Every first-year law student in America must purchase “The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation.” Your professors will insist that no lawyer can get by without a copy and that every judge you encounter will be a stickler for legal citations. None of that is true. I haven’t used my Bluebook once since graduating from law school. I’ve filed countless pleadings in almost every trial-level court in Massachusetts. Not once has a judge or opposing counsel taken issue with my citations. In fact, I’ve never heard of any lawyer being scolded for the quality of his or her citations.
Law Office of Justin R. McCarthy 