Researching Your Note, Cert., or Seminar Paper  

The process of researching and writing a note, certification or seminar paper includes some or all of the following steps:

1. Selecting a topic
2. Conducting a preemption check
3. Finding legal and non-legal journal articles on the topic
4. Finding books on the topic
5. Finding news articles on the topic
6. Consulting specialized sources on the topic
7. Finding primary law on the topic

Each tabbed page of this research guide will address one of these seven steps.  This guide focuses on U.S. legal research.  Although many of the same resources and techniques will be useful for researching international or foreign topics, you will also want to consult the library's guides on Foreign Legal Research and International Legal Research. 

For personalized assistance researching your chosen topic, make an appointment with a legal information librarian. For detailed information about the Upperclass Writing Requirement, see the Registrar's web page.

In addition to using the appointment form link above, you can e-mail a librarian directly if your research question falls within his or her areas of expertise:

David Bachman (dbachman@bu.edu): International and Foreign Law; Health Law; Supreme Court; Court Documents; Court Rules

Steve Donweber (donweber@bu.edu): Litigation Resources; Transactional Law Resources; Federal Law; Legislative History

Jennifer Ekblaw (jekblaw@bu.edu): Bluebook; Constitutional Law; Copyright

Steven Ellis (sgellis@bu.edu): Labor and Employment; Discrimination; Foreign Law; International Law; GLBT Law; Family Law; Civil Rights; Native Peoples' and Federal Indian Law; Constitutional Law; Negotiation; Administrative Law

Ellen Richardson (emric@bu.edu): Administrative Law; Environmental Law; Government Documents; Health Law; Intersection of Law, Technology, and Privacy; Massachusetts Law; South Carolina Law

Stefanie Weigmann (sweig@bu.edu): International Law; European Union Law; Foreign Law; Legal History; Family Law; Tax Law

Request a Research Appointment with a Librarian