Helpful resources for new students at Georgetown Law, including 1L, LLM, and transfer students, and others new to campus.
Find out what our policies are on things like food and drink, as well as whether to reshelve books (please don't!), and where to find our Lost and Found.
The Law Library strives to offer a range of supportive learning environments. We have designated different areas of the Law Library as either Quiet Zones, Community Zones, or Collaborative Zones. The success of this depends on all users honoring these noise zone designations and being kind and respectful to those around them.
Select readings on wellness through the Law Library for the Georgetown Law community.
Welcome to Georgetown Law! This guide includes information about getting ready for class, where to study, Law Library locations to know, and practical tips to make your life easier.
We can't wait to help you with using the Law Library's services. We're here to help, so please ask if you have any questions!
Running time: 5:48 minutes
Created/updated: July 2024
Last reviewed: July 2024
We will be offering Law Library Tours for new students during the week of Orientation. Tours meet in the Atrium of the Edward Bennett Williams Law Library building and take approximately 30 minutes.
We will also be hosting a Research Fair on Tuesday, August 20 from 11:00am to 4:00pm in the Law Library's Atrium. Stop by to meet your librarians and vendor representatives for the legal research platforms Bloomberg Law, Lexis, and Westlaw. Special Collections will be open to view rare books and archival materials related to the law and legal history.
If you have any questions, please email the Reference Desk. Accommodation requests related to a disability should be made to the Law Library's Reference Desk at least 2 business days before the scheduled tour or Research Fair.
New students will receive an email from the Law Library during Orientation with registration information for legal research platforms Westlaw, Lexis, and Bloomberg Law .
Please register immediately for all three services and always use your Georgetown email as the contact email. First year J.D. students will need these before the first Legal Practice: Writing & Analysis class. The email from the Law Library will be sent to your Georgetown email address. If you do not see the email in your inbox or spam folder, please contact the Law Library's Reference Desk in-person, or by Chatting with a Librarian, emailing the Reference Desk, or calling the Reference Desk (202.662.9140).
For more information about use policies for the platforms during the school year or over the summer, please see our Lexis, Westlaw & Bloomberg Law webpage.
You can view the books that your professors have selected for your classes on the Georgetown Law Bookstore website (check the Law Center's Curriculum Guide for course information). You can buy the books directly from the Bookstore's website, or you can use the ISBN listed to find the exact same edition at any online bookseller or ebook vendor.
Casebook ReserveIncludes required texts for required first-year courses. May include assigned texts for other courses if copies are donated or provided by faculty. Search the Law Library's catalog. Casebook reserve materials are in print and are available at the Circulation Desk to be borrowed for a period of three hours.
Course ReserveTo check if a supplemental course book is available in print or electronic format, search the Law Library's catalog. When searching, limit the catalog scope to "Course Reserves" and enter the course instructor's last name. Course reserve materials in print are available at the Circulation Desk and may be borrowed for a period of three hours.
West Academic Early eBook Access ProgramWest Academic is providing students with complimentary access to adopted West Academic and Foundation Press casebooks starting the week before classes start through the first two weeks of classes. If your professor is using a casebook published by West Academic, you can access it by following the early access instructions.
Some faculty use TWEN instead of Canvas. In order to use TWEN, you will need a Westlaw account. For more information, see How to Sign Up for a Course on TWEN.
For assistance with Canvas, please contact the Information Systems Technology Service Desk at caphelp@georgetown.edu. For assistance with TWEN, please call the TWEN Support Line at 1-800-850-9378.
Electronic. The Law Library subscribes to West Academic Study Aids. The West Academic study aids platform includes Nutshells, Concepts & Insights, the Law Stories series, Hornbooks, Gilbert Law Summaries, Sum & Substance, and several others. For a step-by-step instructional video for accessing the platform, please view Electronic Study Aids.
There are two ways to access this platform:
West also has a quick-start guide for their Study Aids collection as well as instructions for offline reading.
Print. A wide selection of current-edition hornbooks, nutshells, and other study aids is available in the Reading Room Study Aids collection on the 2nd Floor of the Law Library. Because they are so popular, these books must be used in the Reading Room. Search the Law Library's catalog for older editions that can be checked out.
The Law Library maintains an electronic collection of past Law Center exams. Exams from the previous five years for current faculty are available in the Past Exams database (NetID required).
CALI provides hundreds of interactive legal instructional lessons on a wide variety of topics at all academic levels. New students will receive an email from the Law Library during Orientation with a registration code. Students who do not receive a code or need a new one should go to CALI Lessons for Students.
The Georgetown Law Student Bar Association (SBA) maintains an outline and syllabus bank (NetID required).
