About Law Review & Scholarly Journal Articles
Law reviews and scholarly journals publish articles written by legal scholars, practitioners, and students that analyze court decisions, legislation, and emerging issues in the law.
These sources provide in-depth discussion, background, and citations that can strengthen your research papers.
Use them when you need more than case law or statutes—especially if you want expert commentary or to see how the law is being debated in academic circles.
When to Use / When Not to Use
- Use law review and scholarly journal articles when you need expert commentary, background on legal issues, or citations to cases and statutes for deeper research.
- Don’t rely on them when you need the actual law itself (cases, statutes, or regulations). Always trace citations back to the primary source.
Law Reviews & Scholarly Journals - EMU Library Databases
These databases require an EMU login if you are off-campus.
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Westlaw Campus Research This link opens in a new windowFull-text access to law reviews, journals, cases, statutes, and other legal materials.
Best Use: Start here if you need legal scholarship plus case law. To find law review articles, select Secondary Sources → Law Reviews & Journals.
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HeinOnline Law Journal LibraryOver 3,000 law journals, with coverage back to the first issue of each publication. All articles are fully searchable and available in PDF format.
Best Use: Excellent for historical research in law and for accessing articles not available in other databases. -
Legal SourceFind scholarly journals, law reviews, trade journals, and newspapers covering a wide range of legal topics.
Best Use: Useful for exploring both academic and practical perspectives on legal issues. Great if your topic overlaps with business, health, or social issues.
To search beyond journals focused on law, try a multidisciplinary database:
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ProQuest PowerSearch This link opens in a new windowSearches across 20+ academic databases, covering law plus related subjects such as business, education, and the social sciences.Best Use: Best when your topic crosses into multiple disciplines (e.g., legal issues in healthcare, management, or education).
Law Reviews & Scholarly Journals - Freely Available Sites
Many law reviews and journals are freely available online, and several sites gather these materials into one convenient place.
The sites below are freely available, but may not be as comprehensive as the EMU Library databases listed above.
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ABA Legal Technology Resource Center's Free Full-Text Online Law Review/Journal SearchA free search tool maintained by the American Bar Association that links to many law reviews and journals available online.
Best Use: Quick way to find open-access legal scholarship, especially if you’re off-campus without an EMU login.
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Law Review CommonsA collection of hundreds of law reviews and legal journals from U.S. law schools, available in full text online.
Best Use: Great for browsing a wide variety of open-access law journals across different areas of law.
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Legal Scholarship Network (part of SSRN)Working papers and preprints in legal studies, many of which later appear in law reviews.
Best Use: Useful for accessing the latest legal scholarship before it’s published, especially for emerging or fast-changing topics.