The following sources can be helpful when choosing or revising a topic for your seminar paper. Be sure to also conduct a preemption check by searching working papers and law review articles to make sure your tentative topic has not already been written on. For assistance conducting a preemption check, make an appointment with a law librarian at the link on the right side of the page.
News sources focused on issues related to Climate Change law:
News sources on international law may include developments on international climate and environmental law.
To set up Emory Law access to Bloomberg Law, E&E, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal, visit the Digital Access guide.
Law blogs:
You might browse blogs on international environmental law for current issues, and environmental law blogs may also include international environmental news.
Law blogs:
You might browse blogs on environmental law for current issues, and environmental law blogs may also include international environmental news.
General Topic Blogs
Blogs may be an excellent resource for keeping up with changes in the news or law, providing commentary on fast-changing topics such as climate change law. Below are examples of climate change blogs:
You may need to do a preemption check to make sure that your idea is original. To do this, you should do a thorough search of the legal literature to determine if another author has already published on your topic, using the same analysis as yours.
1. Compile a List of Search Terms: Start by compiling a list of search terms that will retrieve any articles similar to your proposed comment.
2. Search Law Journal Articles: Search for recent law review articles on your topic in the law journal databases on Westlaw and Lexis. If your proposed comment is based on a case or statute, you should also use Keycite on Westlaw and Shepards on Lexis to find articles analyzing the case or statute.
You might also search in Legal Research Index on Westlaw, using the index headings to find articles on your topic, and in the Current Index to Legal Periodicals on Westlaw and Hein Online, a weekly index service arranged by subject area. Both are good for finding the most recent law journal articles in a subject area.
3. Search For Interdisciplinary Articles (if applicable)
4. Search for Books/Chapters: You should also check for books and book chapters that might have been published on your topic, using discoverE, the Emory University Libraries catalog, and WorldCat, a catalog of the holdings of U.S. and international libraries.
5. Search for Unpublished Materials: To find working papers and pending law review articles, search the abstracts in the Legal Scholarship Network, a division of SSRN, and the articles in the bepress Legal Repository. Academic legal blogs, such as the Legal Theory Blog and the blogs in the Law Professor Blogs Network, sometimes post announcements of new legal scholarship.
*Be sure to keep checking for new articles on your topic, and other developments that might affect your research, using alerts on Westlaw and Lexis, and by following topical legal blogs and newsletters.*
Additional Guides on Preemption
Some other legal research guides on preemption include:
Organizing Your Research Materials (Emory Resources):
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Questions? Email Anna Sturgill, Law Librarian for Archives and Assessment Services
