Understanding secondary source in law requires examining multiple perspectives and considerations. What Are the Secondary Sources of Law? Secondary sources of law are materials that analyze, interpret, and explain the law, but they are not the law itself. Unlike primary sources, secondary sources are written by legal scholars, attorneys, and expert commentators.
Moreover, legal Research: A Guide to Secondary Resources - Library of Congress. Secondary resources in the field of law offer analysis, commentary, or a restatement of primary law and are used to help locate and explain primary sources of law. Primary and Secondary Sources - Introduction to Law - Highline College.
Secondary legal sources may restate the law, but they also discuss, analyze, describe, explain, or critique it as well. Secondary sources are used to help locate primary sources of law, define legal words and phrases, or help in legal research. Building on this, the basics of secondary sources | Thomson Reuters. As most attorneys learned in their first year of law school, secondary sources are authorities that explain different points of law, but do not themselves carry the weight of establishing the law.
These sources come in a variety of forms, each with its own unique purposes and uses. Home - Secondary Sources: ALRs, Encyclopedias, Law Reviews .... From another angle, secondary sources are a great place to begin your research. Although the primary sources of law--case law, statutes, and regulations--establish the law on a given topic, it is often difficult to quickly locate answers in them.
Secondary Sources - Free and Low-Cost Legal Research: U.S. Building on this, legal secondary sources are often the best place to start when conducting legal research, because they will provide overviews and explanations of the law, plus they are often full of citations to relevant statutes, cases, and regulations. LibGuides: Legal Research: An Overview: Secondary Sources. Secondary sources are background materials that describe an area of law.
Such sources detail and give context to the legal issue you are researching and identify relevant statutes and regulations and leading cases. Secondary sources are not themselves the law. Furthermore, introduction to Secondary Sources - LRAW Research Spring 2026 ....
Another key aspect involves, secondary sources are most often used for background, context, and help locating the strongest primary authorities. Secondary sources should not be cited when trying to persuade a court if binding authority (such as a relevant case decided by a higher court) is available. Guides: Secondary Sources Research Guide: Introduction. Another key aspect involves, this guide explains various types of secondary sources, including legal encyclopedias and American Law Reports, and how to use them.
From another angle, basic Secondary Sources - Law 792-PP: Advanced Legal Research .... Georgetown University Law Center explains the relationships among primary and secondary sources and mandatory and persuasive authority, as well as how to use secondary sources, in this 5-page handout.
📝 Summary
Understanding secondary source in law is important for individuals aiming to this field. The details covered here functions as a comprehensive guide for deeper understanding.