Legal Research: Pennsylvania

Encyclopedias

There are two legal encyclopedias covering Pennsylvania law. The encyclopedia with the broadest scope is the Pennsylvania Legal Encyclopedia originally published by West Publishing Company with a new second edition currently being issued piecemeal by Lexis Law publishing. This tool arranges its subject matter into numerous topics which are then further broken down into section numbers. These topics and section numbers do not correspond in any way to the West topic and key number system for digesting cases or to the topic and section arrangement utilized in Corpus Juris Secundum, West's national legal encyclopedia. The set contains a three volume index and is updated with annual pocket parts. Periodically, topics are republished using a revised numbering scheme so it's not unusual to have the index reflect an old arrangement for some topics. When a change such as this occurs West will provide a conversion table at the beginning of the topic. Like most legal encyclopedias, PLE tends to oversimplify things and avoid administrative law. Nevertheless, for statutory or common law problems you can probably get a foothold from this source.

The second edition of the Pennsylvania Legal Encyclopedia is being released a volume at a time and therefore the Encyclopedia will remain a hybrid of both editions for probably two or three years. Major changes are the abandonment or merging of topics, the listing of major law review articles at the beginning of each topic, and the retention of replaced text in a section called "historical appendix" at the end of each topic. An interim index is periodically issued to provide subject access to the new volumes and conversion tables are included with each topic to translate old section numbers into new. Besides being updated with pocket parts both the new and old volumes are kept current with a paperback interim update that contains citations to cases that have been recently published.

Lawyer's Co-op has recently come out with a second edition of it's legal encyclopedia entitled Summary of Pennsylvania Jurisprudence 2d. The subject arrangement is very different from PLE in that it only covers twelve broad topics (torts, family law, property,municipal & local law, taxation,environmental law, criminal law, probate estates & trusts, business relationships, insurance, commercial law, and employment & labor relations ), devoting one to three volumes to each topic. Each of these topics is further broken down into chapters and sections. Besides the standard analysis and footnotes you would expect from this type of work, it also contains illustrative examples, it points out distinctions and exceptions, and reveals practical tips. All of this information is set off from the regular text so that it is easy to spot. The encyclopedia includes a tables volume incorporating a table of cases and a listing of statutes and rules cited in the work. A very detailed index is provided as a separate volume. Lawyer's Co-op has set a new standard for legal encyclopedias with this work.

The Pennsylvania Keystone doesn't really bill itself as an encyclopedia, but this seven volume looseleaf set certainly functions as one. It is a very practical tool covering topics that the larger encyclopedias tend to gloss over. It also contains hundreds of references to other sources that may give more detailed information. Checklists and notations about other tangential legal considerations are handy features of this set. The set is updated by a supplement found in the front of each volume.