Federal securities laws are codified in the U.S.C. (see "United States Code"), SEC regulations are codified in the CFR (see "Code of Federal Regulations"), etc. - so you can look up securities laws the same ways you would laws in any other area. Nonetheless, there are many securities-specific tools that can make securities research a lot faster, easier and possibly more accurate.
U.S. Federal Law: The CCH Federal Securities Law Reporter (see "Federal Securities Law Reporter") compiles all the U.S. Federal securities laws and regulations and provides useful commentary and annotations. Other good resources include Sommer's multi-volume Securities Primary Law Sourcebook (which includes statutes, regulations, forms, legislative history documents and selected releases), the 1-volume Appeal Securities Act Handbook (which includes statutes, regs and forms) or the 2-volume paperback R.R. Donnelley Financial SEC Handbook. Free, updated versions of Federal securities laws, rules and regulations are posted in the Securities Lawyer's Deskbook.
Legislative history materials for major Federal securities laws are included in Sommer's Securities Primary Law Sourcebook and Westlaw's FSEC-LH database. See also the entry for "Federal Legislative History."
U.S. State Law: CCH's Blue Sky Law Reporter gathers together most state securities laws. It's available as a looseleaf, on Lexis (CCH;CCHSEC) and on CCH's subscription-based Intelliconnect. Otherwise, you can find the laws in the statutory code for each state.
Model Law: The NASAA-ABA Model Control Share Act is published, with a Preliminary Statement and Comments, at 20 Securities Regulation & Law Report 708 (May 6, 1988).
Foreign Law: The securities laws and regulations of most countries are reprinted in the multi-volume International Securities Regulation, published by Oceana. There is a smaller sister set called International Securities Regulation: Pacific Rim and a companion set called International Securities Regulation: Stock Exchanges of the World . For more sources, see "Foreign Laws."
Treatises, etc.: Major U.S. securities treatises include Securities Regulation, by Loss and Seligman, and Bloomenthal's Securities and Federal Corporate Law. The Loss and Seligman is available in print, on Lexis (FEDSEC;LOSS) and through Intelliconnect. The Practical Law Company's Corporate & Securities Practice Center summarizes many of the key securities laws and explains their relevance to many common securities transactions.
Other Useful Internet Sites: Some other useful securities-related sites include the SEC web site, the Securities Lawyer's Deskbook and the SEC Law.com.
A tremendous amount of information on securities-related class action suits is available through the Securities Class Action Clearinghouse, sponsored by the Stanford U. School of Law. The Clearinghouse includes complaints, opinions, orders, docket sheets, settlements, etc.