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Law resources and support

Your Subject Librarian

Your Subject Librarian

Mary Jane Steer

Law resources queries can also be directed to John Hargreaves in the Wills library or via lib-wills@bristol.ac.uk

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Law collections

Information about:

The Wills Memorial Library houses most of the law collection though other relevant material may be found in the Arts and Social Sciences library, the Geography library or the Medical library

Books

  • Books on legal subjects are kept in the Wills Memorial Library, mostly in the East wing (KA - KM) with KN - KW on the gallery floor of the South wing. They are shelved by classmark, a summary of which is available online, and also just inside the East wing next to the stairs :
  • Law Classification Summary (Word, 24Kb)
  • Law Classification Detail (Word, 64Kb)
  • Use the library's online catalogue to find the classmark (location) of a particular item. Online help in using the catalogue is available from the library's web pages or from leaflets available in all libraries.
  • A collection of more heavily used books is kept in the Short Loan Collection to the right of the Information Desk. These are denoted in the catalogue by status 'SLC 3 hour loan'.
  • E-books are listed in the library catalogue, and can be accessed from there.

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Law reports

In print

  • Major cases are published as law reports, and the library holds printed copies of a number of different general and specialist series.
  • Law reports are shelved by classmark in the KF section on the gallery floor of the East wing in the Wills Memorial Library and are confined to the library. Use the library's online catalogue to check printed law report series holdings.

Online

  • Many law report series are now available via online databases which can be used to search for individual cases.  To access online materials away from the University you will need to set up an off-site proxy on your computer, or access via the My Bristol portal.
  • Westlaw contains official law reports including WLR, CMLR, FSR, RPC etc. Search the Westlaw Cases tab using party names or free text for a summary of the case (with link to full text in many instances). The case analysis includes subsequent cases which have cited it, any legislation referred to, and also relevant journal articles.
  • Lexis Library, like Westlaw, also contains official law reports including AllER, EG, IRLR etc. Search the Lexis Cases tab for a summary of the case (with link to full text in many instances). There are also links to related cases, legislation and commentary.
  • Lawtel contains case reports and summaries since 1980, including many unreported cases with links to official court transcripts where available.  Case summaries often appear within 24 hours of judgment.
  • English Reports, available on Westlaw and Lexis Library as well as in print, contains important English cases from 1220 to 1873.
  • BAILII is a free resource and contains case reports from 1996 onwards. It is not comprehensive but does contain some tribunal cases not reported in the commercial databases. It is also very current with cases often appearing here within a day of judgment. It is often the best place to find transcripts of unreported cases.
  • Further help with legal abbreviations can be found using the Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations

Journal articles

  • Sometimes referred to as serials or periodicals, journals contain articles and are published at regular intervals, usually several times a year and often weekly or monthly. To find a specific article, you will need to know which journal it comes from as individual articles are not generally included in the library catalogue.

Print Journals

  • Use the Journals search from the library home page to find print journals by title.  Journals are shelved alphabetically on the ground floor of the East wing of the Wills Memorial Library. See Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations for help with journal abbreviations.

Online Journals

  • Use the Journals search or the Library's eJournals catalogue to search for online journals by title. The Get it button will take you through to full text online if available at University of Bristol.
  • Many legal eJournals are available in Westlaw, Lexis Library, HeinOnline or Business Source Complete. Most of the journal titles will appear in the eJournals search, but some foreign published titles may also be found in the Sources section of Lexis Library.   To access online materials away from the University you will need to set up an off-site proxy on your computer, or access via the My Bristol portal.

Finding articles on a particular subject

  • For legal topics, search under the Journals tab in Westlaw, or the Law Journal Library in Hein Online.  Full text may be available within the database. If not check for the journal titles in the online and print journal catalogues. For articles on a wider range of topics use one of the bibliographic databases listed on the 'Databases' page of 'Subject resources'.  The Social Sciences Citation Index in the Web of Knowledge is usually a good starting point.

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Official publications

Parliamentary papers

From 2006/7, all House of Commons and House of Lords papers and bills as well as Command Papers and debates of standing committees are available from the Public Information Online database. For publications prior to this date use House of Commons Parliamentary Papers database or Official Documents and Official Documents Archive websites. Further details can be found on the Government Publications page. Access to Parliamentary papers (including reports produced by Select Committees) can also be found at the Parliament website, which also includes a wealth of information about Parliament, Parliamentary business and the progress of current and draft Bills before Parliament.

Law Commission reports

are listed on the library catalogue and many (not all) are kept in the Wills Memorial Library at classmark KF46.   In addition Law Commission reports from 1996 onwards are available electronically on the Law Commission website.

Legislation

Print versions of statutes and statutory instruments as enacted can be found in the Wills Memorial Library at classmark KF21-22 and statutes as amended at KF23.H1.

Free online versions of statutes and statutory instruments are available from a number of sources including legislation.gov.uk and BAILII.  For up-to-date information on the current (or amended) status of legislation always consult one of the subscription databases, Westlaw or Lexis Library.

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Exam papers

Exam papers for recent years are held in print in the Wills Memorial Library Law Reference Collection.

They are also available online on Blackboard via Law Student Information > Assessment > Past exam papers .  Some individual unit pages may also contain past papers, together with feedback on previous years' assessment.

Theses

PhD theses relating to law are kept in the Osborne Clarke Room in the Wills Memorial Library. Please consult staff at the Information Desk if you would like to use one. Note that use of theses is confined to the library.

Special collections

How to find books, journals, and more

Inter-Library Loans and ILL vouchers

The Inter-Library Loans (ILL) service can be used to obtain items which are not held in print in any of the University's libraries, or available online. There is a charge for this service, though it may be possible to obtain a voucher to pay for this.

Inter-Library Loans should be ordered online via the Library catalogue.  All students should obtain permission from their supervisor, and from the Subject Librarian for Law before doing so.  A charge will be added to your library account.  A voucher to offset the charge may be obtained from  the Post-Graduate Office in School of Law.  Undergraduates and taught post-graduates must take signed copies of this form (Word, 14 KB) as authorisation of their entitlement to a voucher.

Information for academic staff and researchers

  • Our Research support pages cover finding information, managing information, and exploiting your research, together with sources of further help and advice.
  • Each academic department in the university has its own library representative, whose duties are detailed in these guidelines. The Library Representative for Law is Judy Laing.
  • Recommendations for new book purchases can be made by contacting the Subject Librarian for Law.
  • To request a new journal or database subscription for the library please contact the Subject Librarian for Law. Please note that cancellation of other title(s) to the same value may be required in order to fund a new subscription.
  • E-Reserve: If you would like us to scan a book chapter or journal article in order to make it available via Blackboard to students on a particular course, please order the items you require through the E-Reserve tab on Blackboard. NB We can only scan items which we hold in the library stock and that are not already available electronically. Limits apply to the amount that we can scan for any one course - see the University Secretary's guidelines for further information.
  • Short Loan items: If you would like a book added to the Short Loan Collection email your request to lib-wills@bristol.ac.uk
  • New academic staff are welcome to contact the Subject Librarian to arrange a session on how the Library can help you.

Databases

Bibliographic Databases and Catalogues

Bibliographic databases index articles from a large number of journals and are useful to search when you are looking for articles on a particular subject. Catalogues list books and other material held in selected libraries. Many databases can be accessed through our MetaLib resource gateway, including this list of Law databases via MetaLib.

Legal Databases - additional services

Westlaw UK includes current UK and EC legislation, and a selection of full text law report series.  It is also the most comprehensive source for journal articles on legal topics.  The service offers a comprehensive Help section, search tips, and information on connectors. It also has

Guides on Westlaw are also available from Inner Temple Library, covering case law and legislation

Lexis Library includes current UK legislation, and a selection of full text law report series. The service offers a comprehensive Help section including search tips, and also

HeinOnline offers many full text journals, and a range of other resources including e-books in the Legal Classics section, World Constitutions, a Treaties and Agreements Library, the US Code, and

General Databases

  • Web of Science (Web of Knowledge) - covers arts and humanities, social sciences and sciences though you can limit your search to any one or two of these areas.
  • ZETOC - British Library's indexing service. covering the table of contents of all their journals since 1993. Only references are provided, no table of contents or full text.
  • Copac - provides free access to the merged online catalogues of 22 of the largest university research libraries in the UK and Ireland PLUS the British Library. Useful for searching for additional books on your research topics.

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Specialised Databases

  • Medical - Medline A powerful database of journals relating to medicine, dentistry and nursing, as well as other sources of coverage in the areas of allied health, biological and physical sciences, humanities and information science as they relate to medicine and health care, communication disorders, population biology and reproductive biology
  • Psychology - PsycINFO is produced by the American Psychological Association. It covers summaries of journal articles, book chapters, technical reports and citations to dissertations in the field of psychology and psychological aspects of related disciplines. Journal coverage is from 1872 onwards, and book coverage from 1987 onwards.
  • Social Sciences - IBSS covers 2.5 million references to journal articles, theses, books and book chapters in politics, economics, and sociology

Internet links

This page contains a brief selection of Internet resources which may be useful for legal reference and research. Many are freely available online.

Evaluating and using Internet resources

  • Internet Detective is an interactive tutorial helping you critically assess the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly on the Internet.
  • Internet for Law is an interactive tutorial helping you find and evaluate legal resources on the Internet.
  • Google is a popular search engine, but how reliable is it for academic research?  Keep up to date with changes to Google with this blog.
  • Endnote Online is a free web-based referencing package enabling you to store, sort and export your references into bibliographies. Details of other referencing options available via the University can be found here.

Find online information about:

 

Criminal Justice, Courts and Court Services

 

Directories

The Law Society Directory is available at Ref K151 LAW in the Wills Library. Other directories are available online:

  • Legal Hub - includes Bar Directory, Expert Witness Directory and other legal resources.
  • The Legal 500 - Contains information on law firms worldwide
  • Martindale.com - Over 1 million lawyer profiles worldwide.
  • Waterlow Legal - A collection of databases on legal professionals, expert witnesses and other providers of legal information.
  • Chambers Guides - UK and global legal directories

 

Gateways

Gateways are collections of links to quality resources, covering specific areas of law, organisations and other jurisdictions.

  • Access to Law - subject and jurisdiction resources selected by Inner Temple Library
  • LAWLINKS - links to legal information on the Internet from the University of Kent
  • Legal Resources in the UK and Ireland - links to legal resources maintained by Delia Venables
  • IALS SKiLLS - legal information and literacy resources from the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies
  • Lawbore - the law student's guide to the Web from City University

 

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Organisations

 

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Primary legal materials

Legislation and pre-legislative materials

As well as Westlaw and LexisLibrary which both include legislation as amended, and the print sources available in the library, other websites and databases which cover legislative material for the UK include:

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Case Law

Westlaw and LexisLibrary both contain full text of the Official (ICLR) Law Reports. Westlaw also includes WLR, CMLR, FSR, RPC, and English Reports. A full list can be found in the Browse section under the Cases tab. LexisLibrary includes All ER, EG, Fam. LR, and IRLR. A full list can be found in the Browse section under the Cases tab. Other online websites for case law include:

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Selected legal and related subject areas

  • MetaLib: your resource gateway at the University of Bristol, provides access to a vast range of online resources, which can be browsed by subject area or material type. Further information about MetaLib.
  • Podcasts on selected legal subject areas for students from Sweet and Maxwell
  • European law - see the library's European Union Internet links page for websites covering EU policies and documentation.
  • Legal history - the attached document, by Gwen Seabourne, outlines key sources for legal history
  • International law - a document prepared by the United Nations is a useful starting point. Please email lib-wills@bristol.ac.uk for additional help on this topic.
  • Legal Literacy Skills from IALS - a collection of resources to promote legal literacy, mainly for teachers of literacy, but useful for research students also. It will include a know-how database covering different areas of legal study, and sourced from freely available materials on UK university and international sources.

Quick reference tools

Abbreviations

  • Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations - gives abbreviations of English language legal journals and law reports
  • Raistrick's Index to Legal Citations and Abbreviations can be found in the Wills Library reference section at K112

Dictionaries

  • Oxford English Dictionary (OED) Online or print copies in the Wills Library reference section
  • Law.Com Dictionary Online is a searchable and browseable law dictionary. Printed law dictionaries and companions are held in the Wills Library reference section at Ref. K140 - Ref. K141
  • Foreign language dictionaries, can be found in the Wills Library reference section and online, via MetaLib

Encyclopedias

  • Halsbury's Laws of England is a general law encyclopedia and is a useful starting point for legal research in unfamiliar areas. The print version is on the Wills Ante Library gallery at KF85.H1. It is also available online in the Lexis Library database
  • Looseleaf encyclopedias cover some key areas of law for example:
    Encyclopedia of Environmental Law KN95.5 ENC

Guides to Legal Research and Writing

  • Guides to legal research and using law libraries can be found in the Wills Library at KL155
  • Clinch and Mullan, Legal Research : a practitioner's handbook, at KL 155 CLI is an excellent guide to the research process, and includes detailed tips on how to use print sources such as Halsbury's Law and Halsbury's Statutes effectively.
  • The Wills Library has two copies of the latest edition of Pears, R., Shields, G. (2013). Cite Them Right: The Essential Guide to Referencing. Newcastle: Pear Tree Books. One copy is in the law reference collection at Ref. KL155 PEA. The other copies are borrowable.
  • Guides to writing essays and other legal skills can be found in the Wills Library at KL130
  • The Law department's guidance on legal scholarship, referencing, plagiarism and submitting assessed work can be found under the Law Student Information section of Blackboard

Information skills training for undergraduates

  • New students receive training in finding legal resources in the first two weeks of the academic year.
  • The Wills Memorial Library welcomes subject based and legal information enquiries from students and other library users.  Please call into the Subject Librarian Office (opposite the library entrance) at any time while their door is open.  There is also an email enquiry service available if the subject librarians are not available. 
  • Students with additional support requirements can use AddLibS for help and advice.
  • A number of general 'Self-learning resources' are available below, including video tutorials, downloadable library guides, and web resources.
  • Find out about referencing in your written work and EndNote referencing software in 'Referencing help'.

Information skills training for postgraduates

  • New students receive training in finding legal resources in the first two weeks of the academic year.
  • The Wills Memorial Library welcomes subject based and legal information enquiries from students and other library users.  Please call into the Subject Librarian Office (opposite the library entrance) at any time while their door is open.  There is also an email enquiry service available if the subject librarians are not available.
  • Students with additional support requirements can use AddLibS for help and advice.
  • A number of general 'Self-learning resources' are available below, including video tutorials, downloadable library guides, and web resources.
  • Find out about referencing in your written work and EndNote referencing software in 'Referencing help'.

Self-learning resources

  • Video tutorials - topics include the Library Catalogue, understanding references on reading lists, using the MetaLib resource gateway, off-campus access to eResources, etc.
  • Finding and using information pages - covering key aspects of information skills, including researching a topic, effective use of Google, evaluating your search results, avoiding plagiarism, etc. Also includes a Jargon-buster page.
  • Library guides - downloadable guides to each of the University libraries, our main search tools, special library services, etc.
  • External resources for developing your information skills - including online tutorials and downloadable guides.
  • Find out about referencing in your written work and EndNote referencing software in 'Referencing help'.

Referencing guidance

It is important to cite work referred to or quoted from in your essays, to avoid plagiarism.

Legal Citation

  • You should cite references in a consistent style (see below). Check with your tutor as to which referencing style you are expected to use. The School of Law's Blackboard section "Law Student Information" includes guidance on referencing.
  • An excellent book: French, D. (1996) How to Cite Legal Authorities. Oxford, Blackstone, is available in the Wills Library Law reference section or at KL155 FRE.
  • Another excellent book is Pears, R., Shields, G. Cite Them Right: The Essential Referencing Guide. Newcastle: Pear Tree Books. One copy is available in the Wills Library Law reference section and other copies at KL155 PEA.

Referencing Styles

Abbreviations

Abbreviations can be an issue for law students - ensure you are using the correct abbreviation for journals and law reports by checking online with Cardiff Index of Legal Abbreviations or in print with Raistrick's Index to Legal Citations and Abbreviations which can be found in the Wills Library reference section at K112

General Advice

The University Library also provides general guidance on citing references.

Writing for the subject, and how to avoid plagiarism

Introduction to writing for Law

  • Books about writing for law and undertaking research in law are available at classmarks KL130 and KL155 respectively in the Wills Library.
  • The Law Department has produced several online guides to help you with essay writing and referencing which may be found in the Assessment section of Law Student Information on Blackboard. You might find the Study Skills Guidance for Coursework particularly helpful in starting to tackle essay and problem questions.
  • Books on study skills in general are available at classmark LB2395 in the Arts and Social Science Library.
  • Books on information literacy are available at classmark Z665 in the Arts and Social Science Library.

Plagiarism and how to avoid it

  • Plagiarism is defined by the University as 'the unacknowledged inclusion in a student’s work of material derived from the published or unpublished work of another' (University Examination Regulations).
  • The Law School provides information and guidance on avoiding plagiarism and why it is important to do so, in its 'Law Student Information' section which is accessible via Blackboard.
  • The University Library also provides general advice about plagiarism and how to avoid it.
  • Law students found guilty of plagiarism will be reported to the Law Society and may find it difficult to pursue a legal career as a result.

EndNote referencing software

EndNote is the University of Bristol's recommended bibliographical management software, which can be used to collect, store, organise and manage references, and to output them as reference lists or bibliographies. A particularly useful function is 'Cite While You Write', enabling you to format Word documents, producing bibliographies and adding references within the text.