It’s easy for a research class to become too abstract. Among the swirl of resource types, database demos, and automated tools, individuals who have played major roles in the content we teach can be overshadowed. Working in colorful stories of the trials and tribulations of historical figures can help bring a change of pace, some levity, and remind students that our legal system and research tools are shaped by human beings.

This post will cover three individuals who are relevant to legal research and what their stories can help us learn. I’ll also include additional resources at the end for those interested in learning more!

1. George Boole

George Boole was an English mathematician who made a variety of important breakthroughs in algebra and logic. Most important for legal research, he was fundamental to the development of Boolean Logic which we now teach as “Boolean searching” or “terms and connector” searching. I typically spend only a quick minute or two explaining his role in the development of boolean searching, and include his picture on the main slide.

This is a fun reminder that many of the algorithms, search engines, and AI tools we use today have their roots in ancient mathematics. Putting a face to the name also helps students remember the difference between Boolean searching and natural language searching.

2. Simon Greenleaf

Simon Greenleaf is credited as the first compiler of a legal citation index – a citator. The story goes that he was arguing a case in front of a judge in Maine, and relied on a case that had turned out to have been overruled. He had no resources available to him to tell whether a case had been overruled, and so the idea for the citator was born.

Simon’s story works well as an introduction to citators because his story is many students great fear: relying on an overruled case in front of a judge is one of the classic legal research mistakes. Nowadays, students only interaction with citators is online using legal databases, where it’s divorced from its original print format. This story remind us that citators are not omniscient, but built on the work of human editors, and are not all-seeing eyes.

3. John B. West

The history of case reporters is a long and storied one. John B. West, the founder of the West Publishing Company, was a major force in the development of the case reporter in the United States. His story also has a bit of tragedy and melancholy, as captured by Robert Jarvis’ excellent article: “despite all that he did in life, in death John B. West has become a forgotten man, ignored by the company that bears his name and all but unknown in the profession he single-handedly revolutionized.” Sounds like Biopic material to me!

Covering the format of the case reporter is an essential, but potentially dry, part of the case law section of class. John B. West helps tell the story of how West Publishing’s quality adjustments helped them become so central to the legal publishing world. Like the discussion of Simon Greenleaf, it reminds students that case reporters didn’t materialize out of thin air.

Conclusion and Further Reading

I’m always on the lookout for colorful historical figures to talk about in ALR. If you have any stories you use, or any ideas for potentially relevant people, please reach out to me and let me know!

Finally, if you want to learn more, here is some further reading:

• Stanley Burris & Marcel Jackson, George Boole, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (updated 2026).
• Laura C. Dabney, Citators: Past, Present, and Future, 27 Legal Reference Services Quarterly 165 (2008).
• Nathan Dorn, Collection Highlights: Simon Greenleaf and the First American Legal Citation Index, Library of Congress (Sep. 21, 2022).
• Robert Jarvis, John B. West: Founder of the West Publishing Company, 50 American Journal of Legal History 1 (2010).
• Patti J. Ogden, “Mastering the Lawless Science of Our Law”: A Story of Legal Citation Indexes, 85 Law Libr. J. 1 (1993).