Research & Citation Guides: Law/Legal Research Resources: Home

What is This?

This subject guide links to resources for legal research. Students in a particular course should look for a guide specifically for that course, e.g., Political Science 418, "Legal Research & Writing."

Note (2018): This guide is under revision and most of its pages are currently not visible.

Legal Reference Sources

Dictionaries

For legal abbreviations use Bieber's Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations, searchable via LexisNexis Academic - Also available at Andersen Library's 2nd-floor Reference Desk

(Highly Recommended:) Black's Law Dictionary, searchable via Westlaw: Click Secondary Sources, then look in upper right corner. Also available in Andersen Library's 2nd-floor Reference Collection.
Ballentine's Law Dictionary, 3rd ed., 1969 (and a couple other legal dictionaries), searchable via Nexis Uni: Click "A Publication" on the database main search page, then start typing the title into the "Find Publication" box and select it from the list that appears. Also available in Andersen Library's 3rd-floor Main Collection.
A Dictionary of Law (Oxford Reference Online) - terminology related to English law
Duhaime's Law Dictionary
FindLaw Legal Dictionary
Nolo's Free Dictionary of Law Terms and Legal Definitions (Nolo.com)
Oxford Companion to American Law (Oxford Reference Online)
Wex (LII, Legal Information Institute, Cornell University)

Legal Encyclopedias

American Jurisprudence 2d
- In Nexis Uni
- In Westlaw: Click "Secondary Sources," then look on the left.
Corpus Juris Secundum
- In print: Andersen Library's 2nd-floor Law Collection, KF65 .M3)
- Westlaw Patron Access: Start typing Corpus in the search box, or, click "Secondary Sources," then "Texts & Treatises" and look in the second column of sources. Note: This access is limited to one user at a time, and it is a trial for 2017/2018. Be sure to sign off when done in the upper right corner.