Guides: Legal Research: Legal commentary

Legal commentary (loose-leaf services)

Legal commentaries, also known as "loose-leaf services", provide a detailed, up-to-date, comprehensive overview of an area of law. They contain of a mixture of commentary, legislation, practical information, interpretation of the law, and key cases.

Tip: don't forget to check the currency of information provided in commentaries.

Lexis Advance Research & US Research
Commentary services are located in Secondary Materials.
To search:
Select Advance Search > Secondary Materials.Filter your search results by selecting "Commentary" from the Content Type box.
Tutorials: Secondary Materials search form: Finding materials relating to legislation and Linking from commentaries to CaseBase
CCH IntelliConnect
To search:
Type your search terms into the search bar and search. Limit your results via the left-hand menu, by selecting 'by Document Type', then 'CCH Commentary'.
Tip: CCH also includes Comparative Tables which can be useful when tracking legislative changes.
Westlaw AU
To search:
Limit search by selecting 'Legislation and Commentary' from the left-hand menu. Tick the "Commentary Only" box.
LexisNexis Practical Guidance
Discover a range of “how-to” tools and content for legal practice, through the Lexis Advance Platform.
|User Guides & Videos ; Webinars & Training

Judicial Commision of NSW - Bench Books & Handbooks
The ‘bench books’ are materials used by both senior practitioners and judges and magistrates as a kind of ‘user manual’ in making their submissions and decisions. It assists these members of the profession in keeping up-to-date with the latest changes in law that may affect their practice of law.