LibGuides: 2L/3L Guide: Welcome

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Welcome to your upper level law student experience. The 1L Research Guide may be familiar to you as a basic structure for the strategies, tools, and tips for tackling legal research projects and issues.

As you move into your 2L and 3L years, you may want to explore further law library offerings to support -

research and writing for the JD Writing Requirement (aka "Option 1" and "Option 2"), or for a student Note for journal publication;
upper level course prep, clinical/externship/field placement work, and journal editorial tasks; and
career planning and interviewing skills.

This guide points you to tools, resources, and more in-depth research guides in support of your 2L/3L research, work, and development.

Basic Library Resources - Explore

Explore

Books + Articles search - login for click-thru access to full text

a good first step (or next step after Google Scholar) when you are getting your arms around a topic in law and related disciplines
searches LawCat (more below) for books plus selected law- and related-disciplinary full text databases for articles
1.5-min. tutorial video

LawCat to explore books, e-books, and many other materials at the law library

good for exploring the foundations, major developments, and history of scholarship in all areas of law and some related fields
use general keywords, or leading authors or titles, to find key texts as starting points - then explore related holdings by subject heading tags and call number range
4-min. tutorial video

Databases A-Z selected for relevance to law and related fields

Basic Library Resources - Learn

Learn

Research Guides list - use filter/search to look for general topics and research tasks

detailed, law library-oriented guides for advanced and specialized research tasks such as finding California Legislative History or Dockets, Briefs & Oral Argument
key issues and resources for specific areas of legal research, such as Consumer Protection Law or Basic & Background Sources for International & Foreign Legal Research
tips for using research tools more efficiently, such as Lexis & Westlaw Search Tips & Tricks

You can YouTube that!

did you know the Law Library has a channel, with a (growing) playlist on Research Instruction?
also check out our short How-To Videos playlist

Basic Library Resources - Connect

Connect

Chat - great for quick questions, help finding or accessing specific resources, or tips on key resources and strategies for starting out on a research project.

Ask a Research Question or book a Research Consultation - great for more in-depth questions, research planning, or scoping a project; get tips via email, or set up a meeting (virtual or in-person).

Visit the Reference Desk - 10am to 2pm weekdays.

Research and reference librarians are here to help - whether you have a quick "where do I find resources to start out" question, need a few pointers by email, or want a one-on-one consultation on your research project, please reach out to us (we are generally staffed weekdays 9am to 5pm).

Ask Us!

We're here to help.