On this page:
Legal Web Sites:
On-line Research Center
Law Library users have access to a variety of resources from the computers within the library or (in some cases) from elsewhere on campus or off-campus. Off-campus use may require NIU's VPN. For instructions on setting up a VPN connection, see the Authentication/VPN Process FAQ.
For assistance with on-line resources please contact the Law Library at (815) 753-0507 or ask at the Reference Desk.
Legal databases:
The four databases listed below are restricted by password to the faculty, students and staff of the College of Law. If you are not affiliated with the College of Law you may wish to try the starred [*] databases listed further down the page; these offer similar content.
- LexisNexis - professional legal research database
- Loislaw - federal & state cases, statutes, rules, regulations and other primary resources
- VersusLaw - archived and current opinions from state & federal courts, including selected tribal and foreign courts
- Westlaw - professional legal research database
Legal journals & law reviews:
Other law-related resources:
- BNA Databases - service covering a wide range of legal, legislative, regulatory, and economic topics (more information)
Off-campus access: restricted to faculty, students & staff of the College of Law; contact a librarian for details.
- CALI - over 300 computer-based tutorials in over 29 different legal subjects (more information)
Off-campus access: restricted to faculty, students & staff of the College of Law; contact a librarian for details.
- Congressional Universe [*]- committee reports and other publications of the U.S. Congress
Off-campus access: VPN
- Eighteenth Century Collections Online: Legal Documents - full text of books, pamphlets, and other documents printed in Great Britain and North America 1701-1800 tracing the development of law in the British Empire, Europe, and the Americas. Topics include acts, criminal and international law, appellants' cases, and more. IMPORTANT: the initial screen of this database implies patrons have access to the entire 18th Century Collections Online database. This is incorrect. The only content to which NIU patrons have access is the law materials.
Off-campus access: VPN
- GovSearch - contact information and organization charts for federal, state, and municipal government executives and civilian program information (more information)
Off-campus access: VPN
- HeinOnline - court reports, federal and state statutes, federal administrative regulations, presidential documents, classic legal treatises, and more (more information)
Off-campus access: VPN
- IICLE - (Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education) online handbooks, quick guides, & legal forms (more information)
Off-campus access: restricted to faculty & staff of the College of Law; contact a librarian for details.
- IntelliConnect (formerly CCH Business & Finance Internet Research Network) - provides full-text access to over 80 titles in the areas of antitrust law, banking, international business, and other topics.
Off-campus access: restricted to faculty, students & staff of the College of Law; contact a librarian for details.
- LawTrio - descriptions of looseleaf services, newsletters and CD-ROMs available for any legal subject
Off-campus access: available within the College of Law IP subnet only
- LexisNexis Academic [*] (formerly Academic Universe) - contains many of the legal resources found in LexisNexis, including American case law and statutes
Off-campus access: VPN
- Making of Modern Law: Trials, 1600-1926 - full text documents of trial transcripts, popular printed accounts, briefs, arguments, and other documents related to over 300 years of notable Anglo-American trials and crimes such as those involving Dred Scott, Susan B. Anthony, Oscar Wilde, the Boston Massacre, the Bounty mutineers, the Salem witchcraft trials, and many more.
Off-campus access: VPN
- PACER - electronic system for accessing federal case records. If you are a law student, faculty or staff please speak with a law librarian to obtain documents on PACER. Members of the public may also access PACER; registration and fee information is available from the PACER web page at http://pacer.psc.uscourts.gov/.
- RIA Checkpoint - state and federal tax laws, cases, regulations, legislation and related resources
Off-campus access: restricted to faculty, students & staff of the College of Law; contact a librarian for details.
- Westlaw - Public Access version [*]- a.k.a. Westpack. Includes cases, statutes and legal periodicals.
Off-campus access: available only at selected workstations in the Law Library and Founders Library; contact a librarian for login information.
General (non-law) resources & databases:
Online catalogs:
- NIU Catalog - searches all NIU libraries (Searches can be restricted to the Law Library by going to the "Advanced" tab and selecting "Law" as the location.) Video tutorials
Off-campus access: available to anyone
- I-SHARE catalog - searches the holdings of over 70 academic & specialized libraries in Illinois
Video tutorials
Off-campus access: available to anyone
- Statewide Illinois Library Catalog - (part of WorldCat/FirstSearch) searches all types of libraries in Illinois
Off-campus access: VPN
- WorldCat (part of FirstSearch) - searches library collections worldwide
Off-campus access: VPN
