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Category: Research Guide

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Homeowners’ Associations Law: A Beginner’s Guide

Posted by: Barbara Bavis

Often, our topic choices for our Beginner’s Guide series are pulled from questions we receive at the reference desk and via our Ask a Librarian service.  The topic for this Beginner’s Guide, the law regarding homeowner’s associations, is no exception to the rule, as we have fielded questions about this area of law for many …

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Researching New Zealand’s Laws Related to “Doing Business”

Posted by: Kelly Buchanan

On October 31, 2017, the World Bank released the fifteenth edition of its Doing Business report, subtitled “Reforming to Create Jobs.” As with the fourteenth edition, New Zealand was given the highest “ease of doing business” ranking among 190 countries. The report explains that “[t]he overall measure of the ease of doing business gives an …

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An Index to In Custodia Legis Legal Research Guides

Posted by: Robert Brammer

The Law Library of Congress blog,  In Custodia Legis, is celebrating its seventh year in operation! During this time, we have published many research guides for both foreign and domestic law. I thought it would be useful to go back and revisit those guides in order to organize them into a basic index. Are there any …

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A Guide to Researching EU Law

Posted by: Jenny Gesley

The following is a guest post by Micaela DelMonte, a lawyer from the European Parliamentary Research Service who volunteered at the Law Library of Congress during May 2017. News about Brexit and the so-called Article 50 procedure have dominated the news about the European Union (EU) lately. If you are interested in researching these or …

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The Framing of the United States Constitution: A Beginner’s Guide

Posted by: Robert Brammer

This post is coauthored by Barbara Bavis, instructional librarian, and Robert Brammer, senior legal information specialist. We often receive questions from patrons who are interested in researching the original intent of the framers of the United States Constitution. Since the framers were not necessarily all of one mind and, on occasion, there was no debate on certain provisions, …

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The Administration of a Probate Estate: A Beginner’s Guide

Posted by: Barbara Bavis

This post is coauthored by Barbara Bavis, instructional librarian, and Robert Brammer, senior legal information specialist We frequently receive reference requests for resources related to the administration of an estate. In this Beginner’s Guide, we will direct you to general and state-specific resources that concern probate administration. If you are interested in resources for drafting a will, please …

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Locating a State Constitution: A Beginner’s Guide

Posted by: Barbara Bavis

This post is coauthored by Barbara Bavis, instructional librarian, and Robert Brammer, senior legal information specialist One of our most frequent requests from patrons is for assistance with their constitutional research, particularly with regard to state constitutions.  While the best resource for information is likely the state library and/or state archives of the state that created the constitution …

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Locating Real Estate Forms: A Beginner’s Guide

Posted by: Barbara Bavis

This post is coauthored by Barbara Bavis, instructional librarian, and Robert Brammer, senior legal reference specialist. We frequently receive requests for assistance with real estate law, particularly in finding real estate forms.  The legal requirements for such forms and agreements can be extensive, and as such, researchers can turn to treatises, legal encyclopedias, and legal form books …

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Drafting a Will: A Beginner’s Guide

Posted by: Barbara Bavis

This post is coauthored by Barbara Bavis, instructional librarian, and Robert Brammer, senior legal reference specialist Contemplating end-of-life issues is not anyone’s favorite topic, but it is important to do so in order to ensure your final wishes are carried out. As such, it is not surprising that our patrons show an interest in these matters, which …