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Check those secondary sources!
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If researching a Circuit Split--go through the headnotes of each case and figure out which ones are of interest.
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If addressing a statutory issue:
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Review the statute in an annotated code and look at the statute's outline
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as well as the Notes of Decisions (Westlaw) and Casenotes (Lexis) for topical breakdown
Sources to Consult
1. Shepardize/Keycite to find who is citing this resource
2. Browse legal newsletters and commentary such as:
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Westlaw Journals (formerly Andrews) This link opens in a new windowMonthly litigation journals covering a range of topics. Formerly "Andrews Reporters"
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Bloomberg Law News (formerly Bloomberg BNA Law Reports) This link opens in a new windowCollection of litigation reports that can be browsed by subject by click on the "Browse" icon on the top left corner of the page. Once on one of the reporter pages, look for the "subscribe to newsletter" link in the top right to subscribe and receive an email newsletter with new articles to stay up to date on this topic.
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Mealey's Litigation Reports This link opens in a new windowMonthly litigation reporters covering a variety of topics. Includes expert commentary, reproduces filings in major cases and provides other critical resources for staying up to date in these practice areas.
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Law360 Legal News By Date This link opens in a new windowAccessible via Lexis. Browse list of recent articles, using filters to limit by jurisdiction, subject, source, timeline (date), practice area, attorney, judge, keyword etc.
3. Review blog posts like those from:
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Law Professor Blogs Network This link opens in a new windowAlphabetical list of topics with hyperlinks to the blogs as well as the list of authors. Written primarily by law professors but also feature practitioner guest bloggers. Founded and published by a professor at Pepperdine Law.
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ABA Journal Blawg Directory by Topic This link opens in a new windowDirectory of more than 4500 legal blogs. Browse by Topic, Author Type, Region, Law School affiliation or Courts covered. NOTE: no new blog sites have been added to the list since 2019 but the existing blogs themselves are likely still current.
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Justia Blawg Directory This link opens in a new windowBrowse by practice area (over 70 types), by state or country, law school affiliation or click on the Most Popular Blawgs list to see a ranking of blogs.
4. Peruse legal newspaper articles like those found in:
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The Legal Intelligencer This link opens in a new windowOnline version of the daily Philadelphia legal newspaper. Offers columns on legal issues, case analysis, verdicts, legal notices and job postings. Current week's worth of issues available along with some archived columns from previous months. Also available on Lexis.
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Law.com Publications This link opens in a new windowLegal news site produced by American Lawyer Media. Access articles about the legal industry as well as specific practice areas including Corporate & Securities, Class Actions, Appellate practice, Labor & Employment and IP. Also features large list of industry rankings and surveys such as the Top 100 Law Firms, The National Law Journal's Top 500 Firms and the Summer Associates Survey. Offers Legal Terms & Definitions dictionary.
5. Run a preemption check to make sure not covered elsewhere (see Preemption Check box on this page)
6. Consult with an expert! What issues are expected to be important in the next year, two, five? What are practitioners watching for? (See Experts box on this page)
7. Checkout:
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Lexis Law Reviews and Journals This link opens in a new windowUse Lexis to find law review articles by searching directly for articles OR by Shepardizing a case or statute to find articles on that law.