Understand Clio Work Case Law Analysis and Citators

You can use Vincent in Clio Library to help understand and contextualize case law. Vincent can read cases, extract key legal issues, and automatically produce a summary, including headnotes and key phrases. These features help you determine if a judgment remains valid authority before you include it in your legal research or filings.

View case analysis with Vincent

1. In Clio Library, open a case and select the Document tab, if not already selected. Alternatively, navigate to Clio Work and select the Ask Research Questions workflow.
2. View the case analysis at the top of the screen, above the full judgment.

Access case law citators

Clio Library provides access to advanced citation tools to enable your firm to quickly assess the reliability of a case and comprehend its legal context. For case law, you can use treatment types to view how cases cite and relate to each other. You can view citator data by navigating to a specific document through either Clio Work or the Clio Library.

• From a research conversation: In Clio Work, ask a research question, then click any document name listed under Legal Authorities to view it in the Library.
• From a library search: Click Library in the left navigation panel to perform a new search and select a document from your results.
• From the document viewer: Once the document is open, select a subtab to view specific data. The subtabs include Judgment, Cited Authorities, Cited in, Precedent Map, Citation, and Sources.

Verify case status and reliability

Clio Library provides color-coded indicators and citation analysis to help you determine if a ruling has been upheld, questioned, or overturned. These citation services (vLex Justis and the US case citator known as Cert) are designed to help you determine if a case is still valid and citable. 

1. Identify citation volume

   Depending on your jurisdiction, Clio Library uses different visual indicators to summarize a case’s reliability:

   • Grey tag: In many jurisdictions, look for a grey tag with a number to the right of the document name in search results. This indicates the total number of times the document has been cited. 

     Note: Although a high number suggests significant influence, verify the type of treatment to ensure the case remains valid.

   • Three-number system: In some jurisdictions (e.g., Canada, the UK, and Ireland), cases display three numbers in the top-right corner.

     • Grey: Total number of citations.
     • Green: Positive treatments.
     • Red: Negative treatments.

     Tip: Click any label to view the specific documents within that category.

2. Interpret treatment type

   Treatment types indicate how a subsequent document referred to the case you are viewing. They vary slightly by jurisdiction, but you can interpret them using the color-coding system below. You can use these color codes to assess the case's current standing quickly:

   • Positive (Green): A subsequent case actively followed the reasoning in the current case. These treatments also include decisions where an appellate court dismissed appeals from the first-instance decision.
     • Interpretation: The case's legal principle has been upheld or successfully followed.
   • Neutral (Grey or Orange): A subsequent case referred to the current case, but the judge did not assign an explicit or implicit value to it when resolving the issue in that subsequent case. These treatment tags are displayed in grey on all results pages, including the 'Cited in' tab. On the Precedent Map, neutral treatment tags are orange. 
     • Interpretation: The case was mentioned, but its legal authority was neither affirmed nor questioned. 
   • Caution (Yellow): A subsequent case referred to the current case, but the judge declined to apply it because they considered it not relevant to their own matter. 
     • Interpretation: The case remains good law, but its facts were found to be materially different from those in the current matter. 
   • Negative (Red): A subsequent case referred to the current case, but the judge declined to apply it because they considered it no longer good law. These treatment tags are red. 
     • Interpretation: The case's legal principle has been questioned, limited, or overturned. Proceed with caution or seek alternative authority. 

3. Use US Case Citator (Cert)

   For research involving US jurisdictions, the US Case Citator (Cert) identifies negative treatments by combining judicial history with editorial analysis. Cert covers the US Supreme Court, the Federal Circuit Courts, the court of last resort/highest court, and the Appellate courts for all states and DC.

   • Negative (Red): The law in the current case is likely no longer valid or has been seriously challenged (overruled, vacated, or superseded). 
   • Questioned (Orange): The case's value as legal precedent has been challenged, or its application has been limited.

Evaluate subsequent treatment and history

You can use Clio Library to ensure your research is thorough by analyzing how later cases have influenced the standing of your current document. You can achieve this through both cited data-driven lists and precedent map visual mapping.

Research subsequent citations with Cited-in

The Cited-in tab shows all documents that have used your case as precedent. You can use this list to understand how and where the current document has been applied, followed, or treated negatively. 

1. Click Cited in when viewing a document in Clio Library. 

   Tip: Look for a grey box in the top-right corner, which shows the total citations.

2. If applicable, click the US Case Citator treatment label (e.g., Disapproved) to view the details of the treatment type. 

Review Cited Authorities

In Clio Library, the Cited Authorities tab displays case law or legislation cited within the judgment. This helps you build arguments on a reliable authority. The Strength bar next to each authority indicates the significance of an authority in relation to the current document, based on citation frequency, quoting, and similar points of law.

1. When viewing a document, click the Cited Authorities tab.

2. In the first column, select Case Law or Legislation. 

   Note: If legislation has been amended, a yellow notification will appear. 

3. Review Strength.  

Review the Precedent Map

Precedent Map is an interactive visualization that allows you to see the health of a case's legacy over time. It helps you determine if a more recent authority has challenged the reliability of a case. 

1. Navigate to Clio Library via Clio Work. 
2. Click on a case to view its related information. 
3. Click the Precedent map tab. 
   • Center circle represents the original case you are viewing. Circles inside the central circle are ordered chronologically and represent cases cited in the current case. Outside circles represent cases that cited the current case subsequently. 
4. Double-click on a case to make it the focus of the map. 
5. Use the map filters on the right side of the screen to narrow your results.