🧑🏾‍💼Advanced Legal Research Unit 4 – Advanced Secondary Legal Sources

What Are Secondary Legal Sources?

• Provide analysis, commentary, and interpretation of primary legal sources (statutes, cases, regulations)
• Created by legal scholars, practitioners, and other experts in the field
• Offer insights into legal principles, theories, and arguments
• Help researchers understand complex legal issues and concepts
• Serve as a starting point for legal research by providing background information and context
• Include treatises, law review articles, legal encyclopedias, and practice guides
• Not considered authoritative or binding like primary sources but can be persuasive

Types of Advanced Secondary Sources

• Treatises
  • Comprehensive, in-depth analysis of a specific area of law
  • Often cited by courts and considered highly persuasive
  • Examples include Nimmer on Copyright and Prosser and Keeton on Torts
• Law review articles
  • Scholarly articles written by law professors, students, and practitioners
  • Provide critical analysis and commentary on legal issues and developments
  • Often focus on narrow, specialized topics within a broader legal field
• Legal encyclopedias
  • Provide broad overviews of legal topics and concepts
  • Organized alphabetically by topic for easy reference
  • Examples include American Jurisprudence (Am. Jur.) and Corpus Juris Secundum (C.J.S.)
• Practice guides
  • Offer practical guidance and tips for attorneys handling specific types of cases or legal issues
  • Often include sample forms, checklists, and step-by-step instructions
• Restatements of the Law
  • Summarize and clarify common law principles in various legal fields
  • Published by the American Law Institute (ALI)
  • Highly influential and often cited by courts
• Looseleaf services
  • Provide up-to-date information on rapidly changing areas of law (tax, labor, securities)
  • Regularly updated with new pages or supplements

Finding and Accessing Advanced Secondary Sources

• Use library catalogs to search for treatises, practice guides, and other print resources
  • Search by title, author, subject, or keyword
  • Consult with reference librarians for assistance
• Access law review articles through legal databases (Westlaw, LexisNexis, HeinOnline)
  • Search by title, author, subject, or keyword
  • Use advanced search features to narrow results by date, jurisdiction, or publication
• Utilize free online resources (Google Scholar, SSRN, Bepress)
  • Search for articles, working papers, and other scholarly works
  • May not have full-text access to all materials
• Consult subject-specific research guides created by law libraries
  • Provide curated lists of recommended sources for particular legal topics
  • Often include links to online resources and database search tips
• Explore legal blogs and podcasts for current awareness and analysis
  • Written by legal experts and practitioners
  • Offer insights into emerging issues and trends

Evaluating Secondary Source Reliability

• Consider the author's expertise and reputation in the field
  • Look for credentials, affiliations, and prior publications
  • Check for citations to the author's work in other sources
• Assess the publisher's reputation and editorial process
  • Reputable publishers (West, LexisNexis, university presses) have rigorous editorial standards
  • Be cautious of self-published or unverified sources
• Evaluate the currency and scope of the information
  • Check the publication date and any updates or supplements
  • Consider whether the source covers the relevant jurisdiction and time period
• Examine the depth and quality of the analysis
  • Look for well-reasoned arguments supported by primary sources
  • Be wary of sources that make unsupported assertions or rely heavily on anecdotal evidence
• Verify the accuracy of citations and references
  • Spot-check key citations to ensure they support the author's claims
  • Look for citations to reputable primary and secondary sources
• Consider the intended audience and purpose of the source
  • Scholarly articles and treatises aim to inform and persuade legal professionals
  • Practice guides and blogs may have a more practical focus

Using Secondary Sources in Legal Research

• Start with secondary sources to gain an overview of a legal topic or issue
  • Use treatises, encyclopedias, and practice guides to understand key concepts and terminology
  • Identify relevant primary sources and leading cases
• Use secondary sources to develop legal arguments and theories
  • Analyze scholarly articles to understand different perspectives on an issue
  • Look for persuasive reasoning and policy arguments to support your position
• Cite secondary sources to provide persuasive authority and demonstrate the credibility of your arguments
  • Use Restatements and well-regarded treatises to show the prevailing view on an issue
  • Cite law review articles to demonstrate scholarly support for your position
• Use secondary sources to update and expand your research
  • Check for new editions or supplements to treatises and practice guides
  • Search for recent law review articles and blog posts on emerging issues
• Be mindful of the limitations of secondary sources
  • Remember that secondary sources are not binding authority
  • Always verify the accuracy and currency of the information

Citing Advanced Secondary Sources

• Follow the citation style required by your jurisdiction or the specific legal document
  • Common citation styles include Bluebook, ALWD, and state-specific formats
  • Consult the appropriate style manual or guide for detailed rules and examples
• Cite treatises by author, title, edition, and section or page number
  • Example: 2 Nimmer on Copyright § 8.01 (2021)
• Cite law review articles by author, title, journal name, volume, page number, and year
  • Example: Jane Smith, The Future of Copyright Law, 78 Harv. L. Rev. 101 (2022)
• Cite legal encyclopedias by title, edition, and section number
  • Example: 17 Am. Jur. 2d Contracts § 25 (2021)
• Cite Restatements by title, section number, and year
  • Example: Restatement (Second) of Torts § 402A (1965)
• Include pinpoint citations when referring to specific passages or arguments
  • Use parentheticals to provide additional context or explanation
• Be consistent in your citation format throughout the document
  • Double-check citations for accuracy and completeness

Practical Applications in Legal Practice

• Use treatises and practice guides to prepare for client meetings and court appearances
  • Gain a deep understanding of the relevant legal principles and arguments
  • Identify key cases and statutes to support your position
• Cite law review articles and Restatements in legal briefs and memoranda
  • Demonstrate the scholarly support for your arguments
  • Provide persuasive authority to bolster your position
• Consult legal encyclopedias and ALR annotations to quickly find relevant cases and statutes
  • Use as a starting point for further research
  • Identify jurisdictional variations and majority/minority views
• Stay current on legal developments by reading law blogs and journals
  • Follow blogs written by experts in your practice area
  • Subscribe to relevant law journals and review articles
• Use secondary sources to prepare CLE presentations and client newsletters
  • Provide clear, concise explanations of complex legal topics
  • Offer practical tips and insights based on scholarly analysis
• Collaborate with law librarians to identify the most relevant and reliable secondary sources
  • Seek guidance on search strategies and database selection
  • Request assistance with locating hard-to-find or specialized resources

Key Takeaways and Research Tips

• Secondary sources are essential tools for legal research and analysis
  • Provide background information, context, and persuasive arguments
  • Help researchers understand complex legal issues and concepts
• Choose the most appropriate type of secondary source for your research needs
  • Use treatises and practice guides for in-depth analysis and practical guidance
  • Consult law review articles for scholarly perspectives and cutting-edge legal theories
• Evaluate the reliability and authority of secondary sources
  • Consider the author's expertise, publisher's reputation, and currency of the information
  • Verify the accuracy of citations and supporting primary sources
• Use secondary sources strategically in your legal writing and practice
  • Cite well-regarded treatises and Restatements to provide persuasive authority
  • Incorporate insights from law review articles to strengthen your arguments
• Stay current on legal developments by regularly consulting secondary sources
  • Read law blogs and journals to stay informed about emerging issues and trends
  • Update your research with the latest editions and supplements of key resources
• Collaborate with law librarians and other legal professionals to maximize your research efficiency
  • Seek guidance on search strategies, database selection, and resource recommendations
  • Share insights and analysis with colleagues to deepen your understanding of complex legal issues