American Law Reports (ALR), published by West, provides topical articles analyzing various legal subjects and issues. It incorporates case law, statutes, regulations, and attorney-written content into a single article for each specific area of law. As a West publication, it uses the Key Number system to connect articles to relevant information in other West sources (such as reporters, digests, and WestlawNext).
At the time of this guide’s creation, there are six series in ALR, plus two federal series, a digest, and an index. The 6th series has been in publication since 2005. For historical research, it may be necessary to consult a previous series.
Analytical articles
▪ Full text of selected black letter law (cases, statutes, rules, and regulations)
▪ References to relevant black letter law (cases, statutes, rules, and regulations), organized by jurisdiction
▪ References to other secondary sources (digests, treatises, law reviews, legal encyclopedias)
▪ KeyCite references (as of the date of publication of the volume) for updating purposes
▪ Key Numbers
Additional Volume Content
▪ Index: alphabetical listing of topics
▪ Digest: case headnotes from cases used in ALR articles, organized by Key Number topic
First Series: 1919-1945
2d Series: 1948-1965
3d Series: 1965-1980
4th Series: 1980-1991
5th Series: 1991-2005
6th Series: 2005-2015
7th Series: 2015-Current
Federal Series: 1969-2005
Federal 2d Series: 2005-2015
Federal 3d Series: 2015-Current
Index: covers all six series, plus two federal series
Digest: covers all six series, plus two federal series