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Write This Way - Resources for Writing & Research in the Middle of Law School

A guide for UMass Law students who may be preparing to complete their upper-level writing requirements or conduct legal research and writing at a legal job or internship.

The Legal Research Process

  1. Preliminary Analysis
    • Issue Spotting and Planning
  2. Consulting Secondary Sources
    • Finding resources which discuss, define, provide examples, or otherwise contextualize the law on a particular topic or process.
  3. Locating Primary Authority
    • Finding the actual law - Statutes, regulations, cases.
  4. Updating the Law
    • Checking to make sure the law you find was in-force at the time of the incident giving rise to a cause of action.

Finding Secondary Sources on Legal Databases

Sources of Articles for Academic Legal Writing

The best resource for researching legal periodicals, both old and new, in HeinOnline's Law Journal Library. The Law Journal Library is at the top of the list of sub-databases after you click on the below link. HeinOnline keeps the full history of each legal periodical, so you can find historical takes on important topics of law. HeinOnline is also host to the Current Index to Legal Periodicals (CILP), a regular publication which showcases new legal scholarship arranged by topic. 

Librarian

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Katelyn Golsby
Contact:
kgolsby@umassd.edu
Law Library
Room 102
333 Faunce Corner Road,
Dartmouth, MA 02747
508-910-9596
Subjects: Law