Practice Materials & Secondary SourcesLauren M. CollinsReference LibrarianDuke University Law LibraryApril 3, 2007Research Refresher: Putting It All Together

Secondary AuthorityAll materials not considered primaryPersuasive authority only though some stronger than othersExplanations, summaries, citators

Why Secondary Resources?BackgroundResearch RoadmapAnalysis & CommentarySome place the legal topic in social, political, historical contextUnderstanding the application of a particular substantive legal topic

Legal TreatisesPublications on legal topics that give commentary and explanationsExamples

Williston on Contracts scholarsThe Elder Law Answer Book practitionersConstitutional Law in a Nutshell - students

Locate Using the Library Catalog http://catalog.library.duke.edu

When print versions are not available, publishers information will help you locate resources on Lexis or Westlaw

Hints for finding TreatisesWell known treatises are often known by author name, A keyword search rather than a title search may be necessary to locate these resources in the catalogNimmer on CopyrightWright and Miller, Federal Practice and ProcedureWilliston, A Treatise on the Law of ContractsSeveral Law School Libraries have lists of common scholarly treatises arranged by subject. Examples:~ Arizona State ~Harvard~ Pace~

Other CatalogsWorldCatArea ConsortiaMichiganBostonOhioNELLCOWashington, DCCalifornia

Legal Encyclopedias & Dictionaries Provide explanations of most legal topics with references to relevant primary resourcesGeneralAmerican Jurisprudence, 2d (Am. Jur. 2d)Corpus Juris Secundum (C.J.S.)Words and PhrasesBlacks Law DictionaryCornells Wex: http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/index.php/Main_Page

Legal EncyclopediasState SpecificStrongs North Carolina Index

Some other States also have versionsMichigan Law and Practice EncyclopediaTexas Jurisprudence 3dFlorida Jurisprudence, 2d (Fla. Jur. 2d)

A complete list can be found at:http://www.law.harvard.edu/library/services/research/guides/united_states/basics/alr_legal_encyclopedias.php

American Law Reports (ALR)Analyzes specific legal issues as addressed in selected cases and provides annotations - primary resources addressing those issues in state and federal jurisdictions.Made up of 1st through 6th and Federal series. Remember updating distinctions for ALR and ALR 2d.

Legal PeriodicalsLaw ReviewsScholarlyPeer reviewedHeavily footnotedCurrent trends and issuesLocationsHein including historical volumes & in PDFLexis & Westlaw added features but limited scopeFinding tools ILP & LegalTracLaw Reviews own website

You can search right in Hein

Legal PeriodicalsBar JournalsPracticalGeared toward litigation Few footnotes or referencesCurrent trends and issuesLocationsABA Microfilm set, ProQuestSome in Lexis & Westlaw w/scope limitationsFinding tools more in LegalTrac

Periodical Finding ToolsLegalTracIndex to Legal PeriodicalsIndex to Foreign Legal PeriodicalsProquest Current Issue Lists~ Jurist: http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/lawreviews/~ USC: http://law.usc.edu/library/resources/journals.cfm

Pros & Cons of LegalTracUses familiar Boolean SearchingBrowse Table of Contents of journalsLimited scope only covers through 1980 in most casesRarely full textNo aid with search terms like print resource will only search for the term you give it

Pros & Cons of ILPRetro fileBrowse/Thesaurus help with terminology Save functionGood help and directory componentsScope varies per publicationSomewhat complex flip side: its flexible

Legal NewsPractitioner InformationSettlement informationClassifiedsNewly Decided CasesEven some local court opinion informationOnlineJurist: http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/Law.com: http://www.law.com/ (from the publisher of several prominent legal newspapers)Lawyers Weekly: http://www.nclawyersweekly.com/Washington Post Courts Page: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/nation/courts/

Practitioner Materials Generally Associated with the State Bar or a local universityUsually state specificIntended audience: practitioners rather than as scholarly analysis of topicsCan be useful for locating primary materialsIn NC try Institute of Government http://www.sogpubs.unc.edu/ or NC Bar Foundation Association http://www.ncbar.org/foundation/publications/index.aspx

Looseleaf ServicesMulti-volume sets that bring together statutes, regulations, cases, administrative law, newsletters and analysis on issues in a single substantive area of law.ExamplesBNA EEOC Compliance ManualCCH Secured Transactions Guide

Looseleaf Services

Legal Looseleafs in Print KF1 .S7 2004 Reference Collection

Each Looseleaf Service has its own directions for use.References may be to sections, not pagesThere are usually multiple tables or indicesBe aware of transfer bindersCheck the front for alerts to new information

Restatements of the Lawhttp://www.ali.org

Written by the American Law Institute, these attempt to clarify and harmonize common law across jurisdictions on specific legal topics.Often treated as authority by courtsFind out their arrangement methodMay be by topic use the catalogMay be set aside in a Restatements collection

Selecting Online Secondary ResourcesGenerally ReliableGovernment resourcesLaw Library SitesCite maintained by the collector of the informationEg., Martindale-HubbellProfessional Associations

Selection CriteriaAccuracyCurrencyAuthorityObjectivityCoverage

Some Online Secondary Resources Legal Information Institute: http://www.law.cornell.eduZimmerman Research Guide: http://www.lexisnexis.com/infopro/zimmerman/LLRX: http://www.llrx.com

Free Low Cost Alternatives to Lexis & WestlawApril 5, 2007

Putting It All TogetherApril 9, 2007

Room 400012:15 1:15

Dessert & Drinks provided!Remaining Workshops