LibGuides: Law: Practical Legal Research

Top resources for Practical Legal Research

Westlaw UK This link opens in a new window
Apart from being excellent when searching for cases and legislation, Westlaw has 'Overview' articles which can be a very good secondary source. On the homepage, enter your search term and in the drop-down box on the right choose 'Overviews'. Alternatively, if you conduct a search using 'all content' you can narrow this down to overview articles using a link on the left.

Accessing Practice Law: You can access the Practical Law homepage by logging into Westlaw and clicking onto the arrow next to Westlaw Edge UK
Lexis+ This link opens in a new window
Lexis+ is the upgraded platform for Lexis Library, featuring legislation, case law, journal articles and commentaries, including Halsburys Laws, Encyclopedia of Forms and Precedents, All England Law Reports and more. Also covers EU, US and some international law.

Lexis+ UK overview [videos]

Halsbury's Laws of England
Halsbury's Laws of England is available online via the Lexis Library database and covers the whole spectrum of English law. It is designed to enable practitioners to answer the full range of questions likely to arise in the course of their work. It provides a comprehensive narrative statement of the law of England and Wales and is written by or in conjunction with leading lawyers, both practitioners and academics.

Practical Law This link opens in a new window
Practical Law is an online legal know how service. It provides rigorous peer reviewed resources, such as practice notes, current awareness and standard documents.
Westlaw Books This link opens in a new window
Collection of over 300 practitioner textbooks, including key texts in fields such as contract, employment and competition law.

Lexis Library Legal Commentaries
Collection of legal commentaries including The Family Court Practice (The Red Book), Goode and McKendrick On Commercial Law, Supperstone, Goudie and Walker on Judicial Review, Tolley's Company Law Handbook and much more.
Lawtel
Now available on the Westlaw database. Access to very up to date legal developments, legislation, articles, press coverage and precedents. Specialist modules include human rights, personal injury (including JSB Guidelines and Kemp & Kemp) and employment law.
Atkin's Court Forms
Encyclopaedia of civil litigation forms, precedents of pleadings and procedure. Includes the main procedural documents required in every civil proceeding before the courts and judicial tribunals of England and Wales.
Encyclopaedia of Forms and Precedents
Available online via Lexis Library. Comprehensive source of precedents for (non-litigating) solicitors. It contains around 15,000 forms and precedents (including those for sale of land, landlord and tenant, commercial law, wills and trusts, family law).
The White Book
The White Book contains the sources of law relating to the practice and procedures of the High Court and the County Court for the handling of civil litigation, subject to the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR). These sources are supplemented by substantial and comprehensive expert commentary.

Legislation.gov.uk
Legislation.gov.uk carries most (but not all) types of legislation and their accompanying explanatory documents. The site holds all primary legislation from 1988 to the present day and most pre-1988 primary legislation. It also holds secondary legislation from 1987, including UK Statutory Instruments, although these are only as enacted.
British and Irish Legal Information Institute (BAILII)
BAILII provides access to the most comprehensive set of British and Irish primary legal materials that are available for free and in one place on the internet. For information on which judgements are added to the database see www.bailii.org/bailii/summary-cases.html
Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations
This database allows you to search for the meaning of abbreviations for English language legal publications or search a publication title to find the approved abbreviation.
Parliamentary bills and legislation
UK Parliament webpage that sets out the proposals for new laws, and plans to change existing laws, that are presented for debate before Parliament.
Hansard
The Official Report (Hansard) is the edited report of proceedings of both the House of Commons and the House of Lords.