Legal Resources and Research

Federal & Texas Legal Sources

Nexis Uni (LexisNexis)

Nexis Uni (LexisNexis) This link opens in a new window
State and Federal (Supreme Court, U.S. Appellate, U.S. District) case law decisions (no state trial courts, no jury trials); State and Federal Codes, Regulations and Constitutions; law reviews; Shepardizing; as well as extensive U.S. and int'l news and business sources. Check All Sources Directory for complete list of available sources and date ranges. Updated daily.
Create a free Nexis Uni profile in order to access personal folders, alerts, and a collaborative workspace.

Nexis Uni Help Sheets
For more information see Nexis Uni research guide.
Nexis Uni Instruction Webinars
Free online tutorials on using Nexis Uni taught by LexisNexis instructors. You can sign up for a live webinar session or access previously recorded classes. Webinars are freely available to anyone but only current UTSA students, faculty or staff can log in to Nexis Uni.
Courses streamed via WebEx.

Shepardizing in Nexis Uni

Nexis Uni (LexisNexis) This link opens in a new window
Shepardizing
> Shepard's provides a comprehensive case citation and treatment history to verify the validity of case law, statutes, agency opinion, and other legal document.
> Any U.S. federal or state case can be Shepardized in Nexis Uni
> Links to Summary, prior history, subsequent history, treatment, and law review references.
> After finding case record click on "Shepardize this Document" on the right or click on the target symbol next to the name.

How Do I Shepardize a Case in Nexis Uni?

Law Reviews and Journals

Nexis Uni (LexisNexis) This link opens in a new window
Law reviews & journals are an excellent start to exploring a legal topic.
Nexis Uni contains the full text of 500 law school reviews and law journals. Links are provided to the full text of the cases mentioned.
Limit to Law Reviews & Journal under drop down menu or use law reviews menu.
Legal Collection (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
Full text access to over 400 law journals for information on current issues, studies, and legal trends.
Academic Search Complete (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
Comprehensive multidisciplinary, multilingual source for articles in scholarly and professional journals, magazines, newspapers, conference proceedings and law reviews. All subjects.
Coverage: 1867-current. Updated daily

Related Legal Database

ProQuest Congressional This link opens in a new window
Access to full text information from and about the U.S. Congress: congressional publications; bill tracking and full text of bills; legislative histories; federal regulations; members and committees; voting records. Updated daily. (1789-current)
Criminal Justice Database (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
Indexes and abstracts over 250 criminal justice journals with full text for more than 100 titles.
Criminal Justice Abstracts (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
(via EBSCO) Indexes and abstracts journal articles in criminology and related disciplines from 1968 to the present. Includes extensive coverage of books as well as reports from government and non-government agencies. Updated quarterly.
CCH AnswerConnect This link opens in a new window
CCH AnswerConnect, from Wolters Kluwer CCH, formerly CCH Tax Research Network, is a comprehensive database of primary and secondary sources related to taxation in the U.S. Its primary sources include: current IRS Code, Federal Tax Regulations, Federal Tax Cases, IRS Administrative Rulings, Letter Rulings and Memorandum, etc. Its secondary sources include editorial matters prepared by Wolters Kluwer which explain the primary source content. In addition, CCH AnswerConnect also contains federal and state laws and regulations, case law, forms, manuals, and news reports concerning health care and human resources.

Users must click the blue "Subscribers: Log in here" button in the top right right corner of the webpage to access the database.
LLMC Digital This link opens in a new window
Extensive collection of historical legislative, executive, and judicial publications on the federal, state, and territorial levels as well as foreign legal materials. All documents are available full text in PDF. Date range: 14th-21st centuries. Title List.
CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window
Provides in-depth, analytical reporting on the most current and controversial issues of the day. Each issue examines a single topic of public concern giving the reader a broad overview of the subject, including historical background, and a discussion of current controversies and initiatives, highlighting the range of opinions among experts.

Legal Forms

USA.gov This link opens in a new window
U.S. government's official web portal to all federal, state, and local government web resources and services. Search for Federal and State agency forms by agency including for taxes, social security, veterans' benefits, FEMA, etc.

Commonly Requested Legal Forms
Texas State Law Library Research Guide listing sources for legal forms.
TexasLawHelp.org
Program of the Texas Legal Services Center (TLSC), a non-profit law office founded in 1977 to expand availability of legal services for low-income Texans.
Texas State Law Library Research Guides
Topical guides compiled by reference librarians at the Texas State Law Library.

Legal Forms Library (Gale) This link opens in a new window
Legal documents in Word format for Texas and all 50 states. Includes descriptions on use of each form, definitions, legal Q&A. Information continuously updated to reflect latest state laws.
Legal Information Reference Center (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
Full text legal self-help and reference ebooks to assist the general public in legal matters from Nolo Publishing. Includes thousands of state-specific downloadable legal forms for all 50 states searchable by topic. Updated regularly.

Nexis Uni Webinar Training

Nexis Uni Instruction Webinars
Free online tutorials on using Nexis Uni taught by LexisNexis instructors. You can sign up for a live webinar session or access previously recorded classes. Webinars are freely available to anyone but only current UTSA students, faculty or staff can log in to Nexis Uni.
Courses streamed via WebEx.

Overview of Nexis Uni

>>> An Overview of the Key Content & Features (30 minutes) (Session recorded September 21, 2021)

General Legal Research

>>> Nexis Uni® for Legal Research (1 hour) (Session recorded April 14, 2021)

Case Law

>>> Searching Cases on Nexis Uni® (29 minutes) (Session Recorded June 17, 2021)

>>> Finding Cases by Party Name Using Nexis Uni® (24 minutes) (Session Recorded March 27, 2021)

Statutes and Codes

>>> Searching Federal and State Statutes/Code on Nexis Uni® (26 minutes) (Session Recorded March 22, 2021)

>>> Browsing Federal and State Statutes/Codes on Nexis Uni® (20 minutes) (Session Recorded April 30, 2021)

Secondary Sources:
>>> Using Nexis Uni® to Search Secondary Legal Sources (20 minutes) (Session Recorded April 9, 2021)

Citing

>>> Citation Management Tools on Nexis Uni (15 minutes) (Session Recorded October 6, 2021)

List updated: 1/9/2022

Disclaimer

We are happy to assist you in using our resources and finding information and documents, but as librarians we are not qualified to give legal advice or fill out legal forms. If you need legal help, you should speak to an attorney or a legal aid organization. The Legal Help Guide from the Texas State Law Library provides information on free and low-cost options for legal assistance or contacting an attorney in Texas.