Introduction to Legal Information
Jason R. Sowards
Massey Law Library
April 25, 2010
Management 599c
Primary Authority
*The*
Law
(jurisdiction
determines
mandatory or
persuasive)
Legal
Information
Commentary
*about* the
Law
Secondary Authority
Judicial:
courts publish
case
law/judicial
opinions
State & Fed
courts
Precedent!
Legislative:
legislatures/
Congress publish
statutes
Encyclopedias,
articles,
treatises/books
(always
persuasive)
Executive:
administrative
agencies
publish
regulations
Top Resources for Legal Information
• Better question, “what do lawyers use when
conducting legal research?”
– For primary and secondary authority:
• Westlaw ($), LexisNexis($)
• Casemaker/Fastcase
• Free web (e.g., state legislature sites, Cornell LII, Google
Scholar for case law), and
• Books
– Specialized practices may make use of other resources
(e.g., CCH or RIA for tax)
– For current awareness, resources such as BNA provide
topical newsletters, blogs, journals (e.g., Fordham
Journal of Corporate & Financial Law)
Legal Literature
• The Law
– Cases
• TOP: Westlaw, LexisNexis, Casemaker/Fastcase; Google
Scholar, Court Web Sites (e.g., Delaware Chancery Court
Opinions)
– Statutes
• TOP: Same as cases; Others are state legislature web pages*
and Cornell’s LII (for United States Code)
– Regulations
• TOP federal: same as cases and statutes and FDSys (for both
Federal Register and CFR); for state, regulations online via a
search for “[state] administrative code” (usually maintained
by state SOS)
Legal Literature
• Commentary About the Law
– Types: treatises (books); legal periodicals,
encyclopedias, law-specific titles (ALR, Restatements)
– Mainly Westlaw and LexisNexis and books
• Published commercially, so not many free on the web
– Law review articles online from the journal itself, but
also look at SSRN and Google Scholar
– Online encyclopedias such as Wex and Zimmerman’s
Research Guide for cursory overview/context
Secondary Sources
• Legal Periodicals
– Different formats
• Law reviews, legal newspapers, bar journals
– *Big* journals are usually produced by law
schools: law reviews (scholarly focus)
• Edited by students = no peer review
– SSRN & bepress for early dissemination and
opportunities for peer review
MERGERS
• When a merger happens  legal issues?
– Litigation (case law = primary)
• Corporate Law = contracts = state law (Delaware)
– Statutory/regulatory compliance
• Statutes and regulations  primary authority
• Materials that tell you the legal requirements of conducting
a merger  secondary authority
– Commentary about the law
• Practical vs. Scholarly
– Drafting (transactional work)  secondary authority
(form books/model agreements)
– News/Current Awareness
Conducting Legal Research
• Advice law librarians give to law students:
START WITH SECONDARY SOURCES
• Why?
– They explain what the law is!
• Answers questions: federal/state, common law/statute
– They provide references to primary authority
– They can provide sample documents and checklists
– Example: A book on mergers and acquisitions would
provide references to the pertinent statutes,
regulations, and/or case law
• Good lawyering means using secondary sources!
Mergers: Sample Secondary Authority
• Anatomy of a
Merger
– Focus is on
negotiations, but
contains chapters on
issues relevant to
mergers from
beginning to end
QUESTIONS?