This section lists and describes the most significant primary corporate law resources. Since this area of law is largely controlled by state law, we have included links to our state law research guides, rather than listing them individually. However, since Delaware law is particularly important in this area, we have included Delaware materials along with national and more general sources.
Case Law
Cases related to corporate law are published in general case reporters and included in the West digest system. Annotated state codes are also an efficient and reliable way to find cases pertinent to specific statutory provisions. There are also several databases that focus on corporate law cases specifically, and we have listed them below.
- Corporate Cases, Federal and State (Dates of coverage vary by court)
Combined federal and state case law related to corporation law subject matters
- Delaware Corporate Cases (Dates of coverage vary by court)
Delaware case law related to corporation law subject matters
- State Case Law Databases (Dates of coverage vary by state)
Both Westlaw and Lexis also contains corporate and business case law for each state.
- Westlaw: Restrict your search by jurisdiction and run a keyword search in the case law database. You can then restrict by Practice Area in the left-hand sidebar.
- Lexis: Under Explore Content/Find a Topic on the search home page, select either Business & Corporate Compliance or Business & Corporate Law. You can then restrict by sub-topic on the next page. On the results page, restrict by Court in the left-hand sidebar.
Statutes
Statutes pertinent to corporate law can be found in multiple titles of the United States Code, as well as individual state codes. When looking for relevant statutes in codes, it is best to begin in the table of contents or in a subject index. As the Delaware Code is particularly significant , and several states follow the Model Business Corporation Act, we have also included them below.
- Delaware Code Annotated (1975 - ) KFD30 1953 .A24
Statutes dealing with corporations are contained in several titles.
- Model Business Corporation Act Annotated (4th., 2008 - ) KF1404.52 .A65
"Recognized as the most comprehensive reference interpreting corporate law in every state. Structured around the complete text of the Revised Model Business Corporation Act, this four-volume set provides authoritative answers on all aspects of corporate existence---including information, operation, powers and responsibilities of directors and officers, issuance of stock, shareholders' rights, mergers and dissolutions." Published by Committee on Corporate Laws, ABA Section of Business Law.
- Other State Codes
- United States Code (Official and Unofficial Versions)
Regulations
Regulations governing corporate law will also be found in multiple titles of the Code of Federal Regulations. These regulations are best found by using the CFR index, which is available in print as well as on Westlaw. Because of the significance of Delaware law in this area, we have also included references to the Code of Delaware Regulations.
