v. Smith, the court held that a plaintiff need not be actually aware of the harmful or offensive contact for battery to exist, so long as the contact would be harmful or offensive to a reasonable person. Jones v. Smith, 37 F.2d 438. In that case, the defendant grabbed the plaintiff's arm while the plaintiff was lying in a hospital bed unconscious after a medical procedure. The court found that the contact was offensive, reasoning that the plaintiff did not have a prior relationship with the defendant. Here, like in Jones, the plaintiff was touched by the defendant while unconscious, as the plaintiff was sleeping. Also similar to Jones, the plaintiff in this case did not have a prior relationship with the defendant, thereby rendering the contact offensive. Therefore, under Jones, the plaintiff here is entitled to recover for battery."