Finding Legal Topics

Have to write a paper for a seminar or journal assignment? Here are a few resources that can help you find recent law topics on a variety of subjects.

Current Developments

1. Current Legal Topics - Research reports from the Law Library of Congress, you can browse by subject or focus on reports that are recently issued. Subjects range from adoption to war crimes. 
2. Global Legal Monitor - Also from the Law Library of Congress, focuses specifically on issues and developments internationally.
3. ASIL Insights - A product of the American Society of International Law; provides "brief, balanced accounts of the international law issues raised by newsworthy late-breaking events."
4. Law Blog - Published by the Wall Street Journal.

Newspapers

As a student/faculty member of Loyola, you have access to several newspapers in print (Reading Room) and online. Please see a librarian for login credentials. 

1. New York Times
2. Wall Street Journal
3. Financial Times
4. The Economist

News Alerts

Law students and faculty can set news alerts for various subjects through many of the online resources available through the Library. This includes WestlawNext, Lexis Advance, and Bloomberg Law. 

The Federal Lawyer

If you’re interested in federal practice, you’ll probably be interested in The Federal Lawyer. This periodical is a publication of the Federal Bar Association and is published ten times a year. The library has this magazine in print for the use of all patrons (K6 .E285). Electronic subscriptions are included in Federal Bar Association memberships or can be purchased.

“The Federal Lawyer, the official publication of the Federal Bar Association, is the only magazine written and edited for lawyers who practice in federal courts or have an interest in federal law as well as judges who sit on the federal bench. Editorial content covers a broad range of topics including immigration, Indian, antitrust, labor and employment, bankruptcy, criminal, intellectual property, environmental, and other types of law that fall within federal jurisdiction. Through the magazine’s extensive and up-to-date editorial coverage of these legal issues, federal practitioners are able to obtain the latest pronouncements and theories of importance to the federal legal system.”

Electronic Resource of the Month: Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals

From now until May, we will focus this series on some of the collections available via HeinOnline. All HeinOnline resources can be accessed through http://law.loyno.edu/library/online-resources. The collections are available to Loyola Law faculty and students, and they can be accessed while connected to the Loyola internet or off-campus using your Loyola username and password. Check back each month for updates!

The Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals (IFLP) is a great tool for researchers looking for up-to-date foreign-published periodical material on legal subjects. IFLP is available in print (3rd floor index table near the main elevators) and electronically via HeinOnline.

IFLP indexes articles and book reviews by subject from over 500 legal periodicals published outside the US, UK, Canada, and Australia. There is no limit to the languages included, and the legal subjects range from abandonment to the World Trade Organization. The database can be searched from 1984-present (2014), and the print edition on Hein covers 1960-present.

To search online, you can browse by subject, country subject, region, publication title, or a general search. Search options include: language, author, title of article, title of journal, date of publication, key word, country of publication, etc. A search can be further narrowed by year, the type of material (articles or reviews), and to only include entries where the full text is available on another HeinOnline database. While browsing, entries are in alphabetical order.  

One of the best things about IFLP is that it links to articles listed that are available in HeinOnline. This makes it more of a one-stop-shop than print indexing tools. 

Print Resource of the Month: Trial Handbook for Louisiana Lawyers

From now until May, we will focus this series on Louisiana-specific materials intended to be helpful for practice (or that are just really interesting). Check back each month for updates!



This month we’re highlighting Trial Handbook for Louisiana Lawyers, a publication of the Louisiana Practice Series, written by the Honorable Eldon E. Fallon, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

This practice-oriented book “is designed to be a quick reference for the journeyman trial lawyer who spends his or her life representing clients in trial courts of Louisiana.” There are thirty-four chapters, a table of laws and rules, a table of cases, and an index. The entire range of trial subjects are covered from the role of attorneys, to examination of witnesses and evidence rules, to the verdict and judgment.  

Trial Handbook is available in the stacks, in reference, and in the Reserve Collection at KFL 530 .F34. It is also available online through WestlawNext. 

Eldon E. Fallon, Louisiana Practice: Trial Handbook for Louisiana Lawyers (3rd ed. 2007 & Supp. 2015).