Understanding legal abbreviations is critical in legal research and writing. Here are some useful resources that will help you identify legal abbreviations:
In the Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation, legal abbreviations can be found in:
Other sources of legal abbreviation are the following publications:
The Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations is a very useful tool for finding legal abbreviations from any jurisdiction either by abbreviation or by title.
The Australian Guide to Legal Citation (AGLC) is being used by legal academics, students, practitioners and members of the judiciary. A third edition can be viewed here.
The Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation a.k.a McGill Citation Style is the acceptable citation style in many Canadian law schools and officially acceptable to some Canadian courts and journals. Copies of the manual are available in the Law Library - KF 245 C34 2018
The manual provides general rules for citing bibliographies, footnotes and in-text citations. As well it spells out how to cite legislation in any format, government documents, international materials, secondary materials (books, periodicals, dictionaries, encyclopedic digests, book reviews, case comments, unpublished works, theses and dissertations, magazines, newspapers, websites etc).
OSCOLA Ireland is used by academics, practitioners and students in Ireland. It is an amended version of OSCOLA UK.
The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA) is used in law schools and by legal publishers in the UK. OSCOLA is edited by the Oxford University Law faculty. The fourth edition is available here - OSCOLA Fourth edition. Users should note that the there is a seperate document containing how to cite international law titled - OSCOLA 2006 - Citing International Law.
The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation is the most widely used citation style for the United States. It is now in its 19th edition and is compiled by the editors of the Columbia Law Review, the Harvard Law Review, the University of Pennsylvania Law Review and the Yale Law Journal. The 19th and 20th editions are available by subscription online here. Copies of the manual are available in the Law Library - KF 245 B58 2015
The ALWD (Association of Legal Writing Directors) citation manual is used by lawyers, students and academics in the United States. The manual is now in its 6th edition. More information can be found here. Copies of the 6th edition of the manual are available in the Law Library - KF 245 A45 2017.
When creating your bibliography it must comply with the citation style required by the institution. However there are tools that you can use to help you organize and compile your bibliography. Databses like HeinOnline, Nexis Uni, Proquest and EbscoHost are all compatible with Zotero.
Zotero is free web based software that helps you to organize your research and readings. It is a Firefox add-in but it works with other operating systems. In order to use Zotero, you have to download it on your computer from here. Click the red button that says 'Download Now' and once you finish downloading, restart your computer; the Zotero icon will appear on the button right-hand corner of your screen. Also remember to create your account. Once you have this icon you can always save your references in your Zotero account which you can access anywhere and anytime.
For guidance on setting up and using Zotero, see our Zotero for Legal Research guide.