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4-Step Legal Research Process: Treatises

Treatises Overview

Types of treatises: 

  • Treatises

    • These sources are widely-respected works written by scholars or experts in the field that are considered definitive sources within their subject area. As a result, you may find them cited in court opinions, briefs, and memos.

    • Treatise titles will often be in the format "[author name] on [subject matter]."

  • Hornbooks

    • These are still authored by scholars who are experts in the topic area of law, but are written more for a student and practitioner audience.

  • Nutshells

    • Most commonly used by students as a study aid, they give a quick overview of the law—fewer references to primary authorities. They may follow an outline type of format.

  • Others

    • All of the electronic databases have varying secondary sources, so it’s useful to check each to find a good treatise on your topic. Try searching for secondary sources and narrowing down by topic.

How to use Treatises

  • Treatises provide an in-depth treatment of a legal subject. Generally, the author will have given a history of the area of law and its development, will explain the legal rules in that subject area, and will provide commentary on important primary authorities within the area of law. Treatises will also contain citations to relevant primary sources and other materials. The thoroughness of these sources make them a great option for early on in the research process.
     
  • As mentioned above, you may find citations to treatises in court opinions, briefs, and memos. However, when consulting them in your research process, treat them like other secondary sources and use them to find the relevant primary source material to cite to.
     
  • Treatises may be found on Westlaw, Lexis, Bloomberg, and through the Law Library catalog.

Links to the Law Library Catalog