By Lawyers - Modifying a Precedent

14/01/2026
Knowledge

How To

By Lawyers precedents are written to suit the most common circumstances using a plain language style. They can be modified to suit the specifics of a matter either on an individual basis or saved for future use.

Desktop
Web

Open the matter.
Make sure you're on the Details & Correspondence tab.
Click Forms & Precedents.

The Forms & Precedents will open in a new window.
Locate the precedent in the Legal Guides tab and click to open.
To modify the precedent for that matter only, simply make your changes and select Save.
To modify the precedent on a more permanent basis, from the Legal Guides tab hover your mouse over the precedent name and click which appears on the right-hand side, then click Modify Precedent. This will open a word copy of the precedent.
Make any required edits and select Save & Close.

Open the matter.
Make sure you're on the Details & Correspondence tab.
Click Forms & Precedents.

The Forms & Precedents will open in a new window.
Locate the precedent in the Legal Guides tab and click to open.
To modify the precedent for that matter only, simply make your changes and select Save.
To modify the precedent on a more permanent basis, from the Legal Guides tab hover your mouse over the precedent name and click which appears on the right-hand side, then click Modify Precedent. This will open a word copy of the precedent.
Make any required edits and select Save & Close.

A copy of the modified precedent will now be saved into your matter. Next time you open this precedent from the Browse tab your modifications will automatically appear. The precedent name will be coloured blue in the Browse tab to indicate it has been modified.

Click to edit heading

By Lawyers update their commentaries and precedents on an on-going basis incorporating the changes to the law and practice as they occur. Modified precedents saved to the matter will not be automatically updated. The next time a modified precedent is opened after By Lawyers have made a change to the original precedent the user will be asked if:

they want to see the changes;
they want to update the precedent to keep the By Lawyers changes, which will overwrite any firm modification; or
they want to retain their modified precedent, which means the precedent will not include the recent amendments made by By Lawyers.

Last Modified Date

14/01/2026 5:03 pm

Title

By Lawyers - Modifying a Precedent

URL Name

Modifying-a-By-Lawyers-precedent

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