Hornbooks & Study Supplements


Hornbooks are one-volume treatises written primarily for law students on subjects typically covered by law school courses. Unlike casebooks, which are collections of cases (or excerpts of cases) chosen to help illustrate and stimulate discussion about legal issues, hornbooks attempt to summarize and explain the law in a specific area. 

Study supplements such as the Black Letter Series and the Examples and Explanations Series, also try to explain the law in a much more straightforward manner than casebooks. Study supplements, however, are written in a less scholarly manner than hornbooks and tend to focus on the basic issues without providing detailed analysis.

Neither hornbooks nor supplements are intended to serve as substitutes for casebooks, but many students find these resources helpful in understanding the more complex questions discussed in class and presented on law school exams. 

Below is a list of some hornbooks and study supplements that you may find useful in your studies. Most of the print versions of these publications are located in the D'Angelo Law Library Reserve Room, and earlier editions of some titles may be available in the stacks under the same call number. Many of the study supplements are available as e-books via West Academic Study Aids, Aspen Learning Library, and Lexis Digital Library.

In addition to the study supplements listed, Law School students also have access to the online, interactive lessons provided by the Center for Computer Assisted Legal Instruction (CALI). Ask a Law Librarian for the Law School's activation code. 

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