This guide provides an overview of the resources that can be used to research family law in the United States. The guide covers both federal and state resources, with a focus on New York State resources. The commercial databases included in this guide are available to current students at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University. For assistance accessing any of these materials, please contact the Reference Desk at reference@law.pace.edu. This guide is not intended to serve as a research guide for pro se litigants.
Here are some general research strategies to keep in mind:
- Researching family law is like researching for many other legal issues. Identify your issues first and then identify the relevant constitutional provisions, statutes, regulations, case law, and secondary sources.
- Looking to write a paper on this topic? Check current awareness materials such as newspapers and blogs which may feature stories about current family law issues.
- Although there are law reviews that focus on specific areas of law, do not limit your searches to just those subject specific publications. Remember that any law review can publish a an article on family law, so always include some searches in a database containing all law reviews, without narrowing by publication or jurisdiction..
- Search in the Pace Law Library Catalog & Discovery Service to find books and articles that will support your research on this topic.
