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Email us at askalawlibrarian@umich.edu. Emails are answered by Librarians during standard business hours, Monday-Friday. Patrons may expect a response within 1-2 business days for most emails.
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Visit us at the Information Desk on Sub-1 for immediate in-person assistance. Open 8 am - midnight, Sunday-Thursday, and 8am - 10pm, Friday-Saturday*
The chat service is available to all of our patrons but is designed to meet the legal research needs of U-M students, staff, and faculty.
Chat is monitored from 1-6 pm Monday-Wednesday and 1-5 pm Thursday-Friday on days when class is in session.
*Excluding University holidays and semester breaks--check library hours for more information. The Building and library are available to law school community ONLY after 6 pm, and are closed to all but law school community on home football Saturdays.
Formbooks contain sample legal forms, couched in standard, court-tested language. Forms usually appear in several alternatives, e.g., a long, detailed form and a short form. Many times, optional clauses are included that can be added to the basic form when appropriate.
Formbooks are typically multi-volume sets, arranged alphabetically by topic. Forms are accessed by using the index, usually contained in a separate volume, which will point the user to appropriate topics and sections.
Many formbooks include narrative text related to a topic, in addition to forms. Therefore, don’t forget to check formbooks as a secondary source!
Unfortunately, there is no easy way to determine the quality of a particular set of forms for a particular situation. Often the best way to do this is to ask someone with experience (why not a librarian?).
CAUTION: Formbooks are very useful sources for exemplars of legal documents. But they were not drafted with your unique legal situation in mind! Always exercise extreme caution when relying on a published form. Check and double-check that the form complies with the requirements and practices of your jurisdiction and your institution!
These formbooks run the gamut of legal topics, from “Abandoned Property” to “Zoning.” They contain something for everyone.
General formbooks are not jurisdiction-specific. Therefore you must be careful to compare the language with applicable statutes, regulations and decisions in order to determine that it complies with the requirements of your jurisdiction.
Major sets of general formbooks: