Comprehensive Report: Writing Case Notes and Comments in Law

This report provides a comprehensive overview of writing case notes and case comments, essential skills in the legal field. It highlights the significance of concise and clear legal writing, especially within the common law system. The report distinguishes between case notes, case comments, and arti...Read More

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SUMMARY ON WRITING CASE NOTE
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Summary-1
The legal skill and ability to write a concise and clear case note is specifically valuable
for the common law system, where judicial verdicts are an integral part of the law of the land. At
the same time, it is also critical when it comes to the writing of case comments as an objective
interpretation is given by a strong understanding of basic elements of a judicial decision and a
brief overview of the decision can be drawn up at the outset. In the UK, the work of writing case
summaries and case notes are done by trained barristers and law reporters which are published
and observed in online sites, such as LexisNexis or Westlaw. To write a perfect case note or case
comments, the facts and problems of the case, due process of law, claims of the parties, and the
points of law used by a judge must be understood properly. The judgments given by the court are
different in common and civil law jurisdiction. Therefore, the person who takes the initiative to
write case notes or case comments needs to have clear knowledge about the jurisdiction and the
legal system of the case under which the judgment is given (2020).
Summary-2
The fundamental difference between a case note, a case comment and an article is the
scope of the subject. A single case has been analyzed by a case note, whereas an area of the law
has been addressed by the case comment which mainly focuses on the particular issues, cases
and law. Unlike a case note or case comments, the article is much wider and is an essay written
by a legal expert or a professional based on a particular area. As per the Law Review Staff for a
case selected for merit analysis, it needs to be a ‘noteworthy’ one means such a case where the
court extended at the right conclusion. It has also been suggested by the Law Review Staff that to
write a case note the case must be read carefully and properly so that the noteworthiness can be

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understood. Apart from that, it is also vital to read the case briefs of the counsel. After that, it is
also important to organize and analyze the case appropriately and clearly. The areas of the law,
background and facts of the case, and decision given by the court must be written in a clear,
precise and interesting manner so that it could attract the reader of the case note (2020).
Summary-3
The terms case notes sometimes seem to be very confusing. Often it means a synopsis
based on the case study or a summary along with a critical clarification. If different word
limitations and marking criteria are mentioned in the assignment, then the student will need to
address these distinctions by dividing the assignment into parts. Most importantly, the
assignment must be written in full with paragraphs, case citations and by using own words. As
per the critiques, the essay format must be maintained properly which involves an introduction,
thesis statement, discussion or body with sub-headings and conclusion. In case of case summary,
the understanding of the case must be written by using own words in a precise and clear manner
which needs to include the complete citation of the case, date, parties to the case, types of court,
names of the judges, and background and facts of the case. Apart from that, the major arguments
of the attorneys, commentary and decision given by the judge also need to be mentioned in the
case summary. On the other hand, in case of critical analysis, the student needs to create an
argument depending on the case and judgment. To choose a case, a student can use a law journal
or academic journal which publishes case notes daily ("Library guides: Law research and writing
skills: Writing case notes", 2020).

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Summary-4
To most Social Workers and Therapists, case reports are a battle. They take time and
usually take a long time to compose. Learning to write successful cases of social work will
protect the learner, his/her boss and the client as well. The more able an individual is to compose
case reports, the faster he/she goes. In the case of writing case notes, it is vital to focus on
sequential tracking. First of all, it is important to write down the date on which the appointment
has been placed. If the appointment cancelled by any chance then the reason for the cancellation
must be written. The therapists must keep in mind the cardinal rule while making case notes. The
therapist must record whether his/her patient obeys the rules prescribed by him/her. It has been
observed that some patients are in a serious condition, for example, a patient has suicidal
tendencies. Then it is the responsibility of the therapists to maintain other case notes who are
serious patients. A planned follow up is vital to maintain the track of the patients sequentially.
Proper maintenance of case notes makes the work easier for the social workers and therapists and
creates a strong relationship with the patients (Martin, 2020).
Summary-5
Often people miss to do certain jobs because they just forget about them, and they have
no reminders or notes to recall them of the things that they still need to do. It is not an excuse it
is just a mistake to remember things. There are also some situations when people cannot even
remember what he has done on a particular day. It is a fact that people are naturally forgetful
except those who have unique memorization skills. Therefore, when it about litigation, a record
of prior events, including reliable and comprehensive descriptions, in a form of case notes is also
important. Case notes not only remember past experiences but also record references and
decisions, recognize setbacks, offer useful feedback and can also be used as proof. Usually,

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doctors, social workers or advocates take the help of case notes either as a tool of reminder or
concerning a particular case on which they are working on. Good quality case notes are essential
in organizing and managing cases. Apart from that, the case notes are also important as they help
to remind vital matters, used as proof in case of legal matters. As the case notes constitute a
valuable record of past programs, thus need to be kept private and valued. Case notes need to be
clear, precise, brief and complete (2020).

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Reference
Library guides: Law research and writing skills: Writing case notes. (2020). Retrieved 29 March
2020, from https://guides.lib.monash.edu/law-research-writing/case-notes
Martin, S. (2020). How to Write Better Case Notes (Part 3) | Successful Social Workers and
Therapists. Retrieved 29 March 2020, from https://socialworkcoaching.com/how-to-write-better-
case-notes-part-3/
(2020). Retrieved 29 March 2020, from http://law-school.open.ac.uk/sites/law-
school.open.ac.uk/files/files/PILARS-Writing-case-comments.pdf
(2020). Retrieved 29 March 2020, from
https://scholarship.law.umt.edu/mlr/writing_a_case_note.pdf
(2020). Retrieved 29 March 2020, from https://www.examples.com/business/case-notes.html