Secondary Sources
Advanced Legal Research
February 2, 2009
Secondary Sources: Introduction
Using secondary sources is a great way to start your research because they …
• Provide references to primary sources
• Offer explanations and analysis of governing legal doctrines
Secondary Sources: Intro. (cont’d)
More benefits to using secondary sources … they
• Aid you in practice with practical breakdowns of the law and helpful forms (e.g. motions, etc.)
• Help law students understand complex legal doctrine: Hornbooks, Nutshells, Examples & Explanations, etc.
Secondary Sources: Citation?
• As a general rule, you should not cite to secondary sources.
Secondary Sources – Citation?
• There are rare exceptions to this general rule: If the legal question is one of first impression or controversial, you may cite influential treatises, law review articles, the restatements, & hornbooks.
Secondary Sources
This lecture will cover the following secondary sources:
Online Research Guides Directories
American Law Reports (ALR)
Looseleafs
Periodicals Treatises
Encyclopedias Restatements
Form Books
Secondary Sources – Online Research Guides
Online research Guides, pathfinders, bibliographies are good places to start research because they show you the various sources you can explore to execute your research
Secondary Sources – Online Research Guides (cont’d)
• Available from many library web sites– Rutgers – Newark Law Library– Georgetown– Univ. of Minnesota
• Online Searches:– Cornell Law Library: Legal Research Engine– Google!: European Union Law
Secondary Sources – ALR
ALR contains articles called ‘annotations.’ These annotations are essays that collect summaries of cases from a variety of jurisdictions.
If you find an ALR annotation on your subject, your in luck because most of your research is already done.
Secondary Sources – ALR
• Availability:– Print: KF132 .A533 (1st floor, Foosaner Reading Gallery)
– Online: Westlaw
• Access Points – Print: Digest, Quick Index (on reserve), Multi-Volume Index
• Access Points – Electronic: Keyword searching
Secondary Sources – ALR
Click on ALR link on the main Westlaw Page
Secondary Sources -- ALR
Choose your terms …
Secondary Sources -- ALR
Yay! A result that looks relevant
Now, let’s look at all the helpful information that this annotation has …
Secondary Sources – Periodicals
Law review articles are a useful research tool not only in research papers, but also in practice, too.
Secondary Sources – Periodicals
Law review articles can be useful in obtaining an overview of an area of the law, finding references to primary & secondary authority, and developing ideas for analyzing a question of first impression or resolving a conflict in the law.
Secondary Sources – Periodicals
Accessing law review articles:• Keyword searching in Lexis & Westlaw• Citators: Key Cite & Shepard’s• HeinOnline• Index to Legal Periodicals• Current Index of Legal Periodicals• Google Scholar
Secondary Sources – Periodicals
Find print indexes in our library …
• FYI: Don’t forget about the online catalog
• Location: law library lobby
• Call numbers:– Index of Legal Periodicals: KF 8 .I5– Current Index to Legal Periodicals: KF 8 .C8
• Using print indexes: pointers
Secondary Sources – Encyclopedias
Legal encyclopedias provide a general overview of the law on a variety of topics. They are a good introductory source if you know little to nothing about an area of the law.
Secondary Sources – Encyclopedias
Encyclopedias can be general or cover a specific jurisdiction:
•General: AmJur, CJS, Words & Phrases
•Jurisdiction specific: – NYJur– Encyclopedia of New Jersey Causes of Action
• Only in print; Reserve KFN 2335 .A59 B3 2004
Secondary Sources -- Formbooks
• Formbooks exist to assist practitioners with completing basic transactions & court filings.
• The best formbooks also contain analysis & citations to primary authority.
Secondary Sources -- Formbooks
• General: West’s Legal Forms, American Jurisprudence Legal Forms 2d, American Jurisprudence Pleading & Practice Forms
• Jurisdiction/Topic Specific:– West’s Federal Forms– New Jersey Practice– New Jersey Transactions– Current Legal Forms with Tax Analysis
Secondary Sources – Looseleafs
• Traditionally, a looseleaf service is published in a binder and limited to a specific topic.
• Looseleafs contain a goldmine of information including cases, administrative decisions, analysis, and legal news.
• They are favorites of practitioners because they are so specialized.
Secondary Sources -- Looseleafs
• Often looseleafs are difficult to use, but once you get used to them, they are great ways to monitor a specific area of the law.
• Available in print & electronic form: Westlaw, Lexis, Stand-alone platforms (BNA & CCH) – Source: Labor Relations Reporter, KF
3319 .L32; BNA platform & Lexis
Secondary Sources – Directories
Most people think that the internet has made legal directories obsolete. I was one of those people, until I realized that sometimes it is easier to find information in a directory. Honestly.
Secondary Sources -- Directories
• There are directories of courts, state governments, administrative agencies, etc. – NJ Diary, NY Diary (on reserve at the
circulation desk)
• Some offer professional biographies.– Martindale-Hubbell
Secondary Sources -- Treatises
• Treatises provide in-depth treatment of a single subject such as contracts or constitutional law
• Often written by influential legal scholars; therefore, they are well respected
Secondary Sources – Treatises
• Access points: keyword searching or an index
• There are usually treatises in every major area of the law. Many are on Westlaw & Lexis
Secondary Sources – Treatises
• Examples:
– Williston on Contracts– Nimmer on Copyright– Collier on Bankruptcy– The list could go on & on and I’m sure you’re
sad that it doesn’t
Secondary Sources -- Restatements
• Restatements of the law summarize, in a concise manner, the common law rules on a subject (what the majority of JRDs say)
• Published by the American Law Institute (i.e., experts)
Secondary Sources -- Restatements
• They are available in print and on Westlaw & Lexis.
• Restatements have been published in the following fields:
Agency Conflict of Laws Contracts
Foreign Relations Judgments Law Governing Lawyers
Property Restitution Security
Suretyship & Guaranty Torts Trusts
Unfair Competition
Secondary Sources -- Restatements
• Access electronically: keyword searching
• Access in print:– Index or Table of Contents to find rule;
commentary is located after the rule– Can find cases by going to the appendix
volumes at the end of the set. The appendices are organized numerically by the Restatement numbers.
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