Using Word’s built-in heading styles for legal documents

Most problems with a brief’s Table of Contents start long before anyone clicks References. They start when argument headings are typed as bold Normal text instead of being given Word’s heading styles. This guide covers which built-in styles to use for a legal document, how to set them up, how to number argument headings automatically, and how to build a Table of Contents that stays right through the last edit.

Why built-in styles matter

A style is a named set of formatting (font, size, spacing, indents, numbering) applied to a paragraph. Word comes with built-in styles such as Heading 1 to Heading 9, Body Text, List Paragraph and Quote. You can make your own styles too, but the built-in ones carry meaning that the rest of Word and many other tools rely on:

• Table of Contents. Word’s automatic Table of Contents is built from Heading 1, Heading 2, Heading 3 … (and other paragraphs with an outline level). Bold text that only looks like a heading is invisible to it.
• Navigation pane. On the View tab, tick Navigation Pane to see every heading as a clickable outline. You can drag a heading there to move the whole section beneath it, which is handy when you reorder arguments.
• One change, every heading. Change the Heading 2 style once and every point heading in the brief follows. Nobody has to reformat thirty headings by hand when a court wants them single-spaced or underlined.
• Firm templates. A firm template can define the house look of each built-in style. Content pasted from one firm document into another then picks up the destination’s formatting instead of bringing its own.
• Other tools. Add-ins for legal documents, PDF conversion (which can turn headings into PDF bookmarks) and screen readers all read the document’s structure from heading styles and outline levels.

Which style for which part of a brief

There is no single right mapping, but this one works for most motions and briefs:

Some firms put point headings in Heading 1 and leave section titles unstyled. Either works, as long as the whole document follows one scheme. Keep the caption, signature block and certificate of service out of the heading styles, or they will turn up in the Table of Contents.

Use Body Text rather than Normal for paragraphs where you can. Many other styles are based on Normal, so double-spacing Normal also double-spaces everything built on it, including table text and footers. Changing Body Text changes only body paragraphs.

Applying styles

• Styles gallery. Click in a paragraph and pick a style from the Styles group on the Home tab. A style applies to the whole paragraph; you don’t need to select the text.
• Styles pane. Click the small arrow in the corner of the Styles group to open the pane, which lists more styles than the gallery. To show only the styles in use or all styles, click Options… at the bottom of the pane.
• Keyboard. The built-in shortcuts are listed below.

Word has no built-in shortcut for Heading 4 or Body Text. You can add one: in the Modify Style dialog (below), click Format → Shortcut key.

Changing how a style looks

Change the style, not the paragraph. To modify a style:

1. On the Home tab, right-click the style in the Styles gallery (or in the Styles pane) and choose Modify…
2. Set the font, size, bold, italics and alignment in the dialog. For line spacing, spacing before and after, indents and page-break options, click Format → Paragraph.
3. Check Style based on and Style for following paragraph (both explained below).
4. Choose Only in this document, or New documents based on this template to save the change to the template the document is attached to.
5. Click OK. Every paragraph with that style updates.

Alternatively, format one heading the way you want, right-click its style in the gallery and choose Update Heading 2 to Match Selection (the name changes with the style).

Base styles and the following paragraph

Style based on sets the parent style. Anything you don’t set on the style itself is inherited, so if Heading 2 is based on Normal and you change Normal’s font, Heading 2 changes too. That is useful for setting one font across a document, and surprising if you didn’t expect it. Set the body font once, at the base, and override only what differs.

Style for following paragraph is the style Word gives the next paragraph when you press Enter. Set it to Body Text for every heading style, and you can type a heading, press Enter and carry straight on with the argument.

Leave “Automatically update” off

The Modify Style dialog has an Automatically update box. When it is ticked, any direct formatting you apply to one paragraph is written back into the style and spreads to every paragraph using it. Underline one point heading for emphasis and every point heading becomes underlined. Leave it off for headings and body styles, especially in shared templates.

Outline levels

The Table of Contents and the Navigation pane actually read each paragraph’s outline level. Heading 1 has outline level 1, Heading 2 level 2, and so on, and the levels of the built-in headings can’t be changed. Other paragraphs are Body Text level (no level) unless someone sets one.

You can give a custom style an outline level in its Modify Style dialog: Format → Paragraph → Indents and Spacing → Outline level. That is how a firm’s own “Point Heading” style can still appear in the Table of Contents. The same setting explains a common mystery: if an ordinary paragraph shows up in the Table of Contents, it has an outline level set by mistake. Click in it, open the Paragraph dialog and set Outline level back to Body Text.

Numbering argument headings automatically (I., A., 1.)

Typed numbers drift: delete point II and the brief jumps from I to III, and the Table of Contents faithfully copies the mistake. A multilevel list linked to the heading styles renumbers itself whenever headings move.

1. Click in the first heading. On the Home tab, click Multilevel List (in the Paragraph group) and choose Define New Multilevel List…
2. Click More >> to show all the options.
3. Click level 1 in the list on the left. Set Link level to style to the style for that level and set the number format for it. Then do the same for levels 2, 3 and 4.
4. For each level, choose the Number style for this level (for example I, II, III for point headings, then A, B, C, then 1, 2, 3) and edit Enter formatting for number to add the period, so it reads “I.” rather than “I”.
5. Set the number’s Aligned at and Text indent at positions so wrapped heading text lines up, and click OK.

If you use Heading 1 for unnumbered section titles such as ARGUMENT, link level 1 to Heading 1 with the number style set to (none), then link level 2 to Heading 2 with I, II, III, level 3 to Heading 3 with A, B, C, and level 4 to Heading 4 with 1, 2, 3. Point headings then start again at I. in each section, because a level restarts after any higher level.

Word’s list library also includes multilevel lists that are already linked to the heading styles; their previews show the words “Heading 1”, “Heading 2” and so on. Starting from one of those and adjusting it is often quicker.

Once numbering is linked, delete any typed numbers from the headings, or you will get “I. I. The Complaint Fails to State a Claim”. To move a heading up or down a level, change its style (for example from Heading 3 to Heading 2) and the number follows.

Building the Table of Contents from your headings

Federal appellate briefs need a table of contents with page references (FRAP 28(a)(2)), and many courts require one for longer trial-court briefs too. Once the headings use styles, it takes a minute:

1. Put the cursor where the table belongs, after the cover page or caption.
2. On the References tab, click Table of Contents and choose Custom Table of Contents… (the ready-made automatic tables also work, but add their own title).
3. Set Show levels to the number of heading levels you use, usually 3 or 4.
4. Choose the tab leader and whether to show page numbers right-aligned, then click OK.

Word inserts a TOC field, which you can see with Alt+F9 as something like { TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u }: \o "1-3" takes heading levels 1 to 3 and \u adds paragraphs with outline levels. Press Alt+F9 again to go back to the table.

Keep it up to date

The table doesn’t update itself. Click in it and press F9 (or click Update Table on the References tab), then choose Update entire table if you changed any heading text, or Update page numbers only if you didn’t. Update once more right before you create the PDF you file.

Never type corrections into the table: the next update replaces them. Fix the heading instead. To change how the entries look (indents, bold, capitals), modify the TOC 1, TOC 2, TOC 3 … styles, which control each level of the table.

The Table of Authorities works differently: it is built from marked citations, not from styles. See How to build a Table of Authorities in Word.

Common mistakes

• Fake headings. Bold, centered or underlined Normal text looks like a heading but isn’t one, so it is missing from the Table of Contents and the Navigation pane. Click in the heading and check the highlighted style in the gallery.
• Direct formatting on top of styles. Formatting applied with the Font buttons sits on top of the style and survives style changes, so headings stop matching. Select the text and press Ctrl+Space to remove character formatting, or Ctrl+Q to remove paragraph formatting, and let the style take over.
• Pasted text bringing its own styles. Text pasted from another document, an email or a website can bring styles and formatting with it. Use Paste Options → Merge Formatting or Keep Text Only, then apply your own styles. If a document has collected odd styles, open the Styles pane and look for ones you didn’t create.
• Typed numbers and lettering. Manual “I.”, “A.” and “1.” break when headings are added, deleted or moved. Link a multilevel list to the heading styles instead.
• Manual line breaks and spaces. Pressing Enter twice for spacing, or using spaces to center a heading, gives inconsistent results and empty paragraphs that can show up in the Table of Contents. Put spacing and alignment in the style.
• Headings split from their text. The built-in heading styles keep the heading on the same page as the next paragraph (Keep with next in the Paragraph dialog’s Line and Page Breaks tab). If a custom heading style is stranded at the bottom of a page, turn that option on.
• Changing the wrong style. Double-spacing Normal also changes styles based on it. Make the change in Body Text instead, or check what is based on Normal first.

A quick check before you file

• Open the Navigation pane: does every section and point heading appear, at the right level, and nothing else?
• Are heading numbers automatic, with no typed numbers left over?
• Do headings match your court’s formatting rules (capitals, underlining, spacing)? Our court pages list what we hold for each federal court.
• Have you updated the entire Table of Contents, and does each entry match the heading word for word?
• Are field codes and hidden text turned off (Alt+F9, Show/Hide ¶) before the final update and the PDF?

How DraftAria helps

DraftAria’s Word (.docx) downloads, such as generated templates, Aria’s answers and agent results, are built on Word’s own styles rather than on directly formatted text, so everything in this guide works on them straight away:

• Built-in styles throughout. Body paragraphs use Body Text, headings use Heading 1 to Heading 6, and lists, block quotations and signature blocks use List Paragraph (with real Word numbering), Quote and Signature. A document title uses Title. There is no direct formatting on body paragraphs, so your firm can restyle the whole document from the Styles pane.
• A court-style starting point. The styles are redefined in the file: Times New Roman 12 point and 1-inch margins; Heading 1 bold, capitals and centered; Heading 2 bold; Heading 3 bold italic; Heading 4 italic and underlined; headings kept with the next paragraph. Court documents download with double-spaced Body Text. Change any of it with Modify Style.
• Outline levels. Each heading has its outline level, so the Navigation pane and Table of Contents see the structure.
• A real Table of Contents. A line that reads [TABLE OF CONTENTS] becomes a Word TOC field for heading levels 1 to 3 (with outline levels and hyperlinked entries). Word may ask to update the document’s fields when you open it; otherwise click in the table and press F9.

Automatic heading numbers. When a document’s headings are numbered “I.”, “A.”, “1.” in the usual brief pattern, the Word download turns those typed numbers into a multilevel list linked to the heading styles, so headings renumber when you move them and the Table of Contents picks up the numbers. Headings that don’t follow a consistent pattern are left as typed; check them, and set up numbering as described above if you need it. Downloads with tracked changes keep the typed numbers.

Before you build the tables, the free Citation Format Checker lists the citations in a brief, flags common Bluebook format problems and previews a Table of Authorities, with no sign-up.

Questions

Why is my Table of Contents empty or missing headings?

The missing headings don’t use a heading style or have an outline level, or the table shows fewer levels than you use. Apply Heading 1 to Heading 3 (or 4), check Show levels in the Custom Table of Contents dialog, and choose Update entire table.

Why does a normal paragraph appear in my Table of Contents?

It has an outline level. Click in it, open the Paragraph dialog (the small arrow in the corner of the Paragraph group on the Home tab) and set Outline level to Body Text, then update the table.

Can I use my own heading styles instead of Heading 1 to 3?

Yes, if you give them outline levels or add them to the Table of Contents in Custom Table of Contents → Options. Built-in heading styles are still the safer choice, because other tools and add-ins recognize them without any setup.

Sources

• Microsoft Support: Customize or create new styles
• Microsoft Support: Insert a table of contents
• Microsoft Support: Keyboard shortcuts in Word
• Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, Rule 28 (Legal Information Institute)

Menu names and shortcuts can vary between versions of Word. More about DraftAria on the product overview and integrations pages.