Recommended Secondary Resources

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Secondary sources can provide an overview of legal topics in plain language. We have pulled together the following recommended secondary sources to help you start your research.

Clicklaw website

Clicklaw website is BC’s primary resource for legal information. It links to a large collection of legal information resources for the public. See the handout Clicklaw: 5 ways to search, and Using the Clicklaw HelpMap. Clicklaw also includes Clicklaw Wikibooks, which are a series of 20 legal guides that are fully searchable, and can be downloaded in print or ePub formats.

Legal Dictionaries and Glossaries

Research Resources at Courthouse Libraries BC

Handouts

  • Courthouse Libraries BC: Who We Are Describes how our information services and staff can help you do your legal research. (Janet to update this handout)
  • A Brief Guide to Finding Court Documents Contains a series of questions and answers written for public librarians to help their patrons look for court documents.
  • Resources to Help with Notice of Civil Claim in Supreme Court (Janet to create link)

Website tools

  • Video tutorials
  • Guides Include BC Legislation and Federal Legislation, and recent changes to the law
  • Digital tools available at courthouse Libraries.
  • Asked and Answered A collection of answers to tricky legal research questions. Such as “How do I stop a bailiff/possession order?” and “How can I find out who owns apartment buildings in BC?”
  • Recommended books & resources in areas of law, in print only. Our online catalogue will show you which of our libraries contain any of the titles listed in these areas of law:
    • Civil Litigation
    • Family
    • Personal Injury
    • Other recommended texts:
      • Written Advocacy - Includes sample precedents of pleadings (statements of claim, defences and counter-claims) and how to write an effective legal argument.
      • Bullen & Leake & Jacob's Precedents and Pleadings - Discusses how to draft pleadings and includes sample pleadings in areas such as defamation, employment law, judicial review, personal injury and privacy.
      • McLachlin & Taylor or British Columbia Court Forms - Comprehensive textbook that discusses drafting pleadings and provides precedents.
      • Civil Trial Handbook - Offers information about trial preparation and strategy. It combines legal and procedural material and gives practical information that includes objectives, pointers, and strategy.
      • Sanagan’s Encyclopedia of words and phrases, legal maxims, Canada. Can help you find the meaning of legal words as defined by Canadian courts, and provide references to statutes or cases where words or phrases are defined.
      • Canadian Encyclopedic Digest - Comprehensive encyclopedia of Canadian law, which includes references to relevant statutes and case law.
      • Halsbury’s Laws of Canada – describes over 100 legal topics, with references to relevant statutes and case law.

Online Guides to Legal Research

Online Guides to Legal Research – written for law students and lawyers to prepare for a case.

More Recommended Online Resources


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