legal education and writing

Bona fide is a Latin term that means “good faith” and is most frequently seen in the context of a bona fide purchaser. 

[Last reviewed in June of 2022 by the Wex Definitions Team]

A breach is a violation of law or when a party fails to perform their part of a contractual agreement. For more information, see breach of contract. 

[Last reviewed in June of 2022 by the Wex Definitions Team]

A brief is a written argument submitted to the court. Lawyers often prepare briefs which highlight and clarify certain information or provide legal comparisons in an attempt to persuade the courtroom to rule in favor of that lawyer’s client. 

Bureaucracy describes an organizational system implemented to manage a government agency or institution. The word comes from “bureau” (meaning "writing desk" in old French) and “cracy” (meaning "power" in Latin). 

But cf. is a citation signal used to cite an authority that supports an analogous but generally contrary proposition to the one advanced by the author.

But see is a signal in legal citations indicating that the cited source supports the opposite of the author’s statement, although an inference is required to see the contradiction.

The but-for test is a test commonly used in both tort law and criminal law to determine actual causation.  The test asks, "but for the existence of X, would Y have occurred?" 

• causation
• criminal law
• tort law
• PROXIMATE CAUSE

CALI stands for the Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction. CALI is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) consortium of most of the law schools in the United States, which creates educational resources available to registered law students. 

Canons of construction is defined as a system of rules or maxims that are used to interpret legal instruments such as statutes.

The case system is a customary means of instruction in law schools where general legal principles are learned through the reading and discussion of cases. Typically, students in a class are assigned to peruse one or more cases on a particular topic prior to class.