Legal Encyclopedias are a good resource to find a short answer or legal definition of a legal term in your jurisdiction. The footnotes will often have reference to primary materials such as cases or statutes.
Bloomberg
For iPhone, iPad, Android and Blackberry, this app gives you up-to-date stock and business information. Click HERE for the free download.
FastCase
For iPhone or iPad, this resource allows for searching of Federal cases and statutes, as well as many state cases and statutes. Click HERE for a review provided by Justia, and click HERE to download the app for iPhone and HERE for iPad. Currently it is free to download/register/use the iPhone/iPad app, though there is a charge to use FastCase on a standard computer. United States cases (including bankruptcy) and statutes are available. Case law is available for all states and selected statestatutes. Pennsylvania statutes are NOT currently available on FastCase.
Lexis Advance
Mobile App version of Lexis Advance, including case law, statutes, and Shepards reports.
Mobile Apps for Legal Research
From the Harvard Law Library
Westlaw Next
Mobile App version of Westlaw Next, including case law , statutes and Key Cite reports.
U.S. Code
Download a serachable version of the United States Code onto your iPhone or iPad HERE. This application is provided by a law professor at Florida State University.
There are five comprehensive sets of Pennsylvania practice materials that cover most legal topics in a concise practitioner-oriented format available in the Widener Law Library:
* LexisNexis and Westlaw passwords are only provided to current law faculty and students .
Under the search tab for Pennsylvania sources, the Search Analysis and CLE Materials have a number practitioner-oriented databases available, primarily by practice area. For example, under Criminal Law & Procedure, the Pennsylvania Criminal Law Encyclopedia, Moore's Federal Practice, and Criminal Defense Techniques can be searched in one database. Other databases, as Trial Preparation for Prosecutors, have narrow, in-depth treatment of a specific legal topic.
The treatise library is particularly helpful for law practitioners with subject-specific content available such as evidence and family law. Mauet's trial practice library is a good resource, containing content dealing with subjects such as pre-trial issues and trial strategy.
There are a number of databases in Westlaw which contain practitioner-oriented secondary sources specific to Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Practice Library (Identifier: PAPRACLIB) is composed of Goodrich-Amram, Standard Pennsylvania Practice, Summary of Pennsylvania Jurisprudence, and West's Pennsylvania Forms). There are also practice-specific databases in Westlaw, such as Pennsylvania -- Criminal Litigation Combined (Identifier: PA-CRIMLIT) that combines Standard Pennsylvania Practice, Summary of Pennsylvania Jurisprudence, West's Pennsylvania Practice -- Criminal Procedure, and West's Pennsylvania Practice -- Driving Under the Influence.
Contact librarian for username and password.
SmartLitigator has a good selection of Pennsylvania practitioner-oriented resources. Content includes Pennsylvania D & C opinions, local rules for every county, and a good selection of forms, sample briefs, and motions.
There are three comprehensive Pennsylvania form book sets that cover a wide range of legal situations.
These books offer sections that deal with common pleadings, forms, motions, discovery, and other typical elements of a legal case: