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
- Westlaw - professional legal research database
- VersusLaw - archived and current opinions from state & federal courts, including selected tribal and foreign courts
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.
- 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 (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
- 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.
- 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
- 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.
- Westpack [*]- public-access version of Westlaw, including cases, statutes and legal periodicals.
Off-campus access: available only in the Law Library; contact a librarian for login information.
General (non-law) resources & databases:
Online catalogs:
