We're Here to Help

Your reference librarians welcome the opportunity to assist you with your research questions and assignments. Whether it’s finding the answer to a quick reference question, providing a refresher on how to research case law, or devising the most efficient research strategy for an in depth research assignment in law or other disciplines, we’re here to help.

How to Contact Us

In Person:  Our office hours are always posted here.  Phone:  612-625-4309.  Email:  law-ref@umn.edu

The Law Library's reference staff includes five librarians who are available to assist you with your research needs. Feel free to contact any of these librarians directly by telephone or email if you would like to arrange an individual consultation for assistance from a specific librarian.

Vicente Garces	624-2597	garce003@umn.edu
Michael Hannon	625-0173	mhannon@umn.edu
George Jackson	625-5596	g-jack@umn.edu
Mary Rumsey	625-2905	rumse006@umn.edu
Suzanne Thorpe	625-0187	s-thor@umn.edu

Research Instruction

• Legal History Seminar Handout and Power Point

• Legal Writing Course
  Students enrolled in the First Year Legal Writing Course receive legal research instruction from the reference librarians.  Reference librarians also coordinate instruction sessions provided by our school's LexisNexis and Westlaw representatives.

• Advanced Legal Research Seminar
  This seminar is offered in the fall and spring semesters and is taught by Reference Librarian, George Jackson.

• Foreign & International Legal Research Seminar
  This seminar is taught by Foreign, Comparative & International Law Librarian, Mary Rumsey.

• Brown Bag Research Skills Series
  The lunch hour programs offered in this series cover a variety of topics from basic refreshers on case law and statutory research to more advanced or specialized areas of legal research such as  legislative history and administrative law.  Check the Law Library home page for program announcements.

• LexisNexis(www.lexisnexis.com/lawschool/) (Registration Required)
  Our full-time LexisNexis Representative is Jeff Melville (phone: 952-431-7910, email:  jeff.melville@lexisnexis.com ).
  Training:  In addition to the LexisNexis instruction provided to students in the First Year Legal Writing Course, Jeff also offers various LexisNexis training sessions throughout the school year.  Check the My School LexisNexis web page for more information.
  Student Representatives:  Jeff hires several law students to assist their fellow students with any issues (printing, access, research questions) concerning LexisNexis.  Check the My School LexisNexis web page for more information.  Student Rep. hours are also posted in Rm. 153 of the Law Library.

• Westlaw(lawschool.westlaw.com) (Registration Required)
  Our full-time Westlaw Representative is Bonnie Burnson (phone: 612-239-4354, email:  bonnie.burnson@thomson.com).
  Training:  In addition to the Westlaw instruction provided to students in the First Year Legal Writing Course, Bonnie also offers various Westlaw training sessions throughout the school year.  Check the lawschool.westlaw.com web page for more information.
  Student Representatives:  Bonnie hires several law students to assist their fellow students with any issues (printing, access, research questions) concerning Westlaw.  Check the lawschool.westlaw.com web page for more information.  Student Rep. hours are also posted in Rm. 153 of the Law Library.

• CALI - Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction (www.cali.org) (Registration Required)
  CALI lessons are interactive, computer-based tutorials provided by the non-profit Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction (www.cali.org). There are over 625 lessons available to help you study 32 different legal subject areas at www.cali.org. Lessons are completely free for our law students. They are great for mastering material during the semester and for studying for exams.
  Registration Required: As a CALI member law school, access to CALI lessons is free to our students.  Students must however, pick-up an authorization code from the Law Library Reference Office and register online at cali.org in order to access CALI lessons.