Bob Menanteaux, Information Services Librarian,
Seattle University Law Library

• What Are Secondary Sources?
• What Functions Do They Serve?
• What Do I Need to Know About Secondary Sources That Would Help Me Select the Best One for My Research?
• How Do I Get A List of the Best Sources to Use?
• How Can I Use Secondary Sources to Think Outside the Box?

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Resource List

Legal Encyclopedias

Using an encyclopedia is an easy way to get an overview of an area of law from a multi-jurisdictional perspective. Structured like a typical encyclopedia, legal encyclopedias are organized alphabetically by broad topic with a detailed subject index for access. The UW Law Library site (http://lib.law.washington.edu/ref/secondry.htm) has some good hints on using the indexes. To get the most out of this research tool, follow up on footnoted cases cited in relevant sections by exploiting the topic and key number analysis. To do this, pick out a case of interest from the encyclopedia and look it up using Westlaw or the regional reporter citation. Note the topic and key numbers which come closest to your personal research interest. Using the Washington Digest or the Washington cases on Westlaw, look up your topic and key number or do a topic key number search to see if Washington has treated a particular issue. The two major legal encyclopedias, Corpus Juris Secundum and American Jurisprudence, 2d, are national in scope and both cover federal and state issues. Each title also includes pocket part supplements and subject indexes. For those with access to online services you will find electronic equivalents on Westlaw (CJS or AMJUR) or Lexis (Am Jur only in the 2NDARY library, filename, AMJUR).

• UW Law Library Location: Reading Room KF154.A42
• Seattle University Law Library Location: Reference, Range 2B

• UW Law Library Location: Reading Room KF154.C562
• Seattle University Law Library Location: Reference, Range 2B

Using A.L.R. annotations (now in a 5^th edition) can save research time. The series editor begins by selecting a key case in a growing area of law and then writes an annotation. The resulting essay comments on the points of law raised in that case by exploring related decisions from all over the country. The footnotes, law review, and treatise references offer a good launching point for research. Don’t forget to look at the corollary references if the annotation you are examining is not exactly on point. The American Law Reports are available through Lexis (ALR;ALR) or Westlaw (ALR). You can manually search for information by using the ALR Index located at the end of the set.

• UW Law Library Location: Reference Stacks KF132.1.A45
• Seattle University Law Library Location: 3^rd floor, Ranges 3G and 3H

Law reviews and journals reflect the latest thinking on topical issues. Close to a thousand titles are published in the United States and both institutions receive almost all of them. To find articles on particular topics use either Current Law Index or Index to Legal Periodicals. Both titles offer indexes by author, title, subject, case, and statute. They are also available on Lexis or Westlaw.

• UW Law Library Location: Reading Room K33.I5
• Seattle University Law Library Location: Reference, Range 2B
• Lexis: LAWREV; ILP
• Westlaw: ILP

Current Law Index (also known online as Legal Resource Index)

• UW Law Library Location: Reading Room K33.C88
• Seattle University Law Library Location: Reference, Range 2B
• Lexis: LAWREV; LGLIND
• Westlaw: LRI

The Restatements have garnered a reputation as authoritative statements of the common law cited by practitioners, scholars, and judges alike as persuasive authority. They usually take the form of a blackletter rule followed by notes, comments and illustrations designed to show how the rules have been applied. Although the Restatements cover a narrow range of subjects, they can provide a good research approach for the topics they include regardless of jurisdiction. Utilizing the techniques discussed in the section on legal encyclopedias, supra, you can use the back door approach to discovering relevant cases. The Restatements are available on Westlaw or Lexis. To find the correct database use the word "restatement" (no quotes) and a key word from one of the titles given below. On Westlaw, search these words in the IDEN database to discover the correct database identifier. The same terms can also be used on Lexis by entering them in the source selection box. To locate the titles in paper, use the same terms (i.e., restatement and a title word) selecting the keyword search option on MARIAN (the UW Law Library system) or THEO at Seattle University Law Library.

The current Restatement topics are: Agency, Conflict of Laws, Contracts, Foreign Relations Law of the United States, Judgments, Law Governing Lawyers, Property (Landlord & Tenant, Donative Transfers, Wills and Other Donative Transfers, Mortgages, Servitudes), Restitution, Security, Suretyship and Guaranty, Torts (Apportionment of Liability, Liability for Physical Harm, Products Liability), Trusts (Prudent Investor Rule) and Unfair Competition.

Doyle, Francis R. Searching the Law, 2d. Edition.

• UW Law Library Location: Reference Office KF240.S43 1999
• Seattle University Law Library Location: Reference KF240.B265 1998

Doyle, Francis R. Searching the Law: The States, 3^rd. Edition.

• UW Law Library Location: Reference Office KF240.D69 2000
• Seattle University Law Library Location: Reference KF240.D69 2000

• UW Law Library Location: Reference Office KFW61.W37 2000
• Seattle University Law Library Location: Reference Desk KFW62.W47

(Check the catalog at either institution for additional locations)