Guides to U.S. Legal System and Legal Research
Principles of Legal Research, 2nd ed. by Call Number: XXKF240.C5382 2015, D'Angelo Law Reserve RoomPublication Date: 2015
Legal Research in a Nutshell, 12th ed. by Call Number: XXKF240.C542 2016, D'Angelo Law Reserve RoomPublication Date: 2016
Fundamentals of Legal Research, 10th ed. by Call Number: XXKF240.M472 2015, D'Angelo Law Reserve RoomPublication Date: 2015
Basic Legal Research: Tools and Strategies, 6th ed. by Call Number: XXKF240.S66 2015, D'Angelo Law Reserve RoomPublication Date: 2015Specialized Legal Research by
Call Number: XXKF240.S690 1987, D'Angelo Law, Reference[1 vol.; loose-leaf; updated by supplement]
Includes chapters on Securities Regulation, UCC, Federal Tax, Copyright, Federal Labor & Employment Law, Environmental Law, Admiralty & Maritime Law, Immigration Law, Military & Veterans Law, Banking Law, Patent & Trademark Law Government Contracts, Customs
Citation Form and Management
Citation Form
- The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (21st ed.)Call Number: XXKF245.B59, D'Angelo Law, Reference & ReservePublication Date: 2020
- Introduction to Basic Legal CitationBy Peter W. Martin, based on The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation. Updated November 2020.
Citation Management
Collect and manage citations to your sources in EndNote or Zotero. See these guides for help:
Dictionaries and Directories
Prince's Bieber Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations: A Reference Guide for Attorneys, Legal Secretaries, Paralegals, and Law Students, 6th ed. by Call Number: XXKF246.B462 2009, D'Angelo Law, ReferencePublication Date: 2009
Black's Law Dictionary, 10th ed. by Call Number: XXKF156.B532 2014, D'Angelo Law Reserve RoomPublication Date: 2014
BNA's Directory of State and Federal Courts, Judges, and Clerks: A State-by-State and Federal Listing by Call Number: XXKF8700.A19B532, D'Angelo Law, ReferenceUpdated annually
Sullivan's Law Directory for the State of IllinoisCall Number: XXKF192.I4S9, D'Angelo Law, ReferenceUpdated annually; similar directories of the members of the local bar are published in each state
Foreign language dictionaries and foreign language law dictionaries are in D'Angelo Law Reference. See the Library Catalog for call numbers.
Legal Encyclopedias
General Legal Encyclopedias
American Jurisprudence, 2nd ed. (Am. Jur. 2d)Call Number: XXKF154.A42, D'Angelo Law, Reading RoomAlso available via Lexis Advance and Westlaw.West's Encyclopedia of American Law, 2nd ed.
Call Number: XXKF154.W47 2004, D'Angelo Law Reference[13 vol.]
Signed articles on legal topics, famous trials and cases, and famous jurist written by law professors. Written for non-lawyers.
Illinois JurisprudenceCall Number: XXKFI1230.5.L38 1992, D'Angelo Law, Reading Room[28 vol.; updated annually]
Basic coverage of selected topics: Business Organizations, Commercial Law, Criminal Law, Family Law, Insurance, Personal Injury, Property, and Torts.
Also available via Lexis Advance.
New York Jurisprudence 2dCall Number: XXKFN5065.N48 1997 D'Angelo Law, BookstacksGeneral encyclopedia of New York law, similar to Cal Jur.
Also available online via Lexis Advance and Westlaw.
Topical Legal Encyclopedias
Encyclopedia of the American Constitution, 2nd ed. by
Call Number: XXKF4548.E52 2000, D'Angelo Law, ReferencePublication Date: 2000
International Encyclopedia of Comparative LawCall Number: XXK583.I567 1972 D'Angelo Law, Bookstacks
Encyclopedia of Law and Economics by Call Number: XXK487.E3E53 2000, D'Angelo Law Reserve Room & OnlinePublication Date: 2000The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics and the Law by
Call Number: XXK487.E3N49 1998, D'Angelo Law Reserve RoomPublication Date: 1998[3 vol.]
Law Reviews and Journals
Recent issues of all law school-published journals and most commercially published journals are shelved on the north side of the D'Angelo Law Library Third Floor. Earlier volumes are in storage; consult HeinOnline or reference librarians for assistance.
Most law journals can also be found online in the following resources:
- HeinOnline: Law Journal Library This link opens in a new window
- Index to Legal Periodicals & Books This link opens in a new window
- Index to Legal Periodicals & Books Retrospective This link opens in a new window
- HeinOnline: Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals This link opens in a new window
Law Databases and Looseleaf Services
- Bloomberg Law (BLAW) This link opens in a new windowIncludes current awareness newsletters on a variety of topics.
Looseleaf services in print
- Focused on specific subject areas
- Include statutes (laws), administrative regulations and decisions, cases and editorial commentary
- Finding aids, indexes and citators
- Most current of print sources
Law databases
Looseleaf publishers have migrated many of their print looseleafs to online formats.
- VitalLaw This link opens in a new window
- IICLE Online Library This link opens in a new window
Treatises, Monographs, and American Law Reports
Major treatises in all areas of law are shelved in the D'Angelo Law Library Reserve Room. A list of major treatises by topic is available on the Law Library website. You can also search the Library Catalog by title or author or ask a reference librarian for assistance.
- TreatisesTreatises provide in depth discussion of an area of law with references to primary sources. The D'Angelo Law Library maintains a list of core treatises for each legal subject.
- University of Chicago Library Catalog This link opens in a new window
- Ask a Law LibrarianContact the Law Librarians at D'Angelo.
A list of hornbooks and study supplements is also available on the Law Library website. Study supplements published by West are available online through West Academic Study Aids.
- Hornbooks & Study SupplementsIntroductions to international law topics such as foreign relations law, human rights, international environmental law, intellectual property, international arbitration, taxation, and trade.
American Law Reports, Annotated (A.L.R., ALR 2d ALR.3d, ALR 4th, ALR 5th, ALR Fed., ALR Fed. 2d.) Selected court opinions from state and federal courts with extensive annotations explaining and discussing the opinions. Available via Lexis Advance and Westlaw.
Restatements and Model Codes
Restatements of the Law
- Prepared by the American Law Institute (ALI), a private group of practicing attorneys, academics, and judges
- Compile the principles that make up the common law in agency, conflict of laws, contracts, foreign relations law, judgments, property, restitution, security, torts, and trusts.
- Provide rules, commentary and examples.
- Appendices contain cases that have cited the Restatements, and Reporter's Notes (which can be very valuable research tools).
Model Codes
- Prepared by the ALI with the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL)
- Cover particular areas of state law. They are only models, and only become law in a jurisdiction if they are enacted by the legislature.
- Uniform laws adopted by at least one jurisdiction are compiled in Uniform Laws Annotated, XXKF165.A50 1968-, D'Angelo Law Bookstacks.
Uniform Laws Annotated volumes include
- A "Table of Jurisdictions Wherein Act Has Been Adopted"
- The code itself
- Case annotations on the code provisions
- Directory of Uniform Acts and Codes pamphlet provides an index to the uniform acts and tables showing which uniform acts each state has adopted.
Uniform Law Commission (ULC, also known as the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws) website
The ULC website provides full text of the uniform acts, drafts, committee activities and state enactment information, including states where the act[s] have been introduced but not yet passed.
Not law unless enacted
Neither a Model Code or Restatement is "law" unless adopted by the court or legislature of a particular jurisdiction, but they may nevertheless be influential tools of judicial interpretation.
