Legal Research Guides — Legal Periodicals
Legal periodicals contain articles on specific legal topics. Academic law reviews and journals, such as the Missouri Law Review, publish articles written by professors, practitioners, judges, and law students. The articles often provide detailed analysis of narrowly focused legal topics with extensive footnotes to primary authority (cases, statutes, regulations, etc.) and to influential secondary sources.
Law review articles are useful for obtaining background information about an unfamiliar topic, identifying primary authority, and crafting policy arguments on issues of first impression or legal reform. Law review articles (and treatises) usually carry more weight with courts than other types of secondary authority such as legal encyclopedias and practice materials.
Articles in bar association journals and legal newspapers are shorter than law review articles and often less theoretical. They typically explain how to accomplish a specific lawyering task or summarize new developments in a practice area. Legal newspapers such as the National Law Journal and Missouri Lawyers' Weekly report on court decisions and other newsworthy legal events.
Legal Periodical Indexes
- Legal Trac indexes articles from 1980 - current. Use this database to find citations to articles in all major law reviews, law journals, specialty law and bar association journals and legal newspapers.
- Legal Resource Index, similar to Legal Trac, is available on Westlaw's (LRI database) and on Lexis. (Access is restricted by license to law school faculty and currently enrolled law students.)
- Index to Legal Periodicals and Current Law Index index legal periodicals primarily by author and subject. These sets consist of bound volumes and pamphlets covering the current year. They are shelved on the second floor in Range 201A, on the left when exiting the elevator.
Legal Periodical Full-Text Collections
- The law review print collection is shelved on the second floor with the print periodical indexes. Titles are arranged alphabetically. Recent unbound issues are shelved next to the bound volumes. Most titles are complete sets. (Foreign periodicals are on the sub-plaza.)
- Selected bar journals and legal newspapers are available in microfiche collections on the second floor.
- Lexis and Westlaw contain extensive full-text databases of law review articles dating back to approximately 1980.
- Hein Online, a new full-text database, features a growing collection of pre-1980 law review articles from most major law schools, including a complete run of the Missouri Law Review.
Legal Periodical FAQ
Where can I find an article published after 1980, when I have the full citation, e.g., Clark Byse, "Introductory Comments to the First-Year Class in Contracts," 78 Boston U. L. Rev. 59 (1998)?
- Print: The bound volume is shelved on the second floor alphabetically with the law reviews. Photocopy cards may be purchased at the circulation desk; photocopiers are on the first and second floors.
- Lexis: Use Lexis' "Get a Document" feature to search for 78 bu l rev 59.
- Westlaw: Use Westlaw's "Find" feature to search for 78 bu l rev. 59.
The law review volume I need is off the shelf. Can I find a pre-1980 article online?
Check Hein Online. For off-site access, MU currently enrolled students may search Hein Online at: http://mulibraries.missouri.edu/refservices/db/main.asp.
How do I find articles on a specific subject?
Legal Trac is the best option for first year law students. When researching in the law library, use: http://law.missouri.edu/library/resources.
Currently enrolled MU students may access Legal Trac offsite from: http://mulibraries.missouri.edu/refservices/db/main.asp.
The citations I pulled up on Legal Trac include cites to law reviews, bar journals and legal newspapers. Which are most important?
For most law school research projects, law reviews are best. They will also be the most readily available sources. If you need a state bar journal article or legal newspaper article, check with a reference librarian for availability.
