Law Library Research Guide:
Scholarly Writing
Law Library Guides
- Business Law
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- Journal Databases
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- Newspapers, Magazines, and Other News Sources
- Scholarly Writing
- Virginia Legal Materials
Finding a Topic | Preemption Checks | Spading | Research Help | Writing Help
Finding a Topic
BNA Databases
BNA publications provide in-depth news and analysis of current events along with applicable statutes, administrative regulations, decisions, and cases in a variety of legal subject areas including business law, criminal law, environmental law, labor law, and intellectual property. Excellent for current awareness of legal developments and finding a topic for a student note.
Social Sciences Research Network (SSRN)
Abstracts and full-text scholarly working papers in law, economics, and other fields. Papers are published here before submission to academic journals.
Congressional Quarterly Publications
CQ Researcher offers in-depth analysis of major issues in the news. CQ Weekly covers Congressional news and both provide background on public policy issues.
Split Circuits – A blog dedicated to tracking developments concerning splits among the federal circuit courts.
ACS ResearchLink – Hosted by the American Constitution Society for Law and Public Policy, this website fosters collaboration between practitioners and law students by providing a bank of legal research topics. The resulting papers are sent to the practitioner who proposed the topic and posted on the ResearchLink database.
Out of the Jungle – Thoughts on the present and future of legal information, legal research, and legal education, written by law librarians. Very nice checklist for writing articles in the post on “Law Review Writing Time” ( August 13, 2006)
ZiefBrief – Research tip blog from the University of San Francisco Law Library. Links to sources for topic ideas in the post on “Summer Reading – Finding Paper & Law Review Topics” (April 28, 2006)
Legal Scholarship Blog - This is a good source for what's hot in the legal field. It collects law-related calls for papers, conferences, and workshops.
Heather Meeker, Stalking the Golden Topic: A Guide to Locating and Selecting Topics for Legal Research Papers, 1996 Utah L. Rev. 917. Available from HeinOnline, LexisNexis & Westlaw.
Richard Delgado, How to Write a Law Review Article, 20 U .San Francisco. L. Rev. 445 (1986). Available from HeinOnline.
Preemption Checks
Lexis and Westlaw – Note that coverage on Lexis & Westlaw generally begins around 1980. Many law reviews are not included at all, and others have only selected coverage. Do not rely solely on Lexis/Westlaw for your preemption check!
Index to Legal Periodicals - Searchable index of articles going back to 1908. ILP is a much more comprehensive tool for locating law reviews. Selected full text is available; once you’ve identified a citation, use HeinOnline, JSTOR, or the print journal collection (3 rd floor) to retrieve a copy.
Other Periodical Indices – Indexes for periodicals covering many other areas of scholarship are available at the main Mason library.
WorldCat – A database containing library holdings all over the world. Do a subject and keyword search to determine whether a book has a section or chapter devoted to your topic.
Cases – Particularly if one of your cases has been appealed, update it regularly using Shepard’s or KeyCite to track the latest developments.
Spading
Identifying a Citation
Use Bieber's Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations. Copies are available at the Circulation Desk, in the Reference area (KF246.B46 2001), and on Lexis.
Consult World Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations (Reference collection, K89.K38) if your cite is not listed in Bieber’s.
Locating Books
Start with the GMU Catalog. We share this with the main campus library. If your book is located at another campus, request it using either
If GMU does not own your book, try to borrow it from another area university library using the Consortium Loan Service (CLS).
Both ICL and CLS loans are sent to the Arlington Campus Library (located across the parking lot in the old brick building). Turnaround time is normally 2-3 days.
If your book is not available through at GMU or through the CLS, try WorldCat, a combined catalog of libraries all over the world. Many books are available at the Library of Congress or other local law libraries. See the Reference Librarian about borrowing it via InterLibrary Loan (ILL). ILLs can take up to 2 weeks, so plan ahead when possible.
Please note, it may be faster for you to visit another library yourself. See below for details on visiting other law libraries in the region.
Locating Articles
Check the GMU E-Journal Finder to locate electronic copies of journals. Coverage varies widely. Some journals are available in full text .PDF files, others are not. Follow the link out to the database noted (HeinOnline, JSTOR, etc.).
Many journals are available only in print. Check the GMU catalog for print copies. You can borrow print copies of journals using the ICL and CLS services explained above under Locating Books.
If you are unable to locate a usable copy, contact the Reference Librarian about obtaining a copy via InterLibrary Loan. ILL for articles is usually fast because lending libraries normally photocopy and fax the article.
Databases
Many legal materials are not available on either Lexis or Westlaw, so the Law Library subscribes to many other subscription databases. To access these, start at the Law Library’s database page. For off-campus access, you will be prompted for your GMU email address and password.
HeinOnline: Excellent resource for law review articles, including extensive historical coverage that pre-dates Lexis and Westlaw. Also has treaties and international agreements, and the Federal Register. Provides links to .PDFs of the original articles.
JSTOR: Full-text resource for scholarly journals, including law reviews.
Congressional LexisNexis: Contains Congressional publications including bills, hearings, committee reports, and much more.
SSRN: The Social Science Research Network (SSRN) provides rapid access to working papers in social science research, including law.
In addition, the GMU University Libraries subscribe to hundreds of databases on a wide variety of topics, including Economics, History, and Public Affairs.
Most local undergraduate academic libraries are NOT open to the public. Academic and other law libraries have restricted access:
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obtain a Reader ID Card from LC’s visitor office; closed stacks, book retrieval can take up to 2 hours |
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must show GMUSL ID |
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must show GMUSL ID and a letter from GMUSL Reference Librarian |
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open except during exams; must show GMUSL ID |
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open except during exams; must show GMUSL ID |
Research Help
The reference librarians have extensive experience in legal, business, and general research. We each have a J.D. and a Masters in Library Science. Please call (703-993-8076 or 703-993-8111), email, or stop by with questions (First Floor Library, Room 141). We can save you a lot of time.
For more information on specific research topics such as Intellectual Property, Foreign and International Law, and Legislative History, consult the GMU Law Library Research Guides.
Writing Help
Elizabeth Fajans. Scholarly Writing for Law Students: Seminar Papers, Law Review Notes, and Law Review Competition Papers. Law Library – Reference 1st Floor, KF250.F35 2005
Eugene Volokh, Academic Legal Writing: Law Review Articles, Student Notes, and Seminar Papers. Law Library - Third Floor, KF250 .V6 2003