Bluebook

• Most law schools and practitioners teach and use the Bluebook system which is a manual published through collaboration between Harvard University, Columbia University and Yale University. It is the standard source for rules defining how to properly cite a legal reference.
  
  

ALWD

• The Association of Legal Writing Directors (ALWD) created a relatively new alternative to the Bluebook. ALWD began creating its citation manual in 1997, and it was published in 2000. Over the last 10 years, more and more law schools have adopted the ALWD citation system, sometimes as a supplement to Bluebook.
  
  

Virtually the Same

• ALWD and Bluebook are virtually the same. There are slight variations in punctuation, but the general format for citing a source is the same between the two systems. Practitioners should check local court rules to make sure they use the system adopted by that court.