EMPIRICAL LEGAL RESEARCHSaskia Mehlhorn, Visiting Foreign and International Law Librarian

DEFINITION

EMPIRICAL RESEARCH

NOT Empirical Legal Scholarship

BUT

Research of non-legal facts that are needed to support lawyering functions

EXAMPLES

THE BRANDEIS BRIEF

SUGAR PLANT EXPLOSION

AVAILABLE RESOURCES

GENERAL AND QUICK REFERENCE

Black’s Law Dictionary Research Guides and Bibliographies

GOVERNMENT INFORMATION

Information available in print and online At the Federal and State level are a number

of website accessible that offer help in researching government agencies, information and more.

STATISTICS

Statistics are available for national and international research

U.S. statistics are offered by the government as well as through non-profit and full profit databases

Many countries offer statistics on economic and social conditions

COMPANIES AND INSTITUTIONS

Common request in a law firm Might include research/search for CEOs,

directors or judges and attorneys Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is

an excellent (and mainly fee) resource Martindale-Hubbell and the State Bar

Associations are another great resource

MEDICAL INFORMATION

Medline is the primary database for healthcare professionals

Merck Manual provides clinical information Centers of Disease Control and Prevention

PUBLIC RECORDS

Property Records Federal Tax Liens Notice of Meetings Election records

The ultimate empirical research source is available at

(713) 743-2327