Library Guide for LL.M. Students
This guide includes Internet links, research tips, and lists of books that Hastings LLM students might find useful.
We hope you enjoy your time at Hastings. If you need help with any library or research project, feel free to contact
Books and Online Sources for Legal Writing and Research
ALWD Citation
Manual : a Professional System of Citation
KF245 .A45 2006 (Reference and Circulation Desks)
Basic Legal
Research Workbook
KF240 .S562 2005 (5th Floor)
Legal Research
: How to Find & Understand the Law
KF240 .E35 2007 (Reference Desk)
Legal Writing
: Process, Analysis, and Organization
KF250 .E39 2002 (5th Floor)
Plain English
for Lawyers
KF250 .W93 2005 (Course Reserve at Circ Desk)
How to Brief a Case -- click here to see the elements of a case brief and here for an example.
Books with practical advice for law students
Acing your first year of law school : the ten steps to success you won't learn in class
KF283 .N69 2008 (5th Stacks)
Getting to maybe : how to excel on law school exams
KF283 .F47 1999(5th Stacks)
How to succeed in law school
KF283 .M86 2001 (5th Stacks)
Ivy briefs : true tales of a neurotic law student
KF373.K473 A3 2007(5th Stacks)
Law school confidential : the complete law school survival guide : by students, for students
KF283 .M55 2000 (5th Stacks)
Law school without fear : strategies for success
KF386 .S44 2002 (5th Stacks)
One L: The Turbulent True Story of a First Year at Harvard Law School
KF373.T88 A33 1988 (5th Stacks)
Starting off right in law school
KF273 .N97 1997 (5th Stacks)
The complete law school companion : how to excel at America's most demanding post-graduate curriculum
KF283 .D4 1992 (5th Stacks)
The elements of legal style
KF250 .G37 2002 (5th Stacks)
The redbook : a manual on legal style
KF250 .G376 2006 (Reference Desk)
American Federal Law
A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF AMERICAN LAW
• It is
important to remember the hierarchy of American law. Cities can make
laws, but these laws must be in compliance with the law of the State
in which that city is located. Each of the fifty states make laws, but
these laws must be in compliance with federal law. Federal law is therefore
supreme.
• Federal law is made by each of the three branches of government:
- The executive branch makes laws through the various federal agencies.
These laws typically are called regulations. They are first published
in chronological order in the Federal
Register (also on the 4th floor in the library) and then are arranged
by subject in the Code
of Federal Regulations.
- The legislature makes laws by passing bills in Congress. When
a bill becomes law, it is then called a Public
Law. These laws are first published in chronological order in the U.S. Statutes at Large and then arranged by subject in the United
States Code.
- The judiciary branch interprets the laws created by the legislature
and the executive branch. The judiciary also makes law by resolving
disputes between individuals, organizations, or businesses that have
been brought to the federal court. Once a court has issued an opinion
in a case, then other lower courts must follow the court's ruling. The
structure of the federal court is described in detail here. (Click here
for an image.) Federal cases typically are brought in a federal
district court and the opinions published in the Federal Supplement.
Cases may be appealed to the federal appellate court; the
opinions are published in the Federal Reporter. Some cases are
subsequently appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court; those decisions
are published in US Reports, Supreme Court Reporter, and Supreme Court Reports Lawyers' Edition.
•
It is usually easy to find U.S. law; the hard part is interpreting the
law. To help you understand the law, there are numerous secondary sources
with descriptions and analyses of the laws. Some of these include legal
encyclopedias, nutshells, hornbooks, treatises, practice guides, and
law journals. For a description of many of these useful resources, you
can view the library's study
aids webpage or consult the library's guide to finding law journal
articles.
• The Hastings Law Library has an extensive collection of both the primary
sources of American law (regulations, public laws, and case law) and
the helpful secondary sources which explain the law.
• The Law Library of Congress webpage is a good starting place for students unfamiliar with the U.S. legislative process. It includes information about how U.S. laws are made and a brief guide to the U.S. legal system.
SELECTED INTRODUCTIONS TO AMERICAN LAW
The following five books are good places to start if you want to get a better understanding of the American legal system. They are very readable and don't go into so much detail as to be overwhelming:
An Introduction
to the Legal System of the United States,
3rd ed.
By E. Allan Farnsworth
KF387
.F3 1996 (5th Floor)
Introduction
to the Law and Legal System of the United States
By William Burnham
KF385
.B87 2002 (5th Floor)
Introduction
to the Law of the United States
By David S. Clark
KF385 .I58 2002 (5th Floor)
Law in the United States: An Overview
By Peter Hay
KF385 .H313 2002 (5th Floor)
Legal
English: An Introduction to the Legal Language and Culture of the United
States
By Teresa Brostoff
KF272
.B76 2003 (5th Floor)
PRIMARY LAW
Cases —
U.S. Reports- these are available online through HeinOnline
Supreme Court Reporter
United States Supreme Court Reports
Federal Reporter
Federal Supplement
Codes —
United States Code
United States Code Service
United States Code Annotated
Regulations —
Code of Federal Regulations
Secondary Law
Digests —
U.S.
Supreme Court Digest
West's Federal Practice Digest
The most important secondary sources are law review articles and treatises.
You can fnd these in Lexis and Westlaw and in the UC Hastings Library Catalog.
California
Law
COURTS
This is an overview of the California court system. Information about the Supreme Court of California is available from the California Courts website.
PRIMARY LAW
Cases —
California Reporter
California Reports
California Appellate Reports
Codes —
Deering's California Code
West's Annotated California Codes
Digests —
McKinney's
Digest
West's Digest
Regulations —
California Code of Regulations
Research Assistance
LIBRARY CATALOGS
To find out what books are available at the Hastings Law Library and other nearby libraries, use the catalogs below:
Hastings
Online Catalog
Search or
browse by AUTHOR (example: Traynor, Roger J), TITLE (ex: Criminal law
and its administration), CALL NUMBER (ex: KFC610.A56 1980), SUBJECT
(ex: Environmental Law International Cases), or KEYWORDS (ex: cappuccino
future).
San
Francisco Public Library (SFPL)
You can obtain borrowing privileges with proof of California residence. A SFPL
library card number allows remote access to online databases such
as JSTOR (for journals) and EBSCOhost (for newspaper articles). SFPL
is just down Hyde Street (a two-minute walk) and is a great source for
foreign newspapers and books.
LIBRARY ASSISTANCE
Reference
Desk Hours:
Reference Desk hours during the academic year are:
Monday
through Friday: 8:30 AM - 5:30 PM and
Saturday: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Do you have a question about the library, American law, or legal research? The librarians at Hastings are available to help with basic questions about printed or electronic legal resources, or to help you plan your research strategy for a particular project. Feel free to stop by the reference desk anytime. If you have a detailed question about your research, you might want to call (or e-mail) and make an appointment.
ONLINE DATABASES
The following online databases are useful for researching American law. Hastigs LLM students receive Lexis and Westlaw passwords in your LW&R class, and the passwords (if necessary) for the library's subscription electronic resources are listed on the Electronic Resouces webpage.
LexisNexisWestlaw
Electronic Resources
Study
Guides
Need a little help? Nutshells (short narratives about a specific area of law), Course Outlines and other books can make American legal topics a little less confusing. Click here to see some study aids available in the library. The bookstore also has a good selection of study guides (for sale).
Dictionaries
and other Legal Writing Resources
DICTIONARIES
There is a sizeable collection of English and foreign language dictionaries available at the library and online. Many of the library's dictionaries are kept at the Reference Desk. To use these dictionaries, just ask for them at the Reference Desk. The following are some specialized ones:
Elsevier's
Legal Dictionary : in English, German, French, Dutch and Spanish
K54
.E45 2001 (Reference)
Multilingual
Dictionary of Copyright, Rights, and Contracts
K1419.5
.M84 1995 (5th Stacks)
Translations
of Commonly Used Court Related Phrases
PB73
.T72 1998 (6th Stacks - LIB USE ONLY)
West's
Law and Commercial Dictionary in Five Languages
K54
.W47 (Reference)
ENGLISH LANGUAGE & LEGAL TERMINOLOGY GUIDES:
Black's
Law Dictionary
KF156 .B53 2009` (Circulation Desk, 4th Floor Reading Room, Dictionary Stands -4th, 5th, 6th Stacks)
Introduction to Legal English : an introduction to legal terminology, reasoning, and writing for lawyers, law students, and business professionals who speak English as a second language,
3rd ed.
By Mark E. Wojcik
KF250 .W65 2009 (5th Floor)
Last updated January 6, 2010