Topical and Current Awareness

This page suggests resources you might consider in developing research topics for legal scholarly writings such as notes, comments, seminar papers, or senior research.

People
Scholarly Community Resources
Web-Based Resources
Legal News
Indexes
Lexis and Westlaw Topical Services
Congressional Developments
Current Awareness Sources for International Law

People

One of the best ways to discover uncharted territory is to consult with a professor who is already familiar with the area. Faculty members can often give you a sense of whether a topic area is well-developed or comparatively unresearched. They may be able to provide suggestions as to particular scholars whose works could be helpful to your research. They might even have a few ideas for research projects that they think have potential but that they themselves have decided not to pursue.

Before you approach a professor, however, we recommend that you do your homework. Establish some familiarity with the principal cases or statutes in your area of interest. Identify generally or specifically what questions look particularly promising to you. Read some of the most recent articles on the general subject. Do not expect the professor to give you something for nothing.

Scholarly Community Resources

SSRN, The Social Science Research Network
SSRN allows scholars in various fields to post articles prior to formal publication, as a means to get their ideas before their colleagues and receive feedback. The Legal Scholarship Network portion of the site provides an advance look at the research of legal scholars.
bepress, The Berkeley Electronic Press
Like SSRN, bepress provides preprints of scholarly articles prior to their appearance in conventional journals. This site features multiple working papers series, and a particular portion is devoted to law, including the Northwestern Law Working Paper Series.

Web-Based Resources

Jurist, University of Pittsburgh School of Law. A comprehensive site dedicated to the academic legal community. Includes a variety of sections, one devoted to legal scholarship and another to legal news.
Findlaw. Good lists of legal organizations dedicated to particular types of issues. The general Findlaw homepage is also a good jumping off point for current awareness.
Political Science Resources --Think Tanks. University of Michigan. List of think tanks and research institutes.
To locate working papers or so-called white papers in a variety of fields (including law) try Google Scholar (regular Google will work too, but will return more false positives). Be sure to read the "Advanced Search" options. This particular Google service is a work in progress and does not substitute for sources such as SSRN and bepress.

Legal News

U.S. Law Week

BNA United States Law Week. Also on Reserve (R, REF KF 101.1 U5). (Also available on Lexis (USLW) and Westlaw (BNA-USLW) but the interface is better on the BNA site.U.S. Law Week has the following print components (mirrored in the online version)

General Law

Search page allows searching across issues. To see the most recent breakdown of circuit splits, search circuit splits in the heading of the document.
Topical news (usually other than decisions) of interest to attorneys, e.g., legislative action
Case Alert: Summary and analysis of significant court opinions (weekly) arranged by topic and indexed, e.g., Civil Rights of "Disabled Persons".

Supreme Court

Court information including docket, orders, and opinions. Also includes a spectacular end of term statistical analysis of the voting patterns of the Justices (many papers have been written based on this type of information).

Legal Looseleafs in Print. In Reference Room (R, REF KF 1 L437 2007)

Legal looseleaf services are one of the best ways for lawyers to stay current on recent developments in rapidly changing areas of the law. Most looseleaf services deal with legal areas subject to governmental regulation and include "newsletters" that provide weekly updates in developments in particular areas of the law. Examples include BNA Environment ReporterCurrent Developments, TRS (Rubloff 3rd floor) (KF 3775 .A6E45); CCH Standard Federal Tax Reporter, TRS (Rubloff 3rd floor) (KF 6285 .S7); and CCH Labor Law Reports, TRS (Rubloff 3rd floor) (KF 3315 .L33). Legal Looseleafs in Print identifies looseleafs currently being published by subject area; to find out if the library has a particular looseleaf service, check NUcat, the online catalog.

Legal Newsletters in Print. In Reference Room (R, REF KF 1 .L44 2003)

Legal newsletters can be even more current than legal looseleaf services. Because most newsletters are published for practitioners who need the latest information their cost is high and the library subscribes to very few. Nonetheless, these can be valuable resources in helping you locate sources that may let you further develop your research. A number of these newsletters are available on Westlaw and Lexis.

Recent transcripts

Recent transcripts to National Public Radio (NPR), Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), American Broadcasting Company (ABC) Nightline, and Cable News Network (CNN) broadcasts can be found on each organization's web site as well as on Lexis and Westlaw. Use the organization web site to find recent materials; Lexis and Westlaw may be better in some instances in locating older materials.

National and local legal newspapers and magazines

American Lawyer (monthly; current issues on Reserve; earlier issues in PER and on microfilm. Also available on Westlaw AMLAW).
National Law Journal (weekly; current issues on Reserve; earlier issues in PER and on microfilm. Also available on Lexis NTLAWJ; and Westlaw NLJ ). NLJ identifies trends and recent developments. Section on court decisions chooses important cases and circuit splits.
Chicago Daily Law Bulletin (daily; in PER and on microfilm. Also available on Lexis: CHIDLB; and Westlaw CHIDLB)
ABA Journal (monthly; PER. Also available on Lexis: ABAJNL; and Westlaw ABAJ or try the ABA Journal E-Report ABAJEREP)

Indexes

You should check that your selected topic has not been preempted by using the following periodical indexes (note, access is easiest from on campus)

Current Index to Legal Periodicals (CILP) From the University of Washington Law Library: Provides access to the contents of over 500 legal periodicals received by the University of Washington. Provides subject arrangement and arrangement by journal table of contents (for those who like to skim journals).
Legal Trac indexes 1,000 legal and law related journals from 1980 to current.
Index to Legal Periodicals and Books Current and retrospective back to beginning of 20th century.
Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals Indexes articles published in law journals outside the United States in English and other languages.
PAIS International (Public Affairs Information Service, Inc.) Indexes public affairs literature.

Lexis and Westlaw Topical Services

Westlaw Newslink:Westlaw lists current national news, and also provides links to topical highlights which provide recent decisions in many different areas of law.

Westlaw Topical Highlights

Database: All Databases> Legal News, Highlights and Notable Trials> Westlaw Highlights & Bulletins
Westlaw, "My Practice Pages." In addition to selecting a practice area tab for the field of law you're researching, consider setting a tab for "Law Review," which will put many of the best Westlaw topical and preemption databases within handy reach.

Lexis News

Legal News, Current, or select individual topic outside law.
Lexis Practice Area Pages

Automatically update research

. You can create alerts on Lexis and Westlaw, and ask for notification of new materials that meet your search criteria. In addition to substantive legal issues, you could try a search like the following [courtesy of Westlaw and formatted in Westlaw search syntax]:

"first impression" (circuit /3 split) "open question" (novel /s issue matter question)

Lexis:

To create a Lexis alert (formally known as "Eclipse"), select Save as Alert at the top of the screen, after you have entered the search you want in the database you would like the search to run. See the Lexis alerts tutorial.

Westlaw: WestClip

To create a "WestClip" account, select Add Search to WestClip from the top of your search result, after you have entered the search you want in the database you would like the search to run. You can also create a WestClip from any screen in Westlaw, by selecting Alert Center from the menu at the upper right. See the WestClip tutorial.

Congressional Developments

CQ Weekly Report. Publication of Congressional Quarterly. Recent issues on Reserve at PER K 3 .0552. Older bound editions in PER stacks. News on everything in Congress, from reports on issues to bill coverage to profiles on members.
LexisNexis Congressional. Full legislative history service that also provides Inside Washington news coverage of Congress and Hot Bills/Topics coverage of major issues.
THOMAS.Library of Congress comprehensive legislative site. Historically, the site has featured two or three current issues in Congress on its front page. You can also search pending bills or recent public laws.

Current Awareness Sources for International Law

See the library's webpage Some Current Awareness Sources for International Law

		Conduct Research Writing a Paper or Article Topical and Current Awareness
	Conduct Research
	Conduct Research

	U.S. Primary Law U.S. Government Resources (federal, state and local) Illinois and Chicago International Foreign and Comparative Selected Topics Find Books, Articles, etc. Writing a Paper or Article Topical and Current Awareness Preemption Guide Top 12 Resources Research Alerts	Topical and Current Awareness This page suggests resources you might consider in developing research topics for legal scholarly writings such as notes, comments, seminar papers, or senior research. People Scholarly Community Resources Web-Based Resources Legal News Indexes Lexis and Westlaw Topical Services Congressional Developments Current Awareness Sources for International Law People One of the best ways to discover uncharted territory is to consult with a professor who is already familiar with the area. Faculty members can often give you a sense of whether a topic area is well-developed or comparatively unresearched. They may be able to provide suggestions as to particular scholars whose works could be helpful to your research. They might even have a few ideas for research projects that they think have potential but that they themselves have decided not to pursue. Before you approach a professor, however, we recommend that you do your homework. Establish some familiarity with the principal cases or statutes in your area of interest. Identify generally or specifically what questions look particularly promising to you. Read some of the most recent articles on the general subject. Do not expect the professor to give you something for nothing. Back to top Scholarly Community Resources SSRN, The Social Science Research Network SSRN allows scholars in various fields to post articles prior to formal publication, as a means to get their ideas before their colleagues and receive feedback. The Legal Scholarship Network portion of the site provides an advance look at the research of legal scholars. bepress, The Berkeley Electronic Press Like SSRN, bepress provides preprints of scholarly articles prior to their appearance in conventional journals. This site features multiple working papers series, and a particular portion is devoted to law, including the Northwestern Law Working Paper Series. Back to top Web-Based Resources Jurist, University of Pittsburgh School of Law. A comprehensive site dedicated to the academic legal community. Includes a variety of sections, one devoted to legal scholarship and another to legal news. Findlaw. Good lists of legal organizations dedicated to particular types of issues. The general Findlaw homepage is also a good jumping off point for current awareness. Political Science Resources --Think Tanks. University of Michigan. List of think tanks and research institutes. To locate working papers or so-called white papers in a variety of fields (including law) try Google Scholar (regular Google will work too, but will return more false positives). Be sure to read the "Advanced Search" options. This particular Google service is a work in progress and does not substitute for sources such as SSRN and bepress. Back to top Legal News U.S. Law Week BNA United States Law Week. Also on Reserve (R, REF KF 101.1 U5). (Also available on Lexis (USLW) and Westlaw (BNA-USLW) but the interface is better on the BNA site.U.S. Law Week has the following print components (mirrored in the online version) General Law Search page allows searching across issues. To see the most recent breakdown of circuit splits, search circuit splits in the heading of the document. Topical news (usually other than decisions) of interest to attorneys, e.g., legislative action Case Alert: Summary and analysis of significant court opinions (weekly) arranged by topic and indexed, e.g., Civil Rights of "Disabled Persons". Supreme Court Court information including docket, orders, and opinions. Also includes a spectacular end of term statistical analysis of the voting patterns of the Justices (many papers have been written based on this type of information). Other BNA Topical Looseleaf Newsletters BNA International Trade Reporters I, MON KF 6656.5 I 56 BNA Antitrust & Trade Regulation Report BNA Criminal Law Reporter TRS KF 9615 .C75 BNA Daily Tax Report TRS KF 6289 .A1D3 BNA Family Law Reporter TRS KF 501 .A3F3 BNA Lawyer's Manual on Professional Conduct BNA Securities Regulation & Law Report TRS KF 1439 .A1S38 Legal Looseleafs in Print. In Reference Room (R, REF KF 1 L437 2007) Legal looseleaf services are one of the best ways for lawyers to stay current on recent developments in rapidly changing areas of the law. Most looseleaf services deal with legal areas subject to governmental regulation and include "newsletters" that provide weekly updates in developments in particular areas of the law. Examples include BNA Environment ReporterCurrent Developments, TRS (Rubloff 3rd floor) (KF 3775 .A6E45); CCH Standard Federal Tax Reporter, TRS (Rubloff 3rd floor) (KF 6285 .S7); and CCH Labor Law Reports, TRS (Rubloff 3rd floor) (KF 3315 .L33). Legal Looseleafs in Print identifies looseleafs currently being published by subject area; to find out if the library has a particular looseleaf service, check NUcat, the online catalog. Legal Newsletters in Print. In Reference Room (R, REF KF 1 .L44 2003) Legal newsletters can be even more current than legal looseleaf services. Because most newsletters are published for practitioners who need the latest information their cost is high and the library subscribes to very few. Nonetheless, these can be valuable resources in helping you locate sources that may let you further develop your research. A number of these newsletters are available on Westlaw and Lexis. Recent transcripts Recent transcripts to National Public Radio (NPR), Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), American Broadcasting Company (ABC) Nightline, and Cable News Network (CNN) broadcasts can be found on each organization's web site as well as on Lexis and Westlaw. Use the organization web site to find recent materials; Lexis and Westlaw may be better in some instances in locating older materials. National and local legal newspapers and magazines American Lawyer (monthly; current issues on Reserve; earlier issues in PER and on microfilm. Also available on Westlaw AMLAW). National Law Journal (weekly; current issues on Reserve; earlier issues in PER and on microfilm. Also available on Lexis NTLAWJ; and Westlaw NLJ ). NLJ identifies trends and recent developments. Section on court decisions chooses important cases and circuit splits. Chicago Daily Law Bulletin (daily; in PER and on microfilm. Also available on Lexis: CHIDLB; and Westlaw CHIDLB) ABA Journal (monthly; PER. Also available on Lexis: ABAJNL; and Westlaw ABAJ or try the ABA Journal E-Report ABAJEREP) Back to top Indexes You should check that your selected topic has not been preempted by using the following periodical indexes (note, access is easiest from on campus) Current Index to Legal Periodicals (CILP) From the University of Washington Law Library: Provides access to the contents of over 500 legal periodicals received by the University of Washington. Provides subject arrangement and arrangement by journal table of contents (for those who like to skim journals). Legal Trac indexes 1,000 legal and law related journals from 1980 to current. Index to Legal Periodicals and Books Current and retrospective back to beginning of 20th century. Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals Indexes articles published in law journals outside the United States in English and other languages. PAIS International (Public Affairs Information Service, Inc.) Indexes public affairs literature. Back to Top Lexis and Westlaw Topical Services Westlaw Newslink:Westlaw lists current national news, and also provides links to topical highlights which provide recent decisions in many different areas of law. Westlaw Topical Highlights Database: All Databases> Legal News, Highlights and Notable Trials> Westlaw Highlights & Bulletins Westlaw, "My Practice Pages." In addition to selecting a practice area tab for the field of law you're researching, consider setting a tab for "Law Review," which will put many of the best Westlaw topical and preemption databases within handy reach. Lexis News Legal News, Current, or select individual topic outside law. Lexis Practice Area Pages Automatically update research . You can create alerts on Lexis and Westlaw, and ask for notification of new materials that meet your search criteria. In addition to substantive legal issues, you could try a search like the following [courtesy of Westlaw and formatted in Westlaw search syntax]: "first impression" (circuit /3 split) "open question" (novel /s issue matter question) Lexis: To create a Lexis alert (formally known as "Eclipse"), select Save as Alert at the top of the screen, after you have entered the search you want in the database you would like the search to run. See the Lexis alerts tutorial. Westlaw: WestClip To create a "WestClip" account, select Add Search to WestClip from the top of your search result, after you have entered the search you want in the database you would like the search to run. You can also create a WestClip from any screen in Westlaw, by selecting Alert Center from the menu at the upper right. See the WestClip tutorial. Congressional Developments CQ Weekly Report. Publication of Congressional Quarterly. Recent issues on Reserve at PER K 3 .0552. Older bound editions in PER stacks. News on everything in Congress, from reports on issues to bill coverage to profiles on members. LexisNexis Congressional. Full legislative history service that also provides Inside Washington news coverage of Congress and Hot Bills/Topics coverage of major issues. THOMAS.Library of Congress comprehensive legislative site. Historically, the site has featured two or three current issues in Congress on its front page. You can also search pending bills or recent public laws. Current Awareness Sources for International Law See the library's webpage Some Current Awareness Sources for International Law