How to Prepare Your Note, Cert. or Seminar Paper:
Selecting a topic

Choosing a topic can be challenging, however there are resources which can make this task a lot easier. A look at current materials like blogs, general and legal news, newsletters, and others listed below can yield interesting and timely topic ideas.

Blogs

Legal blogs or blawgs can be help you find hot topics where additional research is needed. The most comprehensive blawg directory as of this writing is Justia Blawgsearch, which categorizes over 4,400 legal blogs by topic, jurisdiction, and more.

General interest newspapers

Legal news

Legal newspapers cover the latest developments in all areas of law including pending legislation, recent regulatory and executive actions, and litigation.

Specialized legal periodicals

If you have selected an area of law in which to focus your search for a topic, specialized legal periodicals help identify controversial or emerging issues in your chosen area. Legal periodicals include

  • Law reviews & law journals
  • Looseleaf services
  • Legal newsletters

To locate any of these materials use the following tools:

  • BU online catalog to locate specialized legal periodicals for information on current developments in your research area. Try a Word search, then limit the results by type of material to "serials."
  • LexisNexis: When you select Area of Law by Topic, you will find links for "Emerging Issues" and journals under "Search Analysis, Law Reviews & Journals." You may also use the Law Reviews, Combined source to search all journals regardless of area of law.
  • Westlaw: topical materials, including "Law Reviews, Bar Journals & Legal Periodicals" and "Daily Reports and Current Developments", organized in Topical Materials by Area of Practice. You may also use Journals and Law Reviews to search all journals regardless of topical area.
  • Resources for finding looseleaf services are covered in the Secondary Sources section of this guide.
  • Legal Newsletters in Print [Law Ref Desk KF 1 L56] to find newsletters in your area of interest. The library collects few legal newsletters; however, many are available electronically.
  • On the Internet, using a search engine such as Google.

Other specialized periodicals

Periodicals that are not legal in nature, but are specific to a particular discipline, may include current developments with a legal dimension. To locate those types of journals, periodicals and newspapers, try searching:

Finally, if you are having trouble finding materials and selecting a topic, please consult a reference librarian by making an appointment or stopping by the reference desk in the Pappas Law Library Reading Room.

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Page maintained by: Raquel Ortiz
Last updated: September 2009