Introduction to Legal Information Jason R. Sowards Massey Law Library April 25, 2010 Management 599c

Legal Information *The* Law (jurisdiction determines mandatory or persuasive) Judicial: courts publish case law/judicial opinions State & Fed courts Precedent! Legislative: legislatures/ Congress publish statutes Executive: administrative agencies publish regulations Commentary *about* the Law Encyclopedias, articles, treatises/books (always persuasive) Primary Authority Secondary Authority

Top Resources for Legal Information Better question, “what do lawyers use when conducting legal research?” – For primary and secondary authority: Westlaw ($), LexisNexis($) Casemaker/Fastcase Free web (e.g., state legislature sites, Cornell LII, Google Scholar for case law), and Books – Specialized practices may make use of other resources (e.g., CCH or RIA for tax) – For current awareness, resources such as BNA provide topical newsletters, blogs, journals (e.g., Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law)

Legal Literature The Law – Cases TOP: Westlaw, LexisNexis, Casemaker/Fastcase; Google Scholar, Court Web Sites (e.g., Delaware Chancery Court Opinions)Google ScholarDelaware Chancery Court Opinions – Statutes TOP: Same as cases; Others are state legislature web pages* and Cornell’s LII (for United States Code)state legislature web pagesCornell’s LII – Regulations TOP federal: same as cases and statutes and FDSys (for both Federal Register and CFR); for state, regulations online via a search for “[state] administrative code” (usually maintained by state SOS)FDSys[state] administrative code

Legal Literature Commentary About the Law – Types: treatises (books); legal periodicals, encyclopedias, law-specific titles (ALR, Restatements) – Mainly Westlaw and LexisNexis and books Published commercially, so not many free on the web – Law review articles online from the journal itself, but also look at SSRN and Google Scholarthe journal itselfSSRNGoogle Scholar – Online encyclopedias such as Wex and Zimmerman’s Research Guide for cursory overview/contextWexZimmerman’s Research Guide

Secondary Sources Legal Periodicals – Different formats Law reviews, legal newspapers, bar journals – *Big* journals are usually produced by law schools: law reviews (scholarly focus) Edited by students = no peer review – SSRN & bepress for early dissemination and opportunities for peer review

MERGERS When a merger happens  legal issues? – Litigation (case law = primary) Corporate Law = contracts = state law (Delaware) – Statutory/regulatory compliance Statutes and regulations  primary authority Materials that tell you the legal requirements of conducting a merger  secondary authority – Commentary about the law Practical vs. Scholarly – Drafting (transactional work)  secondary authority (form books/model agreements) – News/Current Awareness

Conducting Legal Research Advice law librarians give to law students: START WITH SECONDARY SOURCES Why? – They explain what the law is! Answers questions: federal/state, common law/statute – They provide references to primary authority – They can provide sample documents and checklists – Example: A book on mergers and acquisitions would provide references to the pertinent statutes, regulations, and/or case law Good lawyering means using secondary sources!

Mergers: Sample Secondary Authority Anatomy of a Merger – Focus is on negotiations, but contains chapters on issues relevant to mergers from beginning to end

QUESTIONS?