Skip to Main Content

Law

The research guide will help you find sources within the library and databases.

Start Your Research with OneSearch

Start your research with OneSearch. Search the Library's books, articles and more, all in one place.

Advanced Search

Onesearch logo magnifying glass text

If you need help with your research, contact the library or connect with a Librarian via 24/7 Chat.

NexisUni - Find cases, news, law reviews, statutes and more

The MLK Library at LACC subscribes to the NexisUni database. Students can use NexisUni to search news, legal cases, law reviews, company information, country information, or use the Shepard's Citations Service.

If you are off campus you will need to authenticate with your college credentials. Once in NexisUni, browse cases, news, law reviews, statutes and more by entering your search term in the main search box and then filtering in the results page by Source type, or use the Guided Search to isolate your search by content type. 

Explore the tabs in this box to find training tutorials and links to help you navigate and use this valuable research tool.

General NexisUni Training Videos

Case Law

Case law is an important source of law in all areas, even those that are heavily legislated. It is the law developed over time by judges in superior courts. Each case or judgment delivered by these superior courts is the solution to the dispute between parties to the case. Once the judgment is delivered it becomes precedent that future disputes will be settled based upon.

Decisions made in superior (higher) courts form precedents and inferior (lower) courts must follow these precedents, this is the doctrine of precedent, or stare decisis.  

 

  • Video about finding case law (keep in mind that this was created by another academic library so there may be some differences, such as finding and accessing the database, but the overall concepts and search functions will be the same). 

Adapted from Bethel College's Finding Legal Information Guide

Law review articles

A law review is an entirely student-run journal that publishes articles written by law professors, judges, and other legal professionals; many law reviews also publish shorter pieces written by law students called “notes” or “comments.”

 

Adapted from Bethel College's Finding Legal Information Guide

NexisUni Webinar: Search Federal and State Statutes Codes

Administrative Codes & Regulations

Administrative Codes and Regulations come from the executive branches of federal or state government.

  • Search by Topic or Citation.
  • Click the drop down next to the search field, and choose Administrative Codes & Regulations.
  • It may be helpful to narrow your search results.  Look for the narrow options on the left of the results screen.

    • You can limit the jurisdiction to U.S. Federal, or by state.

    • Once you choose the jurisdiction limit, you'll see available sources in that jurisdiction.
  • You can also find administrative code and regulations from a specific state, by including the state name in your search (without having to narrow your search).
  • Note: multiple words in quotes will search for that exact phrase.

screenshot search: 'college students' 'credit cards'

Deering's California Codes Annotated

Within Nexis Uni, students can access Deering's California Codes Annotated. To navigate to the codes, start typing in the main search box and you will see it pop up as a Source. Click on the Index/Outline image and from there you can browse through the codes or search within them. 

Screenshot NexisUni search box deering

 

Deering's CA Codes list

Statutes and Legislation

Statutes and Legislation come from the legislative branches of federal or state government.

  • Search for a law by topic, its common name, or by citation.
    • For example:  Family and Medical Leave Act      29 U.S.C. § 2601

  • Search by Name or Topic
    • Click the drop down next to the search field, and choose Statutes and Legislation.
    • Enter the law's name, or your topic.
  • Search by Citation
    • Click the drop down next to the search field, and choose Statutes and Legislation.

    • Enter the citation. When entering a citation that has a "§" section symbol, such as 29 U.S.C. § 2601, you can skip that section symbol.

    • Note: multiple words in quotes will search for that exact phrase.

Adapted from Edgewood College Legal Research Library Guide

Shepard's Signals

Shepard's Citations let you know every opinion where that case has been referenced, all treatments of the case, and, most importantly, whether or not the case is "good law." Navigate to this library guide on Shepard's Citations to find out more information about this important tool and how to use it.

Adapted from Bethel College's Finding Legal Information Guide

Company Profiles

  • Company information: Use the Guided Search to find Company Information. Includes Company Profile, Directories, Analyst Reports, Mergers & Acquisitions, and SEC Filings. Pulls information from business directories, Hoover’s® company information, ICC financial information, the MERGERSTAT® database, SEC filings, Standard & Poor’s® corporate information, and more. When you research a particular company, you will also find their particular NAICS and SIC codes on the company profile.
  • Nexis Uni: Find a Company Profile (video) 

    Video discusses how to find company profiles using Nexis Uni (created by Anderson Library, UW-Whitewater).

NexisUni Help

For more help with this database, visit Nexis Uni Support & Training page for search tips, tricks, training videos and more, or contact the MLK Library for assistance.

Contact Us:
Library (323) 953-4000 ext: 2400 * Reference (323) 953-4000 ext: 2406 * Circulation/Periodicals (323) 953-4000 ext: 2395
mlklibrary@lacitycollege.edu