Women's Law Journal

This page is a step-by-step guide for students on the Hastings Women's Journal to choose a note topic and perform a preemption check.

Finding A Good Topic

Read about current legal issues that may be of interest to you:

Topical Newsletters:

The Library subscribes to a number of topical newsletters which follow current litigation and legislative changes. Some examples which may be useful are:

• ABA Child Law Practice [KF479.A15 A24 - Circulation Desk]
• Family Law Reporter
• Lesbian-Gay Law Notes [KF4754.5.A15 L47 - Circulation Desk]
• Migration News Sheet: Monthly Information Bulletin on Immigrants, Refugees and Ethnic Minorities [JV6091 .M54 - Circulation Desk]

Newsletters on Westlaw and Lexis:

Westlaw: You can search the LEGNEWSL database of all the newsletters currently available on Westlaw.

Lexis: Lexis has a smaller newsletter database. Search Combined Legal Newsletters on Lexis.

Newspapers:

Both Lexis and Westlaw have a good selection of U.S. newspapers, where you can read about new legal issues. Available at Lexis (Major Papers) and Westlaw (NewsRoom Major Papers).

Hastings Electronic Resources:

• U.S. Law Week [
• Proquest Research Library
• Congressional Research Service Reports

SFPL Electronic Resources:

Requires a SFPL library card

• LGBT Life - "Full text and abstracts of articles from Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender periodicals and monographs."
• Ethnic NewsWatch - "Full text articles in both English and Spanish of more than 250 newspapers, magazines, and journals of the ethnic and minority press."
• Alternative Press Index - "Index to journals covering cultural, economic, political & social change."
• GenderWatch - "Full text periodicals and other publications on how gender impacts a broad spectrum of subject areas."
• Contemporary Womens Issues - "Women's studies literature from journals, newsletters, and reports."

 

Websites:

Since the Hastings Women's Law Journal provides a forum for voices outside the traditional scope of legal academic scholarship, Internet resources outside of Law Reviews and newspapers can provide help in identifying current issues.

• Women in Development - a listing of the larger and more influential NGOs operating internationally, limited in scope to those NGOs which produce publications of research value to university users and policymakers and are large, influential organizations as demonstrated by affiliations with other organizations, directory listings, and currently maintained web sites.
• Law Professor Blogs - a guide to group of law professors who discuss current topics on their blogs.
• Work / Life Law Center - Hastings center that focuses on a number of workplace discrimination issues.
• Work / Life Law Research Page - includes library resources as well as links to many useful many online resources.
• Workplace Fairness - a non-profit organization helping to preserve and promote employee rights. This website provides information about job rights and employment issues around the country and in all 50 states. It is for workers, employers, advocates, policymakers, journalists, and anyone else who wants to understand, protect, and strengthen workers' rights.
• Center for Reproductive Rights - the Center for Reproductive Rights uses the law to advance reproductive freedom as a fundamental right that all governments are legally obligated to protect, respect and fulfill. Topics covered are Abortions, Adolescents, Contraception, Human Rights, Safe Pregnancy.
• Youth Coalition - YC is an international organization of young people between the ages of 15 & 29 committed to promoting youth sexual and reproductive rights at the national, regional and international levels.
• Amensty International, Women's Human Rights - reports, news and current concerns about the human rights of women throughout the world.
• Women Watch - a gateway to information and resources from UN agencies working on women's issues worldwide.
• Women's Human Rights Resources (Bora Laskin Law Library, University of Toronto) - includes a searchable database of topical information. Hint: Use Advanced Search.

Gender and Refugee Law Websites:

Professor Karen Musalo has a website for the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies with databases of gender asylum cases and relevant law, useful web links, and links to topical news stories.

Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is dedicated to protecting the human rights of people around the world. Their website provides a wealth of current information, news, international legal standards and publications for topics such as women's rights, refugees, prisons arms and children's rights.

National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
Works to promote a just immigration and refugee policy in the United States and to defend and expand the rights of all immigrants and refugees, regardless of immigration status. Includes the Network News newsletter.

Youth Law Websites:

National Center for Youth Law publishes articles, manuals, books, and a bimonthly journal, Youth Law News.

The Youth Law Center is a non-profit, public interest law office that has worked to protect abused and at-risk children since 1978. Youth Law Center Links and Referrals

The Internet Open Directory provides links to organizations which specialize in nontraditional areas of the law. Some good examples of areas they cover:
• Gay Lesbian Bisexual Law
• Transgendered Law
• Animal Welfare Law
• Race and Racism
• Disabilities Law
• Juvenile Law

 

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Doing A Preemption Check

What is a Preemption Check?

It is simply a way to check to make sure that no one else has already published an article (or book) on the topic you have selected for your Note.

How do I Complete a Preemption Check?

The easiest thing to do is to follow the Library's 8-step Preemption Check Guide. If your topic is interdisciplinary or policy-focused, you should also search in the ProQuest Research Library to determine if someone has already published an article on the subject.

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Researching Your Article

Finding Books:

Search Hastings Online Catalog for print titles at the Hastings Law Library. Be sure to use keyword searches for broad topics. Once you have narrowed down to a LC subject heading, use subject searches to find all materials under your subject.

For non-legal materials and materials not available at Hastings, search "WorldCat" on FirstSearch to find out if any books exist on your topic at any library worldwide.

If you find a book on your topic that we don't have at Hastings, you can submit a request to have the book borrowed by Hastings through interlibrary loan (ILL). Simply click on the "ILL" icon at the top of the WorldCat record. It can take up to two weeks to get books from ILL, so plan ahead.

Finding Journal Articles:

Finding a journal article discussing the area of law about which you plan to write can be a great way to start your research or to solidify an important point in your paper. Although the articles you find will be on different topics, they can help you find the major primary sources you will need.

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Getting Help With Your Research

Reference Desk Hours:

Monday-Friday: 8:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Saturday: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Getting Research Help:

The Reference Librarians are available to help you plan your research strategy and to help you find the resources that will be useful in researching your Note topic. Stop by when the reference desk is open, or if you have a more complicated question, contact (565-4838) and make an appointment to discuss your research.

Last updated September 24, 2009