After confirming a case's treatment status, use Clio Library's citation history tools to understand how that case has influenced subsequent law. The Cited Authorities, Cited in, and Precedent Map tabs give you a complete picture of a case's legal legacy: from the authorities it relied on to the cases that have since applied, limited, or overturned it.
Note: Cited in and Precedent Map are most valuable during argument-building and pre-filing review. Before submitting a brief, motion, or memorandum, you can use these tools to confirm that key cases in your argument have not been frequently distinguished or negatively treated in recent decisions. Running this check before opposing counsel raises it protects both your argument and your client.
Review Cited Authorities
The Cited Authorities tab shows the case law and legislation the judgment itself relied on. You can use this tab to trace the legal foundation of a decision and identify related authorities worth researching.
Note: If legislation listed in Cited Authorities has been amended, a yellow notification appears next to it.
- When viewing a document in Clio Library, click the Cited Authorities tab.
- In the left column, select Legislation or Case Law.
- Review the Strength bar next to each authority. The bar indicates how significant that authority is to the current document, based on citation frequency, quoting, and similarity of legal issues.
Research subsequent citations with Cited in
The Cited in tab shows all documents that have used this case as precedent. You can use it to understand how and where the case has been applied, followed, or treated negatively since it was decided.
Tip: Look for the grey box in the top-right corner of the document, which shows the total number of inbound citations.
- When viewing a document, click the Cited in tab.
- Use the left filter panel to narrow by content type, jurisdiction, or country.
- Review the treatment label next to each result to assess how that document used the current case.
Review the Precedent Map
The Precedent Map is an interactive visualisation that shows the health of a case's legal legacy over time. You can use it to identify whether a more recent authority has challenged the reliability of a case.
- When viewing a document in Clio Library, click the Precedent Map tab.
- Review the map layout:
- The centre circle represents the case you are viewing.
- Circles inside the centre circle are cases cited in the current judgment, ordered chronologically.
- Circles outside the centre represent cases that have subsequently cited the current case.
- Double-click any case to set it as the map's focus.
- Use the filters on the right side of the screen to narrow results by treatment type or jurisdiction.
Up Next
Once your research is complete, download or share documents to connect your findings to a matter record. See Share and Export Library Documents.