A cardinal rule of legal research is to start with secondary sources. But before you even get to the secondary sources, you need to have a research strategy. The Law Library has created dozens of guides to help you get grounded in a particular topic, so you can start your research with confidence.
Research Guides
Research Guides are web pages devoted to a particular area of law, legal resource, type of research, or other discrete subject. Examples of Research Guides available through the Law Library include:
Find the collection of Research Guides created by MLaw Librarians here.
Treatise Finder
When you want to learn about a body of law and don't know where to start, Treatise Finder is the place to go. Treatise Finder is curated list of books and resources, organized by legal subject. Within each topic, you will find introductory resources, in-depth resources, and related topics.
FAQs
Sometimes you have a question that you know has been asked a million times, but now it's your turn to find the answer. The Law Library website's FAQs section is a repository of answers about legal reference, Library information and policies, and information for Michigan Law students. Examples of questions answered among FAQs are the following:
You can find links to Research Guides, Treatise Finder, and other resources on the Library Services for Students sub-page of our website.
Get to the FAQs page from the Law Library homepage.
Call us at 734-764-9324
Text us at 734-329-5606
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.
Consult with us. Schedule an appointment to meet with a Reference Librarian.
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.
