This page gives tips on how to find articles in law reviews and other legal periodicals. Lexis and Westlaw require user IDs and passwords; HeinOnline requires a valid Loyola ID and password.
Law review, or law journal, articles can be found in multiple places, including online databases and print copies within the Law Library's collection. The main online databases useful for locating law review articles are Westlaw, LexisNexis, and HeinOnline. You must have your own password to access Westlaw and LexisNexis, while HeinOnline is a licensed database which is accessible to any user with a valid Loyola ID and password. Most journal articles in Westlaw and LexisNexis are in an html format, whereas articles in HeinOnline are PDF files. PDF documents are an exact image of the original print version, so they are useful for cite checking and verifying page numbers. Another advantage to using HeinOnline is that it includes every issue of each journal it indexes, whereas the collections on LexisNexis and Westlaw usually go back only to the early 1980s.
Print versions of law review articles can also be found in the Law Library's collection. Most law reviews and journals are located on the fourth floor of the Library, arranged alphabetically by title. To determine whether the Law Library carries a particular title in print, you can check the Library catalog for the journal title. In addition to searching by journal title, you can now search the catalog by the title of the particular article or author you seek, and if the Library has electronic access to the article, the catalog will provide you with a link to the article.
Google Scholar also provides access to online versions of law reviews and other scholarly legal secondary content. If the content is included in a Loyola database (including HeinOnline), Google Scholar will provide a link to the full-text version available through Loyola.
Social Science Research Network (SSRN) is a free source that is especially helpful for locating recently published law journal articles and works-in-progress. Please be aware that not all works-in-progress are available in SSRN, and not all articles are available in full-text. Current Loyola students, staff and faculty can register for SSRN using their Loyola e-mail address.
Loyola University Chicago
School of Law Library
Philip H. Corboy Law Center
25 E. Pearson Street
Chicago, IL 60611
Access and borrowing questions:
Law-Library@luc.edu
Research questions: LoyolaLawReference@luc.edu
Main: 312.915.7200
Circulation: 312.915.6986
Reference: 312.915.7205
Interlibrary Loan: 312.915.7202
Fax: 312.915.6797
