Up-to-the-minute legal developments are monitored most effectively by using a variety of electronic current awareness sources. Bloomberg Law, Lexis, Westlaw and a number of Internet resources provide daily updates on both federal and state legal developments and also monitor foreign and international legal developments in a timely manner. Follow the paths suggested below.
Bloomberg Law: Law Review ResourcesProvides advice on identifying and researching a journal topic using resources available on Bloomberg Law. Includes a Circuit Splits Chart and Circuit Splits Court Opinion Search.
Bloomberg Law This link opens in a new windowUnited States Law Week (available on Bloomberg Law) provides comprehensive coverage of news and developments concerning the US Supreme Court. Complete case coverage from filing to final disposition. Includes news and analysis of significant federal and state cases, and legislative and regulatory developments. Key features include: Circuit Splits (a monthly summary of federal circuit court splits), analysis publications, including treatises, articles, blog posts and podcasts; coverage of recent federal judicial and executive nominations and confirmations.
VitalLaw (formerly Cheetah) This link opens in a new windowVitalLaw offers various current awareness publications, including news and blogs covering a variety of practice areas.
Lexis This link opens in a new windowThe Lexis
2L/3L Resource Center includes a "Law Review/Journal Resources" section with helpful resources on topic selection and on cite and substance checking. the 2L/3L Resource Center also includes a section on legal news sources.
Westlaw This link opens in a new windowFollow this path from the Content Types menu > Secondary Sources > Legal Newspapers & Newsletters.
Law360 This link opens in a new windowLaw360 offers timely coverage and analysis of major litigation, and legislative, regulatory, and business developments affecting a wide variety of practice areas, companies, firms and industries. Coverage is both national and international in scope. Click on the University of Minnesota link in the top right corner of the home page to sign up for a customized daily newsletter.
Factiva This link opens in a new windowSearch millions of newspapers, business magazines, and newswires with international and foreign language coverage with all editions of the Wall Street Journal. Financial information for publicly traded companies, stocks, funds, currencies, and common market indexes. Limited to 7 simultaneous users.
Sources for Finding Circuit Splits
Bloomberg Law This link opens in a new windowUnited States Law Week (available on Bloomberg Law) provides comprehensive coverage of news and developments concerning the US Supreme Court. U.S. Law Week summarizes selected splits among U.S. federal courts of appeals each month. Enter this search:
"circuit splits reported" in the search box to access these weekly summaries. USLW provides complete case coverage from filing to final disposition. Also includes news and analysis of significant federal and state cases, and legislative and regulatory developments.
Bloomberg Law: Law Review ResourcesProvides advice on identifying and researching a journal topic using resources available on Bloomberg Law. Includes a Circuit Splits Chart and Circuit Splits Court Opinion Search.
Searching for Circuit Splits in U.S. Court of Appeals Case Law Databases
Try these sample searches of U.S. Court of Appeals Cases and filter your results by date to locate recent decisions:
Bloomberg Law: circuit s/ split
Lexis: circuit w/s split
Westlaw: circuit /s split
Following Federal & State Public Policy, Legislative & Regulatory Developments
Congress.govThis site covers the latest developments in Congress.
CQ Press Library This link opens in a new windowIncludes CQ Magazine a weekly publication providing news and analysis of developments in Congress and CQ Researcher Plus Archive, featuring detailed reports on a wide range of political and social policy issues.
National Survey of State Laws This link opens in a new windowThis HeinOnline database contains the online version of National Survey of State Laws. It, "provides an overall view of some of the most sought-after and controversial legal topics in the United States. Users are able to make basic state-by-state comparisons of current state laws." The 6th ed. (2008) and 5th ed. (2005) are also provided and allow users to compare the same laws as they existed in 2005, 2008 and 2015.
Voxgov This link opens in a new windowAggregates and provides access to a broad range of content emanating from all branches of the federal government (over 14,000 government websites). The content types available are described in the Help section of Voxgov and includes: official releases, legislation, congressional documents, regulatory documents, media advisories, speeches, Op-Eds, and social media (Twitter feeds, YouTube videos) and much more.
Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse This link opens in a new window"Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse, at the University of Michigan Law School, brings together and analyzes information and documents about important civil rights cases across the United States. It is organized by case categories (child welfare to speech & religious freedom." The site is dedicated to injunctive rather than damages litigation. Each case includes important case documents (docket, complaint and other case documents).
Consult Legal Newspapers
The following legal newspaper is especially useful because of its currency and national scope.
National Law Journal This link opens in a new windowProvides in-depth coverage of legal issues and developments including federal and state litigation, extensive coverage of U.S. Supreme Court, and reports and analysis of legislative developments. Notable state and federal verdicts and settlements of national significance are also reported. Includes analysis by practitioners of legal and professional trends, and an opinion section featuring pieces written by prominent lawyers, judges, legal scholars and elected officials.
For regional, state, or local topics consult legal newspapers from the relevant region or jurisdiction. Some important regional legal newspapers are:
New York Law JournalAlso available on Lexis. Back issues are available on microform (Microform Per .N5383) in Storage/Basement (ask at Circulation Desk or Reference Office).
Los Angeles Daily JournalHardcopy available in periodicals collection (Per. L656) and back issues are on microform (Microform Per .L656) in Storage/Basement (ask at Circulation Desk or Reference Office).
Minnesota LawyerHardcopy is available in Periodicals (Per .M595). Online access available on EBSCO MegaFile. For access to digital version on Minnesota Lawyer website contact the Reference Office.
Consult Blogs/Web Sites
The following blogs can help track news and developments in the law, including jurisdictional controversies. Other legal blogs can be identified by going to the Justia Blawg Directory.
How Appealing"The web's first blog is devoted to appellate litigation."
AALS Directory of Law Teachers