Law Library Resources for Finals

Whether you’re working on a writing assignment or getting course outlines in shape and preparing for upcoming exams, the Law Library has resources to help you! 

Reference Librarians

Get research help from our Reference librarians 7 days per week, in person at the reference desk and remotely via email, chat, and phone.

Study Aids

Access eBook and print copies of a wide variety of study aids covering all 1L and most 2L & 3L courses. Bear in mind that study aids are a supplement and not a substitute for your own notes or advice provided by your course instructors. You can access eBook titles for many popular study aid series from these three major publishers:

Aspen Learning Library includes Examples & Explanations, Emmanuel Crunchtime, Emmanuel Law Outlines, Glannon Guides, and others.

LexisNexis Digital Library/Carolina Academic Press includes the Understanding, Mastering, and Question & Answers series.

West Academic Study Aids includes Hornbooks, Concepts & Insights, Nutshell, and many others.

Helpful Guides Covering Exam Taking Skills

Some of our study aids cover the art of exam taking in general; a list of these resources is available here.

CALI Lessons

CALI has over 1,000 online, interactive tutorials covering narrow topics of law for a wide range of 1L and 2L-3L courses, including a tutorial on how to prepare for exams. To access CALI tutorials, you first need to register with an Authorization Code that you can get from the Law Library Reference Office (625-4309 or law-ref@umn.edu).

Are there sample exams or model answers available from my professor?

First, check your course Canvas site or ask your professor to see if they will be making them available.

Faculty members will sometimes provide copies of past exams for the Law Library to place in binders that students can access at the Circulation Desk. However, it is much more common now for faculty members to post exams to Canvas.  

Success in Law School!

Check out the Law Library's collection of print & digital books and other resources on surviving and succeeding in law school. This collection includes books on a wide range of topics from preparing for class, effective study methods, and exam prep and performance, to wellness advice.

Find these titles and many others listed in the Library's Law School Success & Exam Prep Guide.

CALI's Law School Success & Exam Prep Guide features online lessons, interactive texts & podcasts.

The Law School Success & Exam Prep Guide also includes CALI's online interactive text, A First Generation's Guide to Law School. This text is, "written as a guide for first-generation students who are entering or are currently attending law school. It introduces students to law school vocabulary and available resources, gives guidance about how to prepare for the unique challenges of law school, and provides a roadmap for things like participating in class, studying for and taking exams, joining extracurriculars, taking care of your mental health, and networking." 

Bloomberg Law, Lexis+ & Westlaw Access for Grads & Continuing Students

 Summer 2024 & Beyond

See details below regarding continuing access to Bloomberg Law, Lexis+, and Westlaw Precision over the summer and fall.

 

*Employers may prefer/require the use of the employer-issued ID & password for client work.

Graduating Students

Spring 2024 Graduates have continued access through Nov. 30, 2024. This access is automatic (no registration required) and is unlimited and unrestricted.

Continuing Students 

Continuing Students: you have continued access to Bloomberg Law over the summer. This access is automatic (no registration required) and is unlimited and unrestricted.

If you have any questions, please contact the Bloomberg Law Help Desk or our dedicated Client Service Partner, Nick Jeon.

 
*Employers may prefer/require the use of the employer-issued ID & password for client work.

Graduating Students

Lexis+ Graduate Access: Spring 2024 3L graduates will continue to have access to Lexis+ on their law school ID through December 31, 2024. This extended access is automatic – no registration is required and there are no restrictions or limits on research time. Your Lexis law student account will automatically switch to a graduate account. This ongoing free use of Lexis+ includes all products and features available on a law school ID with the exception of Public Records, Practical Guidance, Law360 and Lexis for Microsoft Office. 

 Lexis Rewards Points for 3L Spring Graduates will expire on June 30, 2024. Don’t forget to spend or donate your Lexis Rewards points before that date! When you sign on to lexisnexis.com/LawSchool after July 1, you'll see your new Graduate Homepage. You'll also have a graduation gift from Lexis. Graduate gift choices include one of the following: Intelligize (6-months from date of redemption), Law360 (6-months from date of redemption), Practical Guidance (6-months from date of redemption), Lexis for Microsoft Office (6-months from date of redemption) or One of 13 LexisNexis eBooks.

Lexis ASPIRE Program: provides 12 months of free access to federal and state cases, codes, regulations, law reviews, Shepard's® Citation Service and Matthew Bender® treatises to graduates who are engaged in verifiable 501(c)(3) public interest work. Apply for ASPIRE access at: https://lexisnexis.com/grad-access/

Continuing Students

Lexis+ Summer Access: All other continuing law school students automatically have summer access to Lexis+ using their Lexis law school ID. You may use your Lexis law school ID for academic, professional and non-profit research. It may be used during work for a firm, clerkship, internship or externship, whether in a paid or non-paid position. There is no limit on the number of hours you can use Lexis to conduct research. Employers may ask you to use a different ID when researching for a client, so be sure to check with your employer. If you have any questions, you may contact our Lexis Academic Account Representative, Sarah Bigler at sarah.bigler@lexisnexis.com

*Employers may prefer/require the use of the employer-issued ID & password for client work.

 Graduating Students

Spring 2024 Graduates have access to Westlaw Precision, Practical Law, Practical Law Connect, Drafting Assistant and Doc & Form Builder for 18 months after graduation. Your “Grad Elite” access gives you 60-hours of usage on these products per month to meet any research needs.

To extend access logon at: www.lawschool.westlaw.com.

 Questions? Contact our Thomson Reuters Academic Account Manager, Peter Lippmann.

Continuing Students

Continuing Students: you can use Westlaw and Practical Law, over the summer for non-commercial research. You can turn to these resources to gain understanding and build confidence in your research skills, but you cannot use them in situations where you are billing a client. Examples of permissible uses for your academic password include:

Summer coursework
Research assistant assignments
Law Review or Journal research
Moot Court research
Non-Profit work
Clinical work
Externship sponsored by the school

You do not have to do anything to gain access to these tools over the summer. If you have any questions, please contact our Thomson Reuters Academic Account Manager, Peter Lippmann.

 

 

Law Library Resources for the Home Stretch

Whether you’re working on a writing assignment or getting course outlines in shape and preparing for upcoming exams, the Law Library has resources to help you! 

Reference Librarians

Get research help from our Reference librarians 7 days per week, in person at the reference desk and remotely via email, chat, and phone.

Study Aids

Access eBook and print copies of a wide variety of study aids covering all 1L and most 2L & 3L courses. Bear in mind that study aids are a supplement and not a substitute for your own notes or advice provided by your course instructors. You can access eBook titles for many popular study aid series from these three major publishers:

Aspen Learning Library includes Examples & Explanations, Emmanuel Crunchtime, Emmanuel Law Outlines, Glannon Guides, and others.

LexisNexis Digital Library/Carolina Academic Press includes the Understanding, Mastering, and Question & Answers series.

West Academic Study Aids includes Hornbooks, Concepts & Insights, Nutshell, and many others.

Helpful Guides Covering Exam Taking Skills

Some of our study aids cover the art of exam taking in general; a list of these resources is available here.

CALI Lessons

CALI has over 1,000 online, interactive tutorials covering narrow topics of law for a wide range of 1L and 2L-3L courses, including a tutorial on how to prepare for exams. To access CALI tutorials, you first need to register with an Authorization Code that you can get from the Law Library Reference Office (625-4309 or law-ref@umn.edu).

Are there sample exams or model answers available from my professor?

First, check your course Canvas site or ask your professor to see if they will be making them available.

Faculty members will sometimes provide copies of past exams for the Law Library to place in binders that students can access at the Circulation Desk. However, it is much more common now for faculty members to post exams to Canvas.  

UMN Law Scholarship Repository Surpasses 3.5 Million Downloads!

 

The Law Library is very pleased to announce that the University of Minnesota Law School Scholarship Repository has surpassed 3.5 million downloads! Launched by the Library in 2015, the Repository preserves and promotes the scholarship produced by the Law School's faculty and law journals. The Repository has proven to be a highly successful tool to make the Law School's scholarship available to scholars and researchers nationally and globally.

 

The Faculty Scholarship Collection forms the heart of the Repository, providing open access, when permitted by copyright law, to the scholarship of those Law School faculty members who have consented to having their work included. This was the first content added to the Repository, and it remains its flagship collection. 

 

In recent years, the Library has broadened the scope of the Repository to include the archives of all journals published within the Law School, as well as scholarship produced by the Law School's centers and institutes. In addition, recordings of programs held at the Law School, including symposia and lectures, and scholarly podcasts are included in the Repository. 

 

As the content of the Repository has expanded, the Library has focused on improving the discoverability of this impressive body of scholarship to ensure maximum accessibility and visibility. As of today, scholarship contained in the Repository has been downloaded by scholars and researchers at close to 60,000 institutions in 237 countries. The map above displays the number of downloads by region, and the Library is confident that the Repository's reach will continue to grow.

 

The Law Library is exceptionally proud to support the outstanding scholarship produced at the Law School. We continue to strive to ensure that our community's scholarship is available to scholars and researchers throughout the world now and for posterity. 

Spotlight on fastcase

 

The fastcase legal research platform provides a popular and affordable alternative for accessing federal and state primary source materials such as cases, statutes, regulations, and court rules, as well as secondary materials, such as law journal articles. Check out the fastcase Scope of Coverage page for detailed information about the legal content coverage available.

Did you know?

The Law Library’s subscription to fastcase provides onsite access to all library patrons and remote access for U of MN Law students. Access to fastcase is also offered as a free benefit to state bar members in all fifty states. Membership in the Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA) is free to Minnesota law students (apply online here). Checkout the MSBA’s Member Services Guide for more information on additional member benefits.

Using fastcase

For help on how to use fastcase visit the fastcase support page where you'll find information on webinars, video tutorials, user guides and more, or contact your friendly reference librarians.

Want to read something just for fun over winter break? The Law Library has you covered!

 For those of you staying in the Twin Cities over break, consider spending some time exploring the Hedin Law, Literature & the Arts Collection. Located just inside the wooden doors on the second floor of the Law Library, the Law and Literature collection features all kinds of law-related fiction, ranging from Kafka’s The Trial to Grisham’s The Firm. The collection also features law-related television series and films on DVD (including adaptations of the two works mentioned in the previous sentence.) 

If you’re heading somewhere else for winter break, stop by before you take off to pick up something to read on the plane–think of how fancy and cultured you’d look flipping through a physical, analog book!

(Image generated by DALL-E)