Want to practice your legal research skills and learn some new ones? How about getting a certification to add to your resume? If you answered yes, consider Lexis Legal Research Certification. The certification is an excellent way to prove you can perform online legal research efficiently and effectively to potential employers. There are two parts to the certification: Proficiency Certification to reinforce the research lessons learned in your law school research and writing class, and Practice-Ready Certification to learn the practical research skills attorneys use every day in the practi ..read more

Looking for more resources for your paper outside of Westlaw and Lexis? We subscribe to a number of law databases in addition to Westlaw and Lexis, Popular databases for legal researchers include HeinOnline (very good for older materials not covered by Westlaw and Lexis), and ProQuest Congressional (for compiled legislative histories). The main library has even more databases that may prove helpful to your research. Share ..read more

If you need help with a paper, or other research project, the law library offers scheduled Research Consultations. Let us know what you have already completed and what areas you need help with, and a librarian will assist with finding resources and information. Most research consultations are approximately 30 minutes in length, depending on need. The library also has several research guides designed to assist you in starting your research: Scholarly Writing, Finding Articles in Law Reviews and Journals, Bluebooking and Legal Writing Software, Research Databas ..read more

Looking for information on Ohio Local Government Law? Look no further! Visit the Law Library’s Ohio Local Government Law Resource Guide for resources you can use to find legal materials produced by the Ohio government.  The guide includes information about Ohio’s forms of government, ordinances and resolutions, cases and administrative decisions and websites, databases and journals. If you need any assistance, don’t hesitate to reach out to a librarian at research.services@law.csuohio.edu ..read more

Secondary Sources can be incredibly helpful in legal research. These sources are typically used to help you, the researcher, with interpretation or analysis of primary sources. Secondary sources include things like legal dictionaries, law reviews, treatises, and restatements.  If you are looking for a secondary source for any Ohio related research, check out the Law Library’s Ohio Secondary Sources Legal Research Guide. The guide will show you how to find and use secondary sources, practice materials, law review articles, and much more ..read more

Students often access Lexis or Westlaw when beginning a research project. While these databases may be useful, widening the net in the search for information for your paper or project may be helpful. When unsure about where to seek a particular type of information, think first of the law library’s Research Guides, which are subject-specific finding aids for locating resources on a topic. There is a direct link to the guides from the law library’s homepage. The research guides also contain information on databases specific to the topic that may be of use to the researcher. The da ..read more

Black’s Law Dictionary, founded by Henry Campbell Black, is the preeminent law dictionary in the United States. The first edition of Black’s was published in 1891. Up to the 6th edition, Black’s gave case citations for the term cited. The 8th edition introduced a unique system of perpetually updated case citations and cross-references to legal encyclopedias. We are currently in the 11th edition.  To find current or past editions of Black’s, consult the Law Library’s catalog. You can also access Black’s on Westlaw ..read more

Many law students go directly to Lexis, or Westlaw when beginning a research project. While these databases may be useful, widening the net in the search for information for your paper or project may be helpful. When unsure about where to seek a particular type of information, think first of the law library’s Research Guides, which are subject-specific finding aids for locating resources on a topic. There is a direct link to the guides from the law library’s homepage. The research guides also contain information on databases specific to the topic that may be of use to the resear ..read more

You will find citation information for Ohio statutes in Table 1 of the Bluebook. This table covers all U.S. jurisdictions; for more in-depth treatment of statute citations in general, have a look at Bluebook Rule 12. Here’s an example of how to cite to Ohio’s illegal bingo statute: Ohio Rev. Code Ann. §2915.07 (LexisNexis 2021) or Ohio Rev. Code Ann. §2915.07 (West 2021) Why two examples? Because Ohio has two versions of its statutes – one called Page’s Ohio Revised Code Annotated published by LexisNexis and the other called Baldwin’s Ohio Revised Code Annotated published by West. It figures t ..read more

The Legal History and Rare Books Special Interest Section (LHRB) of the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL), in cooperation with Gale, a Cengage Company, is conducting its annual Morris L. Cohen Student Essay Competition.  Full- and part-time students currently enrolled in accredited graduate programs in law, history, library science, or related fields are eligible to enter.  Essays may be on any topic related to legal history, rare law books, or legal archives.  Criteria on which papers will be judged include originality of topic or approach, quality and depth of resea ..read more