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Guest post author: The Law Library Outreach Team Studying for the bar exam in late July? Six weeks out, you're likely immersed in topics like issue preclusion, hearsay exceptions, and equitable servitudes. When you need a study break, though, check out the Goodson Law Library’s collection of print and online materials designed to help you do your very best. This summer, you will find a selection of current bar study books in the blue self-service LibCabinets in the Reading Room on level 3. We have works covering test-taking strategies, managing bar prep material, and most importantly, staying healthy during this stressful time. Some examples include The Bar Exam in a Nutshell (also available online ), The Ultimate Guide to the UBE , and The Zen of Passing the Bar Exam . You can access additional works online with your NetID and password via the West Academic Study Aids Library . Look for Bar Exam Success: A Comprehensive Guide or Acing the Bar Exam: A Checklist Approach to ...

Time to get ready for spring exams! Just a few more weeks separate you from your summer, and here are some resources to make the most of your remaining study time. Additional recommended productivity apps and time management tips are available from Bowdoin's Wicked Smart Learning Strategies , Central Michigan University's Study and Success Strategies , and the Duke Academic Resource Center's Study Strategies that Work . First, fill in those outline gaps with study aids , available in print and online via the Law Library. The West Academic Study Aids Library includes Acing, Concepts and Insights, Hornbooks, Nutshells, Black Letter Outlines, Legalines, and Sum and Substance audio. The Aspen Learning Library includes Examples & Explanations, Glannon Guides, and Emanuel Law Outlines. Elgar Advanced Introductions to Law provides accessible yet comprehensive overviews of more than two dozen legal topics, particularly strong in comparative and international areas of law...

Where did the semester go? While the fall semester may have disappeared quickly, there’s still plenty of time to prepare for a successful exam season. First, fill in those outline gaps with study aids , available in print and online via the Law Library. The West Academic Study Aids Library includes Acing, Concepts and Insights, Hornbooks, Nutshells, Black Letter Outlines, Legalines, and Sum and Substance audio. The Aspen Learning Library includes Examples & Explanations, Glannon Guides, and Emanuel Law Outlines. Elgar Advanced Introductions to Law provides accessible yet comprehensive overviews of more than two dozen legal topics, particularly strong in comparative and international areas of law. All three study aid databases can be accessed quickly from the Law Library’s Legal Databases & Links page. First-semester students might also want to take a look at general exam preparation guides , like those listed on the library orientation guide to Law School Success . Titles...

Getting ready for the July bar exam? You're not alone: next month, thousands of aspiring attorneys will sit for a bar examination, just like more than 45,000 applicants did in July 2022. (The National Conference of Bar Examiners publishes annual statistics on bar exam administration in its Bar Examiner magazine and website.) The majority of jurisdictions now administer the Uniform Bar Examination (UBE) , a two-day exam that allows test-takers to more easily transfer their score from one UBE jurisdiction in order to seek admission to another. UBE components include the Multistate Essay Examination (MEE) , a set of brief essays; the Multistate Performance Test (MPT) , an analytical writing simulation; and the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) , a 200-question multiple-choice portion. UBE jurisdictions may also separately require a state-specific essay component. In addition, nearly every US jurisdiction (excepting Wisconsin and Puerto Rico) requires bar-takers to pass the separate M...

Hard to believe that fall finals are just around the corner! As you prepare for a marathon of studying and essay-writing, fill in those outlines and clarify confusing concepts with the help of the Law Library. The Library offers access to hundreds of online study aids and supplements that can help you get ready for finals: The West Academic Library Study Aids provides full-text access to hundreds of study aids, treatises, audio lectures, and flash card sets published by West Academic. Series available include Acing, Concepts and Insights, Hornbooks, Nutshells, Black Letter Outlines, Legalines, Sum and Substance audio, and many more. The Aspen Learning Library (formerly known as Wolters Kluwer Study Aid Library) contains nearly 200 study aids published by Aspen Publishing. Available series include Examples & Explanations, Glannon Guides, Emanuel Law Outlines, and more. Elgar Advanced Introductions to Law is a small but mighty collection of brief, accessible texts on over two d...

This week, we welcome our new JD and LLM students to the Law School! As mentioned in the library orientation sessions, the Goodson Law Library provides access to a number of print and electronic resources that are designed to help you succeed. Some key highlights for our newest students: CALI Lessons : The Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction partners with law schools to provide access to high-quality online tutorials (called CALI Lessons ) and other tools to support legal education and access to justice (including open-access textbooks and classroom tools for law school instructors). Access to CALI lessons and other portions of the site require individual registration; students may access the Duke Law registration code by logging in to the link at the Academic Technologies software page or asking at the service desk. West Academic Library Study Aids includes electronic versions of many popular study aid series, including Concepts and Insights, Hornbooks, Nutshells, and ...

The compressed fall semester schedule means that finals are just around the corner! Law school exams are stressful even in the best of times, so law school exams in 2020 may require some additional support. Fortunately, the Goodson Law Library provides access to some resources that can help ensure your success. Online study aids can be invaluable ways to clarify difficult concepts from class or fill in gaps in your outlining. Current Duke Law students have online access to both the West Academic Study Aids Library and the Wolters Kluwer Study Aid Library . While both services offer online reading/searching and offline download, different study aid and outline series are available in each database. West includes the series Concepts and Insights, Hornbooks, Nutshells, Black Letter Outlines, Legalines, Sum and Substance, Law Stories, and many more. Wolters Kluwer provides access to the series Examples & Explanations, Glannon Guides, Emanuel Law Outlines, and more. If law school ex...

The coronavirus pandemic has forced a reckoning nationwide about the administration of bar examinations, usually offered two times a year in each jurisdiction. While about two dozen states did hold a late-July, socially-distanced bar exam in person, other states postponed to a planned September administration, which some jurisdictions postponed again in favor of a remotely-administered online exam to be held on October 5 and 6 (see chart at the National Conference of Bar Examiners ). Concerns have grown over the possibility of technical issues with the upcoming online bar exam, with a number of test-takers reporting problems with practice exams and difficulty in obtaining remote support . Michigan's online bar exam, held in late July, experienced widespread technical issues which the State Board of Law Examiners later blamed on a hacking attempt. Whether or not next week's online examination faces similar technical issues, it seems certain that conversations about alternative...

Whether you're continuing at Duke Law next year or graduating this May, your access to legal research services like Westlaw , Lexis Advance , and Bloomberg Law will change. All Students Many of the temporary resources for textbooks and eBooks listed on the Library's Working Remotely site will expire at different times this summer. Lexis Digital Library (textbooks, treatises, study aids): May 24 Wolters Kluwer textbooks via VitalSource : May 25 West Academic textbooks: June 1 Wolters Kluwer online study aids : June 30 Online Bluebook codes: 60 days from registration Continuing Students For rising 2Ls and 3Ls, your Law School research access generally continues uninterrupted over the summer. Lexis Advance and Bloomberg Law both allow student usage over the summer for educational as well as for commercial purposes. (However, check with your employer before using your Law School accounts for paid work – many employers prefer that summer associates avoid using th...

Hard to believe that the fall semester is coming to an end! After the Thanksgiving holiday break, there's just one week of classes left to get your exam plans in order. Fortunately, the Goodson Law Library is here to help – and not just for quiet study space. Past exams , if your professor chooses to make them available, will be linked on your course's Sakai site. The library does not maintain a database of past Law School examinations from recent years. (We do have some in the archives dating from the 1930s to the 1990s, but those aren't going to help you by now.) However, help is still available if your professor opts not to share a sample exam. General law school exam-taking advice can be found by searching the Duke Libraries Catalog for the subject "Law Examinations – United States." Study aids can supplement your class material, clearing up any lingering confusion about a particular topic. West Academic Library Study Aids provides full-text access to ...

As the spring 2019 exam period approaches, the Goodson Law Library has implemented some important changes based on user feedback, in order to improve your experience. Restricted Access in Effect During the Law School's Reading & Examination period (April 19 – May 3) , access to the Goodson Law Library for study purposes is restricted to current Law School students, faculty and staff. Others who need to access the library for research purposes may visit the library when service desk staff are on duty (Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.; contact the Circulation/Reserve Desk for assistance during staffed evenings and weekends). Quiet Study in the Library During the reading & examination period, the entire library (including the Reading Room on Level 3) will be converted to quiet space . Excessive noise and inadequate quiet space were the top themes in our Spring 2019 student survey. Please be quiet in the library and take all phone calls outside. New Seating, Ta...

The Goodson Law Library is pleased to announce a new institutional subscription to West Academic Library Study Aids , just in time for final exam preparation. This new database provides full-text access to online versions of hundreds of West Academic Publishing study aids, treatises, audio lectures, and flash card sets .   Which of the many available study aid series will you find in the West Academic Library? Here are a few key categories: Favorites from the Reserve Collection : Concepts and Insights, Concise Hornbooks, Hornbooks Quick Overviews : Acing… series, Nutshells, Quick Reviews, Short & Happy Guides Class Outlines/Exam Prep : Black Letter Outlines, Exam Pro, Flash Cards, Gilbert Law Summaries, High Court Case Summaries, Legalines Audio : Sum and Substance, Law School Legends Professional Skills : Building Skills Series, Career Guides, Developing Professional Skill From 1L standbys like "the boat book" (a.k.a. Chirelstein's Concepts and Case Analy...

'Tis the season to succeed on Law School exams! Check out these tips to make your examination period run smoothly. Library Access Exam time brings a temporary change to the library's access policy , most notably in the evening hours. From now until the end of exams (Monday, December 17), access to the Goodson Law Library for study purposes will be limited to current Duke Law students, faculty and staff. Card-swipe access to the library entrance will be required after 5:00 p.m. on weekdays and all day on weekends. Members of the Duke University community or general public who require access to the library for legal research purposes should contact the library service desk for assistance during reference service hours (Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.). Additional study space is available to all throughout the building, such as in the Star Commons. The Technicalities If you will use your laptop to take an exam, make sure you have installed Electronic Bluebook (EB...

With final exams on the horizon, we wanted to review some important library information and resources to help you through the end of the semester. Library Access Exam time brings a temporary change to the library's access policy , most notably in the evening hours. From now until the end of exams (Friday, December 18), access to the Goodson Law Library for study purposes will be limited to current Duke Law students, faculty and staff. Card-swipe access to the library entrance will be required after 5:00 p.m. on weekdays and all day on weekends. Members of the Duke University community or general public who require access to the library for legal research purposes should contact the library service desk for assistance during reference service hours (Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.). Additional study space is available to all throughout the building, such as in the Star Commons. Getting Technical If you will use your laptop to take an exam, make sure you have ...

With less than a month until the July bar exam, heads are probably swimming with legal concepts, case names, and prep-course mnemonics. If you’ve come down with a case of bar-exam brain-freeze, it might be time to try some alternative ways to learn: CALI, the Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction , provides interactive tutorials on more than 900 legal topics. Tutorials range in scope from general areas of law to very specific legal concepts. A Duke Law registration code is needed for accessing the tutorials on the web, and can be obtained from the library Reference Desk or online with a NetID and password . If you like an interactive Q&A approach to studying, you might also prefer to download the mobile app versions of popular aids like the Law in a Flash flash-card series or the Q&A books from LexisNexis . Though the online version of each series is only slightly cheaper than the tangible versions, the ability to “shuffle” and annotate the flash cards and re-ta...

The end of the semester brings some important changes to the Goodson Law Library’s access and service hours. Please note this information for reading/examination period and beyond: Library Services Effective Monday 4/16, the Reference Services desk will be open from Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The Circulation/Reserve desk and the Academic Technologies Help Desk will continue evening and weekend service hours until the end of the examination period. Beginning on Friday, May 4 , all three library service desks will operate under summer hours (Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.), and will resume evening and weekend service at the start of the Fall 2012 semester. Library Access To ensure that adequate quiet study space is available for law students, use of the Goodson Law Library for study purposes during the Law School’s reading/exam period (Tuesday 4/17 to Friday 5/4) is limited to current Duke Law students, faculty and staff. University students, faculty and staf...

Taking the February bar exam in a few weeks? Whether you're a December graduate facing down your first examination or making a repeat performance in a new -- or old –- jurisdiction, it never hurts to supplement your study course with additional resources. In our online catalog , try a subject keyword search for " Bar examinations—United States ". This will retrieve some helpful resources for any state’s bar exam, including Strategies & Tactics for the MBE (Reserves KF303 .W345 2010) and other titles like The Zen of Passing the Bar Exam (KF303 .N673 2011). Past exams from North Carolina are available at the NC Board of Law Examiners site. This site offers past exams from 2005-2007 free for download. (Older essay questions are available in the library at the call number KFN7476 .N671, but the latest exam available in print is 2003.) The Young Lawyers Division of the North Carolina Bar Association has also prepared a brief guide to Drafting a Bar Exam Essay Answer (R...

It's only a few weeks into the new semester, but maybe you’re already feeling confused by a tricky legal concept or a hard-to-parse holding. Don’t ignore it until you’re making your final-exam outlines - take a look at some study aids! Before you drop a fortune on flash cards and commercial outlines, visit the Goodson Law Library for some of the most popular study aids around: Examples and Explanations Series : Titles in this series are written by law professors who give a narrative overview of the key concepts and rules for a particular subject, followed by "examples" (hypothetical questions) and “explanations” of the answers. Search the catalog for title keywords "examples and explanations" to retrieve a list of all available titles. Current editions are available on Reserve, with older editions available for longer checkout in the Stacks. (Did a classmate beat you to the title you needed? Note that many of these titles are also available in “Preview” mode o...

With July bar exams right around the corner, a weekend of panic is perfectly normal. We hope you’ve kept up with your study program, and consulted our additional tips for bar exam success from earlier this month. But if you just can’t shake that sense of dread, here are some fun (or maybe not-so-fun) facts about bar exams in other jurisdictions to help put things into perspective. The ABA’s Comprehensive Guide to Bar Admission Requirements (Reference KF302 .Z9 C65 2011) is chock-full of statistics about the bar exams in other states and U.S. territories, and it just might reassure you that the grass is greener than you think. Take, for example, the length of exams , which is compared in Chart 6 on page 23. California has long been famous for its grueling 3-day bar exam, but did you know that Mississippi and Palau also triple the fun? Nine other states also use a two-and-a-half day format, which might as well be three for those souls who must hole up in a hotel. Suddenly that 2-day f...

With the bar exam now less than three weeks away, the Goodson Law Library staff have noticed an increase in questions about additional study resources. In our online catalog, try a subject keyword search for “ Bar examinations—United States—Study guides ”. This will retrieve some helpful resources for any state’s bar exam, including a 2010 edition of Strategies & Tactics for the MBE (Reserves KF303 .W345 2010) and other titles like The Essential Rules for Bar Exam Success (KF303 .F75 2008). If you have a hole in your bar exam study outlines from a particularly confusing area of law, check out Part III of our Law School Success guide for an overview of popular law school study aids. Many of these series, like Examples & Explanations and the West Hornbooks, can be found on Reserve. ( Tip: Although Reserve Collection items are loaned in 4-hour blocks, arrive at the Circulation/Reserve desk less than 4 hours before our 5:00 p.m. summer closing time to borrow a Reserve Collecti...