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This guide identifies the most common legal secondary sources in print, on the Internet, on Westlaw, and on LexisNexis.
Secondary sources provide background information on legal issues and concepts in a given area of law. If you you are unfamiliar with a topic, secondary sources are useful because they analyze, explain, and comment on the law while giving you a context for your issue. These background sources may also save you time by pointing to relevant primary sources. General background sources include legal encyclopedias, legal dictionaries, American Law Reports, and Restatements of the Law. Treatises and law review articles can offer more in-depth analysis and commentary.
In addition to the digital format, some of these study aids are available at the Research Center in print format. Click on the link to be taken to the digital format. If there is a print edition, there will be a call number listed.
Examples and Explanations for Legal Research by
Examples & Explanations: Legal Research is designed to meet the needs of law students who have come to expect that they will instantly receive answers to their questions. Rather than cataloging sources or outlining processes, this text starts where today's law students are when they realize they have a research problem. By that time, their research problem is not locating sources, but knowing what to do with them. The Legal Research E & E guides students through examples and explanations of the kinds of sources they've found, using the context of interesting and entertaining real-world problems. The text helps students determine which sources are the most useful for the current project and which ¬ it leads students to understand how one source affects and relates to the others; and--equally important--it shows students how to write about the sources they have found. Because this book covers the kinds of research projects faced not only by beginning law students but also by advanced students and even new lawyers, its value to its readers is long-lasting. Even experienced researchers will learn more about working with the difficult, as well as the easy, research questions that today are addressed by an array of sources.
Legal Research in a Nutshell by
Finding and using legal resources effectively is an essential skill for lawyers. This comprehensive but succinct guide covers research procedures using major online services, free Internet resources, and library materials. The most heavily used commercial databases and authoritative, free online sources are discussed and placed in context for effective and productive use in research. Discussion includes coverage of primary and secondary legal resources, as well as legislative history, administrative law, specialized and interdisciplinary resources, and research in international and comparative law. Appendices list state research guides and leading treatises by subject.
Honigsberg and Ho's Gilbert Law Summary on Legal Research, Writing and Analysis, 14th by
This outline covers court systems, precedent, case reporting system (including regional and state reporters, citations, and case findings), statutes, constitutions, administrative agencies (including regulations), legislative history, and secondary sources (including treatises, law reviews, digests, and restatements). The outline also discusses Shepard's Citations and KeyCite, as well as headnotes and the West Key Number System.An introduction to the evolving role of artificial intelligence in legal research has been added, along with updates on computerized legal research, including Westlaw and Lexis. This edition also contains chapters on reading and understanding a case (including briefing a case), basic guidelines for legal writing, organizing your research, writing a memorandum of law, writing a brief, and writing an opinion or client letter.
International Legal Research in a Nutshell by
This Nutshell provides a basic introduction to international and foreign legal research for the non-specialist. It offers guidance through the unfamiliar pathways of research using international and non-US legal materials and demystifies the world of treaties and international case law. Since it's aimed at the non-specialist, it provides straight-forward background information on the United Nations and the European Union and includes guidance using the documents and legal materials of these institutions. There are extensive links to the rich world of Web resources, but it also describes print research tools that remain important in this field. It also sets out a road map for approaching a research problem involving international, foreign and comparative law. Finally, there is information on keeping current on new information and resources as well as tips for how to do handle source collection and cite-checking an international law journal article. Additional teaching materials are available for this title, and include online links to research sources noted in the book:Appendix A: Comprehensive List of SourcesAppendix B: Websites Containing National LawAppendix C: Web Treaty CollectionsAppendix D: Planning Your Research and Organizational Tools
The Legal Research Survival Manual and Video Course by
This text and the accompanying videos provide a basic introduction to the mysteries of legal research, giving the new legal researcher the tools necessary for success. The title Legal Research Survival Manual is chosen with care. The work does not provide comprehensive coverage of legal materials, and is not designed to replace traditional legal texts. Instead, it is an easy-to-read introduction for students at the very start of their career. It is designed to be an approachable resource to launch them into the first year of law school or as a legal research refresher for those starting their first jobs or internships. The videos can be watched in conjunction with the book or separately. Video topics include: Structure of US Court System How Cases Came to be Published The Parts of a Judicial Opinion How to Read a Judicial Opinion Overview of the Online Systems Hints for Online Case Searching Citators and How They Can Save You Bluebook Citation and You Legislation--What You Need to Know Administrative Law and Legislative History Secondary Sources Research Strategy
Long's a Short and Happy Guide to Advanced Legal Research, 2d by
Legal research can be costly for students and practitioners in two ways: time and money. A Short & Happy Guide to Advanced Legal Research, 2nd identifies available free and fee-based legal research options as good, cheap and/or fast. This book compares free and fee-based legal research resources for each stage of civil litigation, including the initial case assessment; discovery and investigation resources to find information on judges, attorneys, experts, and companies; and resources to find pleadings, motions, and briefs for pretrial action. Although this book is designed for law students taking an Advanced Legal Research course with unlimited access to Bloomberg Law, Lexis+, and Westlaw Edge, it is also a valuable reference for anyone who graduated from law school prior to 2019, interested in learning about the new litigation analytics and artificial intelligence features.Ann Walsh Long is the Head of Research & Digital Collections/Associate Professor of Law at the Lincoln Memorial University School of Law and teaches Legal Research, Advanced Legal Research, and Competitive Intelligence. Ann also worked at the Environmental Protection Agency's Headquarters Library and in four "Big Law" firms. As a former law firm librarian, Ann taught hundreds of summer and new associates how to conduct cost-effective legal research, and advised firms on how best to recover those costs from clients. This book may also serve as a valuable reference when renegotiating your next legal research license and offers guidance on evaluating content to add to your flat-rate contract that will lead to a more cost-effective practice.
Principles of Legal Research by
Principles of Legal Research provides comprehensive yet concise coverage of research methods in both online and printed resources. It has been thoroughly updated to explain the latest features of the major legal research platforms as well as dozens of other free and subscription websites. In this expanded and reorganized edition, an introductory survey of research strategies is followed by discussion of major secondary sources, treatment of the sources of U.S. law created by each branch of government, chapters on specialized resources for litigation and transactional practice, and an overview of international and foreign law. Other new features include a deeper look at search algorithms and executive branch lawmaking. Sample illustrations are included throughout, and an appendix lists hundreds of major treatises and topical services by subject.
Sum and Substance Audio on Legal Research by
In this 3.25 hour audio lecture, Professor Robert C. Berring will lead you step-by-step through every topic in legal research. The information and ideas you struggled with previously are now brought to life simply and succinctly. These audio lectures are time saving, convenient and effective.
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