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Canadian Legal Research Manual

This reference work was created by the Lederman Law Library to support Queen’s students learning legal research skills.

Introduction to American Law

American law is never binding in Canada, but it can be persuasive in some circumstances, such as when the law in Canada is not well developed in a given area.

The American legal system is considerably different than the Canadian one, so it is important to have a basic understanding of the system before you start researching. The following resources will help you grasp these differences. 

The American Legal System

Resources

Further Reading

The following texts provide a good introduction to researching American law: