Law Library Databases A-Z

See also: Law Databases by Subject.
For additional non-legal databases, visit the William & Mary Libraries list of databases (↪).
For legal reference sources, see our online legal reference collection.

| A | B | C | E | F | G | H | I | J | L | M | N | O | P | S | T | U | V | W |

A

Academic Search Complete

Multidisciplinary database of journal articles, books, book chapters, reports, conference proceedings, etc. Coverage: 1887-present.

United Nations documents and publications, including official records, masthead documents, draft resolutions, meeting records, and the UN Treaty Series. To access, scroll down to the bottom of the NewsBank page retrieved by this link. Coverage: 1991-present.

AILALink

A one-stop shop for immigration law research created and maintained by the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). Includes access to most AILA publications as well as case law, regulations, agency memos and decisions, and immigration policy manuals. Please use the "Sign Out" link in the upper right corner after completing your research session. Coverage: varies by source; updated frequently.

Aspen Learning Library (formerly Wolters Kluwer Study Aids)

Online access to hundreds of study aids, including the following series: Casenote Legal Briefs, Examples & Explanations, Emanuel Law Outlines, Emanuel Crunchtime, Emanuel Law in a Flash, Glannon Guides, Aspen Student Treatises, Friedman's Practice Series, and others. Create an individual account to enable additional features such as notetaking, bookmarks, and highlighting.

AudioCaseFiles

(individual account required)
Edited audio and text files of the most commonly-assigned cases for 1Ls and 2Ls. Opinions include brief fact summaries and statements of the rule of law. Downloadable files for offline listening/reading. Take, share, view, and print notes. Access restricted to current W&M Law students, staff, and faculty.

B

Bloomberg Law

(individual login/password required)
Comprehensive collection of federal and state laws, regulations, court decisions, dockets, and business information. Analytical materials including BNA publications. Access restricted to current W&M Law students, staff, and faculty.

Bloomberg Law: Tax

(individual login/password required)
Tax analysis, practice tools, IRS documents, statutes & regulations, and current news and awareness. Covers federal, state, and international tax law. Also includes the Daily Tax Report, a newsletter that can be viewed online or subscribed to by email.

Business Source Complete

All disciplines of business, including marketing, management, accounting, finance, and economics. Journal articles, books, market research reports, financial data, conference proceedings, case studies, etc. Coverage: Varies by title.

C

CALI Lessons

(access code required)
Over 1,000 Interactive tutorials that cover narrow topics of law. Lessons are authored by law professors and librarians. Access restricted to current W&M Law students, staff, and faculty. See a law librarian for an access code.

Cambridge Core

Provides electronic access to all law titles (over 3,300) published by Cambridge University Press as well as over 1.6. million Cambridge University Press journal articles across all academic disciplines.

Carolina Academic Press Study Aids

Study aids in the Understanding and Questions & Answers series published by Carolina Academic Press can be found here as a collection within the LexisNexis Digital Library.

Checkpoint (formerly RIA Checkpoint)

Comprehensive tax and accounting research database covering related laws and news on the international, federal, state and local levels. Provides access to a variety of primary sources, analysis, journals, news, and rulings. Coverage: Varies by source.

Chicago Manual of Style

Searchable version of the most recent edition.

Chronicle of Higher Education

News and information about higher education, job listings in academia, discussion forums, and career-building tools such as online CV management, salary databases, and more. Coverage: 1989-present.

CIAO (Columbia International Affairs Online)

International affairs content, including working and occasional papers, foundation-funded research projects, conference proceedings, books, journals, policy briefs, case studies by international affairs experts, and course packs for history and political science classes. Coverage: 1991-present.

Congress.gov

The official website for U.S. federal legislative information. Full text of current and past Congressional Sessions' bills, including bill tracking and sponsorship information. Maintained by the Library of Congress and associated legislative offices. Coverage: Updated daily when Congress is in session. (free resource)

CQ (Congressional Quarterly) Researcher

Issues and controversial subjects in the news. In-depth coverage of a variety of topics, with extensive text and bibliographies. Also covers international issues and crises. Coverage: 1991-present.

E

Elgar Advanced Introductions: Law

Concise introductions to major subject areas in international law, both public and private, as well as more foundational legal topics like globalization, freedom of expression, and comparative constitutional law. These titles interpret and articulate the law, often comparing systems or drawing lessons from other disciplines.

Elgaronline

Collection of global and comparative law journals, reference works, and books (including scholarly monographs, Research Handbooks, companions and more) from Edward Elgar Publishing.

Exam Archive (hosted by the W&M Law Library)

Past exams and answer keys from a number of W&M Law faculty members. Restricted to current W&M Law students, staff, and faculty.

F

Fastcase

Nationwide database of case law, statutes, regulations, court rules, constitutions, and law review articles. Includes a limited number of secondary materials for select practice areas and jurisdictions. Coverage: Varies by series.

Foreign Law Guide

A country-by-country guide to the legal systems and specific laws of most nations of the world. Invaluable starting point for researching an unfamiliar jurisdiction. Coverage and updates vary by country.

G

Government Periodicals Index (ProQuest)

Index and links to full text articles from over 300 of the most important periodicals published by agencies and departments of the United States Federal government. Coverage: 1988-present.

govinfo

The official site of the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO), with full text of the Federal Register and Code of Federal Regulations, Congressional bills and the Congressional Record, the U.S. Code, Presidential Papers, and more. Coverage: Varies by source.

H

HeinOnline

Large collections of law journals, the U. S. Code, U. S. Statutes at Large, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U. S. Supreme Court opinions and reports, Congressional Record, classic law texts, foreign policy documents, presidential documents, treaties, Virginia court briefs, historical English laws, and much more. Coverage: Varies by title.

I

ICLR Online (Incorporated Council of Law Reporting for England and Wales)

Archive of official law reports from England and Wales. Citator information for each case includes topics considered by subsequent citing courts. Coverage: 1865-present. (For earlier law reports, see HeinOnline's English Law Reports pre-1865.)

IFAR (International Foundation for Art Research) Art Law & Cultural Property Database

Consists of two separate but linked sets of resources, International Cultural Property/Ownership & Export Legislation (ICPOEL) and Case Law & Statutes, related to the acquisition, ownership, attribution, and authenticity of artworks. The database has international legislation, contact information for relevant government officials, and summaries of case law, including hard-to-find out-of-court settlements.

International Encyclopaedia of Laws

Collections of in-depth analyses of selected countries' laws on topics such as torts, constitutional law, family & succession law, property, religion, and more. Each title covers a different set of countries. Updated periodically.

J

JSTOR

General (not law-specific) multidisciplinary full-text journal articles from 1,500 major journals. (Note: in many cases, JSTOR does not include the most recent 3 to 5 years of these journals.) Coverage: Varies by title. Access is also available to alumni who graduated in 2007 or later; sign in through my1693's JSTOR page.

L

Law.com

ALM's legal news platform. Includes content from The American Lawyer, National Law Journal, Corporate Counsel, The Legal Intelligencer, VerdictSearch, and many other ALM titles. Create your own account to sign up for news alerts and newsletters.

Law360

Current news about litigation, policy developments, corporate deals, and more across dozens of practice areas, industries, and jurisdictions. Create your own account to sign up for a wide variety of daily newsletters and special reports.

Legal Source

Contains detailed indexing for over 1,200 legal journals, law reviews, yearbooks, institutes, statutes, bar association and university publications, and some journals from Canada, Great Britain, and Australia/NZ. Includes full text for over 400 journals. Coverage: 1908-present.

Lexis+

(individual login/password required)
Extremely comprehensive collections of feature-rich databases of U.S. and state laws, regulations, cases, and analytical materials. Access restricted to current W&M Law students, staff, and faculty.

Lexis+ UK

(login/password required)
A collection of materials from the United Kingdom, including Halsbury's Laws of England, UK Parliament Acts & Bill Tracker, and UK Parliament Statutory Instruments from 1786 to present (including current drafts). See a law librarian for login and password.

LexisNexis Lawschool

(individual login/password required)
Portal to Lexis+ research system, classroom software, and training signups and materials. Access restricted to current W&M Law students, staff, and faculty.

LexisNexis Courtroom Cast

(individual account required)
The world's largest online library of courtroom video. Thousands of hours of trials, hearings, and oral arguments from around the U.S. Search by practice area, jurisdiction, judge, attorney, or witness. Also includes AudioCaseFiles (see above for more information). Access restricted to current W&M Law students, staff, and faculty.

LexisNexis Digital Library

Collection of selected current treatises and related materials published by LexisNexis and its subsidiaries. Many important works on Virginia law are found here, including Michie's Jurisprudence (the legal encyclopedia for Virginia and West Virginia), Bryson on Virginia Civil Procedure, and Friend's Virginia Pleading and Practice. Also has study aids published by Carolina Academic Press (including titles in the Understanding and Questions & Answers series). Has various other national and international materials.

Lexis Public Case Access (formerly Ravel Law)

Federal and state caselaw research platform that deeply integrates with judicial, court, and attorney analytics. Primarily designed to facilitate preparation for litigation. Coverage: all US court cases published in official reporters from 1658 to 2018. The collection includes over eight million cases from state courts, federal courts, and territorial courts for American Samoa, Dakota Territory, Guam, Native American Courts, Navajo Nation, and the Northern Mariana Islands.

LLMC Digital

Digitized versions of hard-to-find older legal materials, including directories, party briefs, and out-of-copyright treatises. New titles are added from time to time.

M

Making of Modern Law

A series of databases from featuring primary and secondary legal sources dating from 1600 to 1926. Our subscription includes secondary sources on foreign and international law, statutory sources from U.S. states and territories, trial proceedings in U.S. state and federal courts, and U.S. Supreme Court records and briefs.

Max Planck Encyclopedia of Comparative Constitutional Law

Analytical comparative articles offering a global overview of constitutional law.

Medline

Index to medical articles on topics relating to research, clinical practice, administration, policy issues, dentistry, nursing, and health care. Coverage: 1946-present.

Municode

Selected municipal ordinances and codes from localities across the U.S. Currency varies by specific jurisdiction.

N

National Journal

Comprises several components: Daily, a roundup of the day's top political news; The Almanac, a Congressional and Federal Agency Directory that includes biographical information of members, committee makeups, and state/district demographic breakdowns; the Daybook, a comprehensive Congressional and regulatory calendar to track hearings, meetings, and events; and the Racetracker, an elections dashboard tracking polling and financials for every federal election in the current year. Also includes the Presentation Center and Axis Data Center.

NCLC (National Consumer Law Center) Digital Library

Current versions of NCLC's treatises on debtor rights, mortgages, foreclosures, credit, banking, deceptive practices, warranties, and consumer litigation.

Newspaper Archive

Historical and/or current archives for selected newspapers: The Daily Press (Newport News, VA), Los Angeles Times, New York Times, The Times (London, United Kingdom), Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post. Coverage: Varies by paper.

Newspapers.com

Newspapers.com is a historical database of newspapers across the globe, potentially going as far back as 1690 and up until the present day.

Nexis Uni

Academic version of Lexis for non-law users. Contains cases, laws, and some secondary sources. (Formerly LexisNexis Academic.) Coverage: Varies by database.

O

Oxford Bibliographies Online: Islamic Studies

Peer-reviewed annotated bibliographies on the range of lived experiences and textual traditions of Muslims as they are articulated in various countries and regions throughout the world. Bibliographies are browsable by subject area and keyword searchable.

Oxford Legal Research Library: International Commercial Arbitration

Provides integrated and fully searchable digital access to some of the leading works relevant to international commercial arbitration.

Oxford Legal Research Library: International Commercial Law

Provides integrated and searchable access to some of the leading works relevant to international business law. Contains Oxford University Press titles on the law of sales, including related areas such as the laws of contract and agency, insurance, shipping and the carriage of goods.

Oxford Scholarly Authorities on International Law

Contains over 180 full-text online editions of market-leading reference works and treatises on international law published by Oxford University Press.

Oxford Scholarship Online

Cross-searchable library containing the full text and abstracts of classic and newly-published Oxford books. Access includes Law materials, as well as biology, business & management, classical studies, economics & finance, history, and several other subjects.

P

PAIS (Public Affairs Information Service) Index

Contemporary worldwide public policy and social, economic, and political issues. Citations to journal articles, books, government documents, statistical directories, research reports, conference reports, publications of international agencies, etc. Includes PAIS Archive. Coverage: 1915-present.

Politico Pro

Real-time, customizable news and analysis on developments in policy, access to over 100 policy expert reporters, and a data-driven graphics/presentation tool.

Practical Law (Thomson Reuters/Westlaw)

Get up to speed quickly with an unfamiliar area of law. Checklists, form and document templates, practice guides, and more for a number of practice areas and law school courses.

ProQuest Congressional

Historic and current congressional information. Includes Committee Prints, Congressional Record, CRS Reports, Hearings, House and Senate Documents/Reports, Legislative Histories, Executive Branch Documents, and Presidential Materials. Coverage: 1789-present for some series; others vary.

ProQuest Statistical Insight

Over 1 million statistical tables and reports from government, research, non-profit and corporate sources. Full-text searching and subject browsing available.

ProView (Thomson Reuters/Westlaw)

(individual login/password required)
Hundreds of current treatises and guidebooks covering all areas of law. May be accessed online or through a ProView app (iTunes | Android). Restricted to current W&M Law students, staff, and faculty.

S

Scholarship Repository (W&M Law School)

Open-access repository of the intellectual output of the W&M Law School community. Contains the full span of all current and past W&M law reviews and journals; journal articles, papers, lectures, and more from the Law School faculty; student publications; and various reports, brochures, and other items related to W&M Law School's history.

Social Science Research Network (SSRN)

Working and accepted papers from academics. To find law articles, browse to Social Sciences and choose Legal Scholarship Network. Indispensable resource for student note pre-emption checks.

Supreme Court Records and Briefs (U.S.), 1832-1978

Contains the full text of the party and amicus briefs and the records from U.S. Supreme Court cases from 1832-1978. Searchable by keyword, author, or case name.

T

Thomson Reuters Law School (formerly lawschool.westlaw.com)

(individual login/password required)
Portal to TWEN classroom software, the Westlaw research system, and training signups. Access restricted to current W&M Law students, staff, and faculty.

Thomson Reuters ProView (formerly Westlaw ProView)

TradeLawGuide

Comprehensive research tools for international trade law, including World Trade Organization (WTO) law and regional trade agreements (RTAs). Includes public decisions, dispute documents, commentaries, and negotiating histories. A suite of citators provides comprehensive substantive jurisprudence references to WTO, pre-WTO and Vienna Convention provisions as well as cross-references within the jurisprudence.

U

U.S. Supreme Court Records and Briefs, 1832-1978

Contains the full text of the party and amicus briefs and the records from U.S. Supreme Court cases from 1832-1978. Searchable by keyword, author, or case name. Part of Gale's Making of Modern Law series.

V

VitalLaw (Wolters Kluwer/CCH)

Practice-specific laws, treatises, and related materials. Covered areas include antitrust, cybersecurity & privacy, elder/estate law, IP, labor & employment, pensions/benefits, property, securities, and the practice of law & litigation. Coverage: Varies by source.

VoxGovFederal

Real-time access to the largest and most comprehensive collection of official and informal information resources from federal agencies and congressional sources. Can set up alerts to track documents or topics.

W

West Academic Study Aids

Online access to hundreds of study aids, treatises, and audio lectures. Includes the full sets of several series: the Nutshells, Short & Happy Guides, Gilbert Law Summaries, Concise Hornbooks, Legalines, Concepts & Insights, Sum and Substance Audio, and more. Create an individual account to enable additional features such as notetaking and highlighting. Coverage: Current editions.

Westlaw Precision

Westlaw Edge UK

(individual login/password required)
United Kingdom laws, regulations, articles, current awareness, and topical explanations. Includes some European Union materials, as well as UK treatises and Practical Law. See the Westlaw Edge UK User Guide for more information. Updated daily.

Westlaw Law School (now Thomson Reuters Law School)

(individual login/password required)
Portal to TWEN classroom software, the Westlaw research system, and training signups. Access restricted to current W&M Law students, staff, and faculty.

Westlaw Patron Access (formerly Westlaw Pro)

Selected case, statute, regulatory, and secondary source databases from Westlaw for library visitors and other non-law users.

Westlaw ProView (now Thomson Reuters ProView)

WorldCat

Materials held by thousands of libraries in the U.S. and abroad. Books, websites, films, journals, magazines, papers, manuscripts, maps, musical scores, newspapers, sound recordings, etc. Use this source to locate items that are not available at W&M in order to request them through Interlibrary Loan.