Research Guides
- Using the Law Library: A Guide for Educators - Part I: Untangling the Legal SystemArticle by librarian William Hilyerd providing a guide to understanding the American legal system & finding key materials.
Basic Legal Research by Call Number: KF240.S585 2018ISBN: 1454894016Publication Date: 2018Shelf range: Reserve Section
Clear, step-by-step instruction in the basics of legal research.- Federal Legal Research byCall Number: KF240 .F48 2015ISBN: 9781611637137Publication Date: 2015Explains how to conduct research of the U.S. Constitution, federal cases, statutes, administrative regulations, and secondary sources.
- Specialized Legal Research byCall Number: KF240.S684 1987ISBN: 0316136255Covers legal research in nine specialized substantive areas: Securities Regulation, UCC, income tax, copyright, labor, environmental and land use, admiralty and maritime, immigration, and military law.
Secondary Sources
Secondary resources are an excellent place to start when researching an unfamiliar topic, or when your research question is not specific enough to make searching primary legal sources efficient. Many legal treatises, encyclopedias, journals, and law reviews are available electronically in the resources highlighted above.
- LLSDC's Legislative Source BookThe Law Librarians' Society of Washington, DC provides a series of thorough guides to researching various aspects of Federal law, including Congressional records, regulations, and statutes.
General Electronic Resources
- Hein OnlineFull text of primary and secondary sources of federal law. Especially useful for historical research.
- Nexis UniSearch for federal case law.
- ProQuest CongressionalCongressional reports and hearings; federal legislative histories; and Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports.
- Bloomberg LawLaw students & faculty only. See also: library guide to Bloomberg.
- Lexis+Law students & faculty only. See also: library guide to Lexis.
- Westlaw PrecisionLaw students & faculty only. See also: library guide to Westlaw.