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Legal Dictionaries / Words & Phrases

Legal dictionaries and words and phrases can help you research the meaning of legal terms and the legal interpretation of legal words and phrases. This can help when you’re trying to interpret a statute for which there is no clear case law or if you’re trying to discern the meaning of a word in a key legal document, such as a contract or a will.

Legal Dictionaries

If you need to know the meaning of a legal word, use a legal dictionary. Legal dictionaries are available online and in print:

• Barron's Canadian Law Dictionary
  • Lexis+ (law students only)
  • Lexis Advance Quicklaw (available to all students)
  • In print at the reference desk
  • In print in the reference section
• Dictionary of Canadian Law
  • In print on the reference desk
• Black's Law Dictionary (American)
  • Westlaw Edge (law students only; click the International tab)
  • In print on the reference desk

Words and Phrases

Words and phrases differ from dictionaries, as they show what the courts have said about a particular term. A words and phrases source will show how courts in different jurisdictions (federal, provincial, international) have defined this term. Online words and phrases include links to these cases so you can see the definition in context.

There are a few words and phrases to choose from:

• Words & Phrases Judicially Defined in Canadian Courts and Tribunals (aka: Words & Phrases)
  • Westlaw Edge (law students only)
  • In print in the reference section
• Canadian Legal Words & Phrases
  • Lexis+ (law students only)
  • Lexis Advance Quicklaw (available to all students)
• Sanagan's Encyclopedia of Words and Phrases
  • In print on the reference desk

Legal Encyclopedias

Legal encyclopedias contain narrative summaries of the law supported by references to case law and statutes. They are often the best place to start to gain a general understanding of the law in a particular area.

There are two main legal encyclopedias in law: the Canadian Encyclopedic Digest (CED) and Halsbury's Laws of Canada (Halsbury's). CED covers federal, western, and Ontario jurisdictions, and Halsbury's covers all provincial and federal jurisdictions. Both are available in print in the Law Library in the reference section on the first floor.

Electronically, CED is available in Westlaw Edge Canada, while Halsbury's is available in Lexis+. Note that only law students have access Westlaw Edge, and non-law students must use the campus-wide version of Lexis Advance Quicklaw. Non-law students can also use both CED and Halsbury's in print in the library.

Canadian Encyclopedic Digest

• Westlaw Edge (law students only)
• In print in the reference section
• Helpful titles include:
  • Business Corporations
  • Contracts
  • Employment Law
  • Labour Law
  • Torts
  • Wrongful Dismissal
•  How to start your research with the Canadian Encyclopedic Digest (5:58)

Halsbury's Laws of Canada

• Lexis+ (law students only)
• Lexis Advance Quicklaw (available to all students)
• In print in the reference section
• Helpful titles include:
  • Business Corporations
  • Contracts
  • Employment
  • Labour
  • Torts
•  Halsbury's Laws of Canada - Lexis Advance Quicklaw (1:45)

Journal Article Databases

If you already know the journal title, year, volume number and page number for an article, you may be able to access it electronically by searching for the journal's title in the UNB e-journals database. If we have the journal electronically or in print, it will be listed. You can also look up the journal title in UNB WorldCat.

Keep in mind that it can be best to start with an index rather than a full-text database. An index is essentially a list of articles by topic. Sometimes the article will be available full-text, but often you'll just be given a citation that you can use to track it down somewhere else.

Key Resources

• Index to Canadian Legal Literature
  • Westlaw Edge (law students only)
  • Lexis+ (law students only)
  • Lexis Advance Quicklaw (available to all students)
• Index to Legal Periodicals & Books Full Text
• Index to Legal Periodicals Retrospective
• LegalTrac
• Lexis+ (law students only)
  • Click Law Reviews & Journals
• Lexis Advance Quicklaw (available to all students)
  • Click Law Reviews & Journals
• Westlaw Edge (law students only)
  • Click Articles and Newsletters
• HeinOnline
  • Click Law Journal Library

If you need help locating an article, contact a librarian for assistance.

Books

To search for books at UNB Libraries, use UNB WorldCat. UNB WorldCat contains records of materials held at the Harriet Irving, Science and Forestry, Engineering, Hans W. Klohn, and Law libraries.

Irwin Law's Essentials of Canadian Law series (available in print and as eBooks [click Browse > Books & Journals > Irwin Law > Irwin Law Books]) can be a great starting point. It has several business-related titles, including:

• Bankruptcy and Insolvency Law, 2nd ed, by Roderick J. Wood. Available in print and eBook.
• Canadian Competition Law and Policy by John S. Tyhurst. eBook only.
• Franchise Law by Frank Zaid. Available in print and eBook.
• The Law of Partnerships and Corporations, 4th ed, by J. Anthony VanDuzer. Available in print and eBook.
• Mergers, Acquisitions and Other Changes of Corporate Control, 3rd ed, by Christopher C. Nicholls. eBook only.
• Securities Law, 3rd ed, by Christopher C. Nicholls. eBook only.

• Business Corporations in Canada: Legal and Practical Aspects [2 vols.] by Paul Martel. Available in print.
• Business Organizations: Practice, Theory and Emerging Challenges by Robert Yalden. Available in print and eBook.
• Canadian Business Corporations Law [3 vols.] by Kevin McGuinness. Available in print and eBook.
• Canadian Business Law by Tamra Alexander et al. Available in print.
• Contemporary Canadian Business Law: Principles and Cases by John A. Willes. Available in print.
• Corporate Duties: The Liability of Corporations by Noah Sarna. Available in print.

It might also be helpful to search for books on other areas that might be applicable, like employment law, labour law, torts, contracts, environmental law, etc.

Legislation

The following databases and websites provide access to federal and provincial legislation:

• Lexis+ (law students only)
• Lexis Advance Quicklaw (available to all students)
• Westlaw Edge (law students only)
• CanLII
• Justice Laws (Government of Canada federal legislation)
• LEGISinfo (Parliament of Canada)
  • Includes information on federal bills, including status, speeches, links to Hansard debates, full-text versions of bills, and more from 35th Parl, 1st Sess (January 1994) to the current session
• Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick
• New Brunswick Acts and Regulations (NB Attorney General)
  • Includes current legislation, rules of court, Royal Gazette, and more

A few helpful statutes:

Federal

• Canada Business Corporations Act, RSC 1985, c C-44
• Canada Not-for-Profit Corporations Act, SC 2009, c 23

New Brunswick

• Business Corporations Act, SNB 1981, c B-9.1
• Corporations Act, RSNB, 1973, c C-24
• Limited Partnership Act, SNB 1984, c L-9.1
• Partnerships and Business Names Registration Act, RSNB 1973, c P-5

Case Law

The following databases and websites provide access to federal and provincial case law.

• Lexis+ (law students only)
• Lexis Advance Quicklaw (available to all students)
• Westlaw Edge (law students only)
• CanLII
• Supreme Court of Canada Cases
• Federal Court of Canada Cases

Cases Digests

Along with searching the databases above, you should use a case digest to find case law. Case digests index cases by topic, and each topic is broken down into several subtopics. With a case digest, you might find ten, twenty, or hundreds of cases on your topic, saving you hours of research time.

Two important case digests are the Canadian Abridgment Digests and the Canada Digest.

Canadian Abridgment Digests

• Westlaw Edge (law students only)
• In print in the reference section
• Topics include:
  • Business Associations
  • Commercial Law
  • Contracts
  • Labour and Employment Law
  • Torts
• How to start your research with the Canadian Abridgment Digests (5:39)
• How to search the Canadian Abridgment Digests (4:33)

Canada Digest

• Lexis+ (law students only)
  • Click Case Summaries > All Canada Digests for a list of topics
• Lexis Advance Quicklaw (available to all students)
  • Click Case Summaries > All Canada Digests for a list of topics
• Topics include:
  • Commercial Law
  • Contracts
  • Corporations, Partnerships and Associations
  • Employment
  • Labour
  • Tort Law
  • Wrongful Dismissal
• Canada Digest – Lexis Advance Quicklaw (2:09)

Legal Forms & Precedents

Forms and precedents can be samples of common legal documents, forms legislated by statutes or regulations, or even a document that has evolved through common use to become the accepted standard.

You can find forms and precedents in the following databases:

• Canadian Forms & Precedents
  • Lexis+ (law students only)
    • Click Drafting Materials (Precedents) under Secondary Materials
  • Lexis Advance Quicklaw (available to all students)
    • Click Drafting Materials (Precedents) under Secondary Materials
  • In print in the reference section
  • Titles include:
    • Corporations
    • Employment
    • Sale and Operation of a Business
  •  Accessing Canadian Forms & Precedents – Lexis Advance Quicklaw (1:35)
  •  Forms – Lexis Advance Quicklaw (2:06)
• O'Brien's Encyclopedia of Forms
  • Westlaw Edge (law students only)
  • WestlawNext Canada (available to all students)
  • In print in the reference section
  • Titles include:
    • Commercial and General
    • Corporations
    • Labour Relations and Employment
    • Municipal Corporations
  •  How to use online forms with O'Brien's Encyclopedia of Forms (6:28)
• Lexis Practical Guidance (law students only)
  • Law students: use your Lexis+ login credentials
  • Contains forms and precedents, practice notes, clauses, checklists, and more
  • Includes resources for Commercial, Corporate and Private M&A, Employment, and more
  •  Lexis+ Canada - Training on the Go - Practical Guidance (2:04)
• Practical Law Canada (law students only)
  • Law students: use your Westlaw Edge login credentials
  • Contains forms and precedents, practice notes, clauses, checklists, and more
  • Includes resources for Competition, Corporate and M&A, Employment, Litigation: Corporate & Commercial, and more
  •  Welcome to Practical Law Canada (4:29)
  •  Practical Law Canada help videos

Websites & Blogs

Websites

The following websites may be helpful for your research:

• BizPaL: Online Business Permits and Licences Service (New Brunswick)
• Corporations Canada
• Institute of Corporate Directors
• Government of Canada: Business & Industry
• Government of New Brunswick: Resources for Business
• Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

Blogs and News

Lawyers and law firms often have blogs, and you can find links to several of them on lawblogs.ca, including:

• Business Law Blog (Alexander Holburn)
• Business Law Blog (Lawson Lundell LLP)
• First Reference Talks (First Reference)
• M&A and Private Equity Perspectives (McCarthy Tetrault)
• Risk Management and Crisis Response (Osler)
• Startup Source (Aird Berlis)
• Timely Disclosure (Fasken)