Though legal research can seem intimidating, there are a wide range of resources available to you both through the Library and freely available online. This guide will help you to identify some of the top resources for conducting research on legal topics.
If you are interested in learning more about copyright, trademarks, patents or other intellectual property topics, check out our Intellectual Property Research Guide.
Google Scholar can be a valuable resources when searching for court opinions, which are the written decisions of judges. To use this feature, select the Case Law radio button under the search bar in Google Scholar (see below for an example). If you know the court where the case was argued, you can narrow your results by jurisdiction, but this isn't required.
This video demonstrates how to use this tool to find U.S. legal cases.
Black's Law Dictionary is the standard source for legal definitions. It has been cited it countless court cases and brief. If you are new to legal terminology or are simply looking for a clear answer on how lawyers use a particular term, this is the best source for the job!
