Law librarians and library staff are available to help you find your way around the library and its legal materials, provide research support, and assist you in locating materials that are not in our library. You can find the latest information about our hours and services on the library homepage. There are several ways to contact us:
Email us
In Person: The Borrowing Services Desk and Reference Office are on the main floor of the law library. Online and in-person appointments with the reference staff can be made from the library homepage.
Call us:
Borrowing Services Desk: (650) 723-2477
Reference Desk: (650) 725-0800
This guide contains tips and strategies for all stages of your case research process. It focuses on Westlaw and Lexis, but other case research platforms (such as CaseText and FastCase) often have similar features and tools. See the list of topics below for help finding where to start in this guide.
Are you just getting started with your research?
Is the area of law governed by a statute, regulation, or court rule?
Do you already have a relevant case but need to find more?
Have you already attempted the above strategies? Or, are you nearing the end of your research?
These flowcharts can help you find cases when you've already identified a relevant statue or case. The rest of this guide provides more detail on the steps they outline.
Westlaw and Lexis accounts are available for current Stanford Law School faculty, staff, and students only. If you need to register for an account, please email us at reference@law.stanford.edu.
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