Paralegal Research: Home

Dictionaries

• Law.com Dictionary
  Enter a legal term, search the definitions, or browse by first letter of a word or phrase.
• Jurist's Legal Dictionary
  A dictionary of basic U.S. legal terminology.
• Everybody's Legal Glossary
  Plain-English definitions for hundreds of legal terms, searchable and browseable.
• Lawyers.com Glossary of Legal Terms
  Based on Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law.
• Justia.com Dictionary Search or browse major legal topics.

Encyclopedias

• Zimmerman's Research Guide
  Free legal encyclopedia from Lexis.
• WEX
  A free legal dictionary and encyclopedia from LII.
• NOLO
  A layman's legal encyclopedia.

Terminology and Acronyms

• Practice Area Definitions
  FindLaw's reference guide to selected personal and business legal issues.
• Acronym Finder
• GovSpeak: A Guide to Government Acronyms & Abbreviations

• What is the purpose of this site?
• What is the URL of the site and what might that tell you about its purpose?
• What aspects of the site make it difficult/easy to use? (For example: typos, easy navigation, nice layout, images, too much advertising, etc.)

• Where is this information coming from?
• Is there a bibliography or listed references?
• Is the site listed with an established institution?

• When was the site last updated?
• Does the site even have a date?
• Does the currency of the information directly impact your subject?

• Why is this website useful for your research?
• Is it necessary for your research or could you find the information through a better source?
• Why was the websites created?
  • To inform? - the author is simply stating informational facts, such as dates.
  • To explain? - the author is explaining a subject.
  • To entertain? - the author is attempting to entertain the reader.
  • To persuade? - the author is striving to change your point of view on a subject.
  • To sell? - the author is trying to get you to purchase something.

The CRAAP Test Use this test to evaluate web sites and pages.

Locating case law on the internet from the Library of Congress

Legal Drafting- a beginner's guide from the Library of Congress

Discovery-A beginner's guide from the Library of Congess

Introduction to Basic Legal Citation, also known as the Bluebook, this is the online version of the official manual for legal citation

Basic Legal Citation from LII

How to Read a Legal Citation from Carnegie Mellon University

Reading Legal Citations from Boston College

Bluebook 101 from the University of Washington

Bluebook Guide from Georgetown University