Legal directories are an excellent tool for tracking down practitioners who specialize in a particular legal area. Likely the best known of these directories is Martindale Hubbell, available electronically.
Another practice-focused secondary source, pattern jury instructions are a helpful tool to practitioners and judges during the trial process. These can be found in print and online, through databases such as WestlawNext, Lexis Advance, and Bloomberg Law.
What is it?
Practice aids can take many forms; rather than being a citable resource, these guides are ordinarily used by practitioners and self-represented litigants to understand how to handle particular legal situations. Because they are practice-oriented, these books are less about analyzing the law and directed instead at guiding a practitioner through the legal process, perhaps citing particular forms or laws along the way.
Characteristics:
Where to find these:
What is it?
A specific type of practice aid, form books provide stock legal forms for various legal transactions and events. These forms are meant as a basis on which practitioners can create their own tailored legal forms.
Characteristics:
Similar to practice aids - good for document creation, not for expanding research
Where to find these:
- In print - the Law Library has a few different form book series, which can be found on the Reference shelves behind the Circulation Desk
- Electronically - forms can be found on many different paid and free legal research sites, including Westlaw, Lexis Advance, and Bloomberg Law
- Free sites with legal forms tend to charge a small fee for access to the downloadable form; sample websites include Findlaw (and Findlaw for Legal Professionals) and Nolo.