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Massachusetts Law Research Guide

Massachusetts legal research involves primary legal sources such as statutes, cases, and administrative law. You may also need to locate court rules, records and briefs, or forms. To ascertain legislative intent behind a particular statute, please see a reference librarian to assist you with legislative history research.

Bear in mind that most legal research should begin with a review of secondary sources such as treatises, encyclopedias, and law review articles. Secondary sources help you frame your questions before you begin researching "the law" and often provide references to primary sources, rules, or forms.

A note about electronic sources: Sources marked "Internet" are freely available on the web. Due to license restrictions, the law library can only provide access to Lexis and Westlaw to current law school students, faculty, and staff. Social Law Library databases and Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Archives are for BULaw affiliates only.

Guide maintained by Raquel Ortiz