Researching and Writing About the Law

These works provide instructions and advice for conducting legal research and for writing legal research papers or case briefs, or drafting legal documents. For information on how to cite legal materials, see Citing Legal Materials/Legal Style Manuals.

• General Legal Research
• Online Legal Research
• General Legal Writing
• Writing Case Briefs
• Drafting Legal Documents

General Legal Research

Fundamentals of Legal Research, by J. Myron Jacobstein, et al (Foundation Press)
Call No. KF240 .J32 1994

Introduces the publication process and methods for locating court cases, and examines other sources of primary law and secondary sources useful in legal research. Covers international law, English legal research, citation form, and federal taxation.

Legal Information: How to Find It, How to Use It, by Kent C. Olson (Oryx Press)
Call No. KF240 .O365 1999

Integrated guide to using online and print sources to research all aspects of United States federal and state law.

Legal Research FAQ (Mark Eckenwiler)

This document gives an overview of the standard resources and tools used in conducting legal research on state and federal law in the United States. It also provides an overview of the structure of the various state and federal court systems, and describes the primary legal sources (case reporters, statutory and regulatory compilations) where the law can be located. It is written for laymen, not lawyers; no prior legal knowledge or research experience is assumed.

Legal Research for the Texas Practitioner, by Brandon D. Quarles and Matthew C. Cordon (W.S. Hein)
Available in Documents Reference on Third Floor of Willis Library under Call No. KFT1275 .Q37 2003

This textbook covers the basic skills needed to research cases, statutes, and regulations, as well as more involved areas such as jury instructions, briefs and records, and attorney general opinions.

Research Legal Information (LexisNexis)

Access legal articles, law message boards, and other legal research resources for many personal and business law topics.

Research Methodology (Harvard Law School Library)

General guide to legal research written for Harvard law students.

Web Based Tutorials and Instructional Research Guides (Cleveland-Marshall College of Law)

Web-based tutorials and instructional research guides help students learn new topics and skills, as well as refresh lessons learned in the classroom. They provide opportunities for convenient, individualized, self-paced instruction. This site provides links to a selection of law-related tutorials and instructional research guides produced by many organizations.

Online Legal Research

Finding What You're Looking For Online: A Primer Geared Toward Legal Research (Stacy Stern, Esq. - FindLaw)

Helpful introduction to legal searching on the Internet. Oriented almost exclusively toward FindLaw and related products.

Guide to Finding Legal and Regulatory Information on the Internet, by Yvonne Chandler (Neal-Schuman)
Call No. KF242.A1 C48 1998

Provides information about the full spectrum of legal and regulatory information available on the Internet, tells how to find each resource listed, and provides a critical analysis of each. Written by a UNT professor.

The Legal List: Research on the Internet (West Group)
Call No. KF242.A1 L375

Extensive lists of law-related Internet resources and sites, as well as comprehensive guidance on how to approach an online research project to get the most complete results to your search.

Legal Research Using the Internet (Lyonette Louis-Jacques - University of Chicago)

Explains why the Internet is useful for legal research and describes some major resources available on the Internet for researching the law of the United States and other countries.

Last Writes? Re-Assessing the Law Review in the Age of Cyberspace (Bernard J. Hibbitts - Univ. of Pittsburgh School of Law)

Offers a prototype for a new brand of legal scholarship that is hypertextual, multimedia, interactive and dynamic, and presented on a platform (the World Wide Web) that is by definition public, interdisciplinary, and international.

Using LexisNexis Academic at the UNT Libraries (UNT)

Information on how members of the UNT community can use LexisNexis to find statutes, regulations, and case law for many countries and all 50 states of the U.S.A., as well as full text of related articles in many journals.  See also Using "Classic" LEXIS-NEXIS at the UNT Libraries.

General Legal Writing

The Elements of Legal Writing, by Martha Faulk and Irving M. Mehler (MacMillan Publishing Company)
This netLibrary book is available online to the UNT community

Similar to Strunk and White’s Elements of Style, this guide to grammar and style for the legal profession is intended to help lawyers, paralegals, and students minimize their legalese and write with clarity and grace.

A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage, by Bryan A. Garner (Oxford University Press)
Call No. KF156 .G367 1987

Gives practical advice on how to write clear, jargon-free legal prose. Words, phrases, and a few topics are arranged alphabetically and defined or discussed, with distinctions drawn between similar terms.

Exercises from Legal Writing in Plain English (University of Chicago Press)

In Legal Writing in Plain English, Bryan Garner teaches legal writers how to organize ideas, create and refine prose, and improve editing skills. The exercises here are organized under fifty principles. Click on the principle to go to its exercise page.

Expert Legal Writing, by Terri LeClercq (University of Texas Press)
Available on Third Floor of Willis Library under Call No. KF250 .L39 1995

A guide to writing legal documents with clarity and precision. Discusses punctuation and grammar, style, organization, and even how to generate ideas. The author is a columnist for the Texas Bar Journal.

The Law Student's Guide to Good Writing (Chicago-Kent College of Law)

Explanations of the rules of grammar, punctuation, and good writing that are most important to legal writing. Also includes exercises (with answers) on each of the topics discussed.

The Redbook: A Manual on Legal Style, by Bryan A. Garner with Jeff Newman and Tiger Jackson (West Group)
Available at the Government Documents Service Desk under Call No. KF250 .G375 2002

Comprehensive guide to writing, focusing on the specific needs of legal writers and emphasizing the ways legal writing differs from other kinds of technical writing. Covers grammar, style, punctuation, capitalization, spelling, footnotes, and citations, illustrating everything in a legal context. Also covers editing, proofreading, design, and layout.

Writing Case Briefs

Briefing Cases (lawschool.westlaw.com)

Short outline of the parts of a brief and what should be included in each.

Case Analysis and Fundamentals of Legal Writing, by William P. Statsky and R. John Wernet, Jr. (West Publishing Company)
Available in Documents Reference on Third Floor of Willis Library under Call No. KF240.S78 1984

This popular textbook introduces the skills of reading and analyzing court opinions.

Case Briefs Bank (4LawSchool)

Actual case briefs written by law students. Browsable by legal practice area.

Format for Writing a Certiorari Brief (Touro Law Center)

Simple template indicating the parts of a brief and what information needs to be included in each part.

A Guide to Legal Case Briefs (Robert J. Beck - University of Virginia)

Clear, thorough outline of all the elements needed in a student case brief.

How to Brief a Case (lawschool.westlaw.com)

Teaches what briefs are, why they are important, and how to draft them. Includes samples of briefs.

How to Brief a Case (SUNY – John Jay College of Criminal Justice)

Explains the difference between an appellate brief and a student brief, then gives tips on how to write a student brief.

Writing a Brief the George Orwell Way (Legalwriting.net)

In his 1946 book Shooting an Elephant and Other Essays, Orwell spelled out Six Rules for Writing. Professor Wayne Schiess elaborates on these rules and applies them to brief-writing.

Drafting Legal Documents

Drafting Legal Documents (Office of the Federal Register)

In order to help agencies produce clear, enforceable regulatory documents, the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration, presents this guide to legal writing. It includes information on organizing; writing clearly; using words and expressions properly; punctuation, typography, and spelling; and proper format for regulatory documents.

Guidelines for Drafting and Editing Court Rules, by Bryan A. Garner (Administrative Office of the United States Courts)
Available in Government Documents section under Call Number JU 10.6/2:C 83

This style guide has been adopted by those responsible for drafting and revising the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Appellate Procedure. The principles described here could also be applied to codes and ordinances, judicial opinions, contracts, and other types of legal drafting.

Information on Legislative Drafting (Office of the Legislative Council)

Links to official drafting offices and related manuals on drafting federal state, local, and foreign laws. Also includes miscellaneous articles related to legislative drafting.

Texas Legislative Council Drafting Manual (Texas Legislative Council)

This manual explains how legislative drafting is done by the staff of the Texas Legislative Council. Although it is primarily intended for use by the council staff for training and as a reference guide, other participants in the legislative process may find it helpful.

Writing Contracts in Plain English, by Carl Felsenfeld and Alan Siegel (West)
Available on Third Floor of Willis Library under Call Number KF801.Z9 F44

This guide takes the reader through the revision process for three documents: a consumer-loan contract, an apartment-sales contract, and an insurance policy. In the process, the book discuesses all aspects of legal drafting, including audience analysis, plain-English writing style, graphic design and layout, content requirements, and testing. The book was published in 1981, but the principles are still relevant.