Legal encyclopedias are secondary sources that offer a broad overview of various legal topics, serving as an excellent starting point for legal research.
These multi-volume sets provide a broad overview of the law across many areas. They contain entries on legal topics, organized alphabetically, offering brief summaries of legal principles, case law, and statutes. Examples of legal encyclopedias include American Jurisprudence (AmJur) and Corpus Juris Secundum (CJS), both of which cover a vast array of topics in American law.
Legal encyclopedias are important in legal research primarily for their breadth. They offer a wide-ranging overview of numerous areas of law, making them an excellent place to begin when researching an unfamiliar topic. They provide straightforward, accessible summaries of legal principles, which can be particularly helpful for understanding the basics before delving into more complex materials. While they should not be cited in legal arguments due to their broad nature, they are an invaluable tool for gaining a foundational understanding of a legal topic.
Legal encyclopedias can be found in most law libraries and are available on legal research platforms. To use a legal encyclopedia effectively, identify the topic of interest and find the corresponding entry in the encyclopedia. Review the entry for a broad understanding of the topic and note any relevant case law or statutes mentioned. Remember, the information is generally high-level and not jurisdiction-specific, so it's important to cross-verify any cited laws or cases with primary sources to ensure their applicability to your specific research.