Law Library

About the Law Library

LIBRARY HOLDINGS Volumes—427,978 Law Journals—770 Reporters—90 Goverment Documents—500 Law Databases

You can't claim the library was closed when you needed an important book. The library never closes. Never. The resources of the law school, from the books on the shelves to the printers in the computer lab, are available to W&L law students twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

The School of Law occupied the new Sydney Lewis Hall in 1976. The building was a gift from Frances and Sydney Lewis, a member of the law class of 1943, of Richmond, Virginia, as was the endowed Frances Lewis Law Center, established for the study of law reform and to bring to Washington and Lee scholars, judges, and distinguished lawyers from throughout the world to study and teach for a semester or a year.

The resources of W&L's law library are impressive. Whatever you need, it's here. In addition to its holdings, the Lewis F. Powell, Jr. Archives house the Supreme Court and professional papers of former Supreme Court Justice Powell, a graduate of Washington and Lee's college and law school. Computer clusters augment the wireless communication hubs throughout the building, so access to electronic databases is virtually unlimited.

Each student has an individual study carrel or office space in the law school. No searching for a quiet place to study during exam week, and no need to move books and papers when you're finished for the night. The Honor System means that your materials will be there when you get back. It's one more way W&L's unique environment frees you to do what you came here to do: get a superb legal education.