LibGuides: Open Source & Low Cost Law Textbooks: 1L Doctrinal & LLM Intro Courses

Introductory Materials

0L: Introduction to American Law (2018)

by I. Glenn Cohen

[draft - how to read a case Part 1]

pagination: 17 - (online, Word)

Introduction to Basic Legal Citation (2013)

by Peter W. Martin, Cornell Law School

tutorial ... most widely referenced types of U.S. legal material

pagination: 277 - (PDF, device, online)

Introduction to the American Legal System (2014) BookBoon

by Konnie G. Kustron

overview ... designed for lea[r]ners who have little familiarity with U.S. law

for free review copy: 30-day free trial

pagination: 172 - (PDF, online)

Introduction to the Legal System of the United States 2016 (2016)

by Maria Green

[10-week syllabus and open-linked readings]

pagination: 336 - (online, Word)

Law 101: Fundamentals of the Law (2018)

by Michael H. Martella, Assistant Professor, Monroe Community College

basic legal concepts of the law to undergraduates

pagination: 339 - (PDF, online)

Law School Materials for Success (2018)

by Barbara Glesner Fines

prepare for classes, participate in those classes, review and prepare for exams, take exams ... purposefully brief ... accompanying podcasts

pagination: 89 - (PDF, Kindle, device, Word, podcasts (Lawdibles.Classcaster.net)) print $4

Sources of American Law: An Introduction to Legal Research (2019)

by Beau B Steenken, Librarian University of Kentucky College of Law; Tina M Brooks, Librarian University of Kentucky College of Law

introduces first-year law students ... to study and to practice ... following a “Source and Process” approach

TM/faculty-only content: register for Faculty access to CALI

pagination: 202 - (PDF, Kindle, device (3d ed., not 4th ed.), Word) print $39 (color) $7 (b/w)

What Color is Your C.F.R.? (2016)

by Elizabeth Gotauco, Merrimack Public Library; Nicole Dyszlewski, Roger Williams University School of Law Library; Raquel M. Ortiz, Roger Williams University School of Law

problem-based law workbook ... by law librarians ... supplement to instruction on basic legal research

pagination: 27 - (PDF)

Contracts & Sales

American Contract Law for a Global Age (2017)

by Frank Snyder, Texas A&M University School of Law; Mark Edwin Burge, Texas A&M University School of Law

casebook designed primarily for the first-year Contracts

TM/faculty-only content: TM planned 2019, register for Faculty access to CALI

pagination: 614 - (PDF, Kindle, device, Word) print $20

Contract Doctrine, Theory & Practice - Volume 1 (2012)

by J.H. Verkerke, Professor, University of Virginia School of Law

series of Contracts casebooks

pagination: 155 - (PDF, Kindle, device, Word) print $10

Contract Doctrine, Theory & Practice - Volume 2 (2012)

by J.H. Verkerke, Professor, University of Virginia School of Law

series of Contracts casebooks

pagination: 155 - (PDF, Kindle, device, Word) print $6

Contract Doctrine, Theory and Practice - Volume 3 (2012)

by J.H. Verkerke, Professor, University of Virginia School of Law

series of Contracts casebooks

pagination: 196 - (PDF, Kindle, device, Word) print $8

Contracts (2013)

by Charles Fried

[case excerpts, non-open links to readings]

pagination: 893 - (online, Word)

Contracts Tentative Syllabus Spring 2014 (2015)

by Cindy Whang, Charles Fried

[case excerpts, non-open/dead links to readings]

pagination: 835 - (online, Word)

Contracts (2018) self-published

by Michael Madison

[syllabus w/ open linked readings]

pagination: n/a - (online, PDF, Word)

Contracts (2019)

by Charles Fried, John Bowers

[case excerpts, non-open links to readings]

pagination: 1021 - (online, Word)

Contracts Casebook - digital version (2017)

by Charles Fried

[case excerpts, non-open links to readings]

pagination: 758 - (online, Word)

Contracts Griswold Reading Group (2018)

by Samantha Bates, Charles Fried

[case and UCC excerpts]

pagination: 538 - (online, Word)

Contracts Reading Group for export only (2018)

by Samantha Bates

[case and UCC excerpts]

pagination: 417 - (online, Word)

Contracts: Cases and Materials (2012)

by Kessler, Gilmore & Kronman

[cases and readings, editorial notes/discussion and thought questions]

pagination: 2188 - (online, Word)

Contracts: Cases and Materials (2020)

by Kessler, Gilmore & Kronman, Lawrence Lessig

[clone - similar to 2012 version]

pagination: 2188 - (online, Word)

Contracts: Happiness and Heartbreak (2019)

by Randall Kennedy/N. Delwiche, Charles Fried

[case and UCC excerpts and other readings]

pagination: 692 - (online, Word)

Introduction to Contracts, Sales and Product Liability (2012)

by Don Mayer, University of Denver; Daniel Warner, Western Washington University; George Siedel, University of Michigan; Jethro K. Lieberman, New York Law School

entire range of legal issues with which managers and business executives must grapple. ... vocabulary and legal acumen necessary for businesspeople to talk in an educated way ... to their own lawyers

pagination: 908 - (PDF, online)

Sales and Leases: A Problem-based Approach (2016)

by Scott J. Burnham, Professor, (ret.) Gonzaga University School of Law; Kristen Juras
University of Montana School of Law

3-credit course ... UCC Articles 2 and 2A ... chapters can be used on a stand-alone basis

TM/faculty-only content: register for Faculty access to CALI

pagination: 298 - (PDF, Kindle, device, Word) print $6

Sam Contracts for testing (2018)

by Charles Fried

[clone/draft - case and UCC excerpts]

pagination: 890 - (online, Word)

The Story of Contract Law: Formation (2019)

by Val Ricks, Professor, South Texas College of Law

teach contract doctrine beginning with the most fundamental ... two-volume set

TM/faculty-only content: register for Faculty access to CALI

pagination: 496 - (PDF, Kindle, device, Word) print $16

The Story of Contract Law: Implementing the Bargain (2017)

by Val Ricks, Professor, South Texas College of Law

covers the rest of basic contract doctrine ... in the second, three-credit half of a six-credit course

TM/faculty-only content: register for Faculty access to CALI

pagination: 423 - (PDF, Kindle, device, Word) print $14

Property

An Introduction to Property Law in the U.S. (2019)

by Steve Semeraro, Professor, Thomas Jefferson School of Law

streamlined Property Law casebook ... sets out the relevant legal tests clearly ... opportunities to apply them

for free review copy: at pay page, choose freeride copy
TM/faculty-only content: please contact the author for a pdf copy

pagination: 507 - (PDF) PDF $30 or freeride

Open Source Property: A Free Casebook (2018)

by Harvard Law School Library

adaptation of Open Source Property: A Free Casebook, by Stephen Clowney, [et al.] ... https://opensourceproperty.org/

pagination: 474 - (online, Word)

Open Source Property: A Free Casebook (2016) self-published

by Stephen Clowney; James Grimmelmann; Jeremy Sheff; Rebecca Tushnet

build their own casebook from the modules below ... Alternatively, adopters may select an “off-the-rack” build of a complete casebook

TM/faculty-only content: email the editors

pagination: varies - (PDF, device, Word)

Property Volume 1 (2012)

by Christian Turner, Associate Professor, University of Georgia Law School

two volume set

pagination: 602 - (PDF, Kindle, device, Word) print $33

Property Volume 2 (2012)

by Christian Turner, Associate Professor, University of Georgia Law School

two volume set

pagination: 304 - (PDF, Kindle, device, Word) print $27

Property, Section 4 Spring 2014 (2014)

by Kenneth Mack

[case excerpts, non-open/dead links]

pagination: 91 - (online, Word)

Property: Supplementary Materials (2015)

by Kenneth Mack

[includes apparently extraneous materials on human rights/detainees]

pagination: 92 - (online, Word)

Civil Procedure

Civil Procedure (2014)

by I. Glenn Cohen

[syllabus, open and non-open links to readings]

pagination: 939 - (online, Word)

Civil Procedure: Pleading (2011)

by Hillel Y. Levin, Professor, University of Georgia Law School

chapter ... approximately four class periods to cover in detail ... cases, ... questions ... pleadings ... applicable Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

TM/faculty-only content: register for Faculty access to CALI

pagination: 55 + Supp. - (PDF, Kindle, device, Word, podcasts (Lawdibles.Classcaster.net)) print $4

Computer-Aided Exercises in Civil Procedure, 7th Edition (2012)

by Roger C. Park, Professor, UC Law SF (formerly UC Hastings)

not a comprehensive treatise on the subject of civil procedure, yet it provides a mixture of expository text, cases, and self-testing questions in nearly all of the major areas of the subject

pagination: 306 - (PDF, Kindle, device, Word) print $12

Lahav Complex Litigation Materials (2013)

by Alexandra Lahav

[case excerpts]

pagination: 898 - (online, Word)

Criminal Law & Procedure

Criminal Law (2015)

by University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing

applied approach ... crimes and defenses that have been broken down into separate components ... apply them to various fact patterns

pagination: 527 - (PDF, Kindle, device)

Criminal Law (2017)

by Jeannie Suk-Gersen

[case excerpts, mix of open/non-open links]

pagination: 1232 - (online, Word)

Criminal Law (2017)

by Tim Wu

Criminal Law at Columbia Law School

pagination: 699 - (online, Word)

Criminal Law - REVISIONS FOR FUTURE USE (2017)

by Tim Wu

draft, Criminal Law at Columbia Law School

pagination: 569 - (online, Word)

Criminal Law Reading Group - 2016 (2016)

by Griswold Reading Groups, Jeannie Suk-Gersen