A.L.R. is the acronym for American Law Reports. A.L.R. annotations (articles) provide a very useful summary and analysis of the law in a specific area, and include citations to relevant primary law and other secondary sources. If there is an A.L.R. annotation on your topic, it can save you a great deal of time by identifying these key sources, as well as giving you an overview of the current state of the law. Like legal encyclopedias, A.L.R. annotations are updated. A.L.R. annotations cover more specific legal issues and in greater depth than do encyclopedias. Generally, they focus on rapidly developing or controversial areas of law, so you will not find an A.L.R. annotation for every topic.
There are ten A.L.R. series: American Law Reports, 1st; American Law Reports, 2d; American Law Reports, 3d; American Law Reports, 4th; American Law Reports, 5th; American Law Reports, 6th; American Law Reports, 7th; American Law Reports, Federal; American Law Reports, Federal 2d; American Law Reports, Federal 3d. The first and second series are now used mostly for historical perspective, while current information is found in the remaining series.
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