First Year Legal Research Guide   Tags: first, legal_research, year  

Print volumes of the Restatements are shelved in the Law Library's Reference section on the third floor. Some of the more heavily-used titles are listed below, along with their corresponding call number. When using the Restatements in print, always be sure to check for pocket parts or a separate paperback supplement. The semiannual Interim Case Citations to the Restatement of the Law, which updates pocket parts and supplements, is located in the reference section at KF395 .A575 I55.

The texts of the Restatements with current case citations are available in Westlaw and Lexis.

In Westlaw, all of the Restatements may be searched concurrently in the "Restatements and Principles of Law" database.  Individual Restatement titles may also be searched by clicking on links for each title (e.g Contracts, Property, Torts); clicking on an individual title also brings up a Table of Contents view which allows you to read a particular section from that title or to search multiple sections at once.  

In LexisNexis, if you go to "Browse Sources", then click on "All Sources", and then click on the letter "R" you will be able to see a list of all available Restatements. Click on whichever Restatement you wish to see, and you can view its Table of Contents, or click on "Get Source Documents" to view all Lexis documents related to this Restatement, or click on "Add this source to search" to search within this Restatement (or multiple Restatements) by keyword using the Lexis search box.

Scanned images of the Restatement volumes are available in HeinOnline in their "American Law Institute Library." HeinOnline is a subscription database available to members of the Loyola University Chicago community from any computer on campus, or from off campus with a current Loyola login and password. HeinOnline now includes scanned images of annual Restatement pocket parts or supplements.  

As part of their LibTour podcast series, CALI created this brief introduction to the Restatements.

The Restatements are a secondary resource published by The American Law Institute (ALI).  Founded in 1923 and composed of prominent judges, attorneys, and law professors, ALI promulgates the Restatements, as well as model statutes and principles of law. Covering a variety of fields, the Restatements essentially "restate" the common law rules as they have developed over time in the majority of U.S. jurisdictions.  Along with providing common law doctrines, the Restatements include commentary, hypotheticals illustrating how the rules should apply, and case summaries. The Restatements generally carry substantial weight as persuasive authority and are frequently cited.  

The Restatements have been published in three series--with some subjects appearing only in the third series. Between 1923 and 1944, Restatements were developed in the areas of Agency, Conflict of Laws, Contracts, Judgments, Property, Restitution, Security, Torts, and Trusts.  In 1952,  ALI began a second series of Restatements that updated the first, and added new topics, such as Foreign Relations Law of the U.S. and Landlord and Tenant.  In 1987, the Institute initiated a third series of Restatements, which added topics such as Unfair Competition and the Law Governing Lawyers.  Currently in the project stage of the third series are Restatements for Employment Law, Property (Wills and Other Donative Transfers), Trusts, Restitution and Unjust Enrichment, the U.S. Law of International Commercial Arbitration,Torts (Economic Torts and Related Wrongs), and Torts (Liability for Physical and Emotional Harm). For a current listing of all available Restatements, click here. 

The Restatements are divided into chapters and subdivided into numbered sections, which generally include:

-a statement of the "black letter law"

-a Comment

-Illustrations

-a Reporters' Note

The comments explain the provision in detail, and the illustrations demonstrate how the provision would apply in various hypothetical situations. The "Reporters' Note" describes the historical development of the section with case law references. 

Restatement titles contain a general Table of Contents, as well as other tables for cases, statutes, and cross references.  Restatement titles also have an individual keyword index, and the more recent titles also have a cross reference table for West key numbers and American Law Report annotations. In addition, Restatement titles include summaries of cases that have cited each section. Case annotations for some topics (most notably, Torts) have been published separately in appendices; all titles are updated with annual pocket parts or supplements that contain case summaries.  The annual pocket parts and supplements are further updated semiannually in Interim Case Citations to the Restatement of the Law.

Below are links to examples of various parts of the print Restatement volumes in PDF format from the HeinOnline "American Law Institute Library" database.  Note that these links are accessible only on campus, or remotely with a valid Loyola ID and password.   

Rule 12.9.4 of The Bluebook (20th edition) prescribes how to cite the Restatements. The following examples are provided in this rule:

RESTATEMENT (THIRD) OF UNFAIR COMPETITION § 3 (AM. LAW INST. 1995)

RESTATEMENT (SECOND) OF TORTS §847A (AM. LAW INST., Tentative Draft No. 17, 1974).

RESTATEMENT (THIRD) OF PROP.: WILLS AND DONATIVE TRANSFERS § 2.1 (AM. LAW INST. 1999).

RESTATMENT (SECOND) OF CONFLICT OF LAWS §305 cmt. b, illus. 1 (AM. LAW INST. 1977)

Although the Restatements are organized by chapter and then section, they are cited by section number. If the Restatement is a tentative or proposed draft, you must indicate that fact parenthetically as it appears on the publication and give the draft number (if available) and year of the draft. Additionally, if a Restatement title includes a subtitle, then the subtitle should be included in the citation.  Comments, notes, and any other addenda should be cited according to rule 3.4. The Bluebook also specifies that the parenthetical should include the year in which the Restatement was published.  Check the title page for the year of publication, and then the copyright date if the publication year is not included on the title page.