Research Guides: Guide for New HLS students: Welcome

Welcome

Welcome, new HLS students! Whether you are JD, LLM, SJD, or transfer students, the HLS Library is here to support all your research and information needs.

Use this guide to check off some must-do items and get acquainted with your new library. We look forward to working with you.

Remote Library Services

Using the Library Remotely

Although the Harvard Law School Library and other libraries at Harvard are closed to visitors due to COVID-19, librarians are working to help you remotely. For the most up-to-date information about available library services, check these pages:

Harvard Library Services During COVID-19
Up to date information about how to borrow and use Harvard materials during COVID-19.
HLS Library Off-Campus Services

Register your Bloomberg Law, Lexis Advance, and Westlaw accounts

If you only do one thing on this list, do this: register for your legal research database accounts. You won't be able to complete your Legal Research & Writing course assignments without them!

You should have received an email with registration instructions for Lexis, Westlaw, and Bloomberg Law. If you did not, please contact Research Services at http://asklib.law.harvard.edu to retrieve your registration codes.

You may use the same username for all three systems if you wish and if they are available.

Bloomberg Law registration
Register with your HLS email address. If you have an activation code it will fast track your account creation, but it is not required. Once you're registered, sign in at http://bloomberglaw.com.
Lexis Advance registration
Register with the school registration code provided by email using your HLS email address or call the reference desk at 617-495-4516 for the code. Once you're registered, sign in at http://www.lexisnexis.com/lawschool
Westlaw registration
Register with the unique registration code provided by email. Once you're registered, sign in at http://lawschool.westlaw.com/

Get started on Bloomberg, Lexis, & Westlaw

Bloomberg Law training resources
Videos and references guides for getting started with Bloomberg Law.
Lexis Advance support and training
Videos, guides, and other resources to help you get started on Lexis.
Westlaw training and support
User guides and videos to help you register and get started with Westlaw.
This video will walk you through the Westlaw registration process.
Westlaw training portal for law schools.

Tour your library

Virtual Tour

We may not be on campus this fall, but you can still see some highlights of your Library via our virtual Harvard Law School Library tour.

Get help with Canvas course websites

Get help with your Canvas course websites
The Harvard Law School's Teaching, Learning & Curriculum Solutions team can help you get to know and troubleshoot issues on your Canvas course websites.

Find books and articles

The HOLLIS catalog is the main way of finding materials at the HLS Library and other libraries at Harvard.

HOLLIS catalog
Search for books, journal titles, article content, images, finding aids for archives, and other material at the Harvard Libraries.
- Use the Library Catalog option to limit your search to books and journal titles.
- Use the Everything option to search full text content of some databases and e-journals
- Log in to save and organize research results and to renew materials

View our demo about getting started with HOLLIS--coming soon!

Research consultations
For customized advice from an HLS librarian, request a Zoom research consultation. We can help you get started with course projects and papers, faculty projects, and more!

Research and study guides

HLS librarians have prepared over 100 research and study guides for HLS students. Our guides cover a diverse range of subjects from topical and jurisdictional legal research to finding and using secondary sources to finding paper topics and publishing your work to tips on taking study breaks and finding exam prep resources.

All HLS Library guides

Below is a selection of guides that should be of interest to 1Ls and LLM students.

Guides for 1Ls

Civil procedure basics
Resources for students looking for more information on civ pro and studying for 1L exams.
Contracts basics
Resources for students looking for more information on contracts and studying for 1L exams.
Criminal law basics
Resources for students looking for more information on criminal and studying for 1L exams.
Property basics
Resources for students looking for more information on property law and studying for 1L exams.
Torts basics
Resources for students looking for more information on torts and studying for 1L exams
Prepare for HLS exams
A guide to resources available to HLS students studying for exams.

Guides for LLM and SJD students

Finding a paper topic
This guide was created for use by LLM and JD students interested in writing a paper and who are looking for information on how to get started on such a project.
Bluebook citation for LLM students
Provides Bluebook instructions and tips for LLM students.
Prepare for HLS exams
A guide to resources available to HLS students studying for exams.
Publishing in law reviews and journals
This guide contains a variety of resources to help you in the process of trying to publish in a law review or journal.

Online Study Guides

Wolters Kluwer Online Study Aid Library
Electronic textbooks, ebooks, supplements, and reference materials for law school students. Includes over 400 textbooks in more than eighty disciplines, reference book series including the Bouvier Law Dictionary, and supplements from popular series such as Examples & Explanations, Emanuel Law, CrunchTime, CaseNote Legal Briefs, Glannon’s Guides, and more.