A legal precedent is a type of legal case that is also called an authority. What a legal precedent does is establish a rule or a principle that ends up being used again and again with subsequent cases that present with comparable facts and issues. A binding precedent is the type that must be followed, and it is also known as a mandatory precedent or a binding authority. This type of precedent may be overruled, but an attempt will be made by the courts to compare the facts of the case to another similar case in order to determine if there are any similarities. A persuasive precedent is the type of precedent that is not obligatory, but is a similar enough legal case that it can be very helpful when dealing with a legal case that resembles it.