lawbooks
Codified legal texts
Lawbooks are books containing legal texts—statutes, case law, treatises, or legal commentary.
The term often evokes the heavy, leather-bound volumes that line attorneys' offices and courtroom shelves: The lawyer's office was filled with lawbooks she hadn't opened in years.
With legal research now largely digital, physical lawbooks have become as much decoration as reference.
Formally enacted laws
- regulationsEnforced rules and standards
- legislationOfficial enactment of statutes
- ordinancesLocal government rules
- codesSystems for secrecy
enactments · provisions · bylaws · decrees · charters · edicts · mandates · compiled
Philosophy governing legal systems
- treatiseFormal scholarly composition
- doctrineEstablished body of teachings
- commentaryExplanatory remarks on events
- legal theoryDoctrine explaining law's foundations
hornbook · restatement · annotations · principles · interpretation · precedent · analysis · Blackstone
Legal dispute process
- plaintiffCivil case initiator
- defendantParty facing charges
- trialJudicial examination of claims
- verdictOfficial court decision
prosecution · defense · testimony · evidence · cross-examination · appeal · objection · judgment
Alphabetical guide to contents
- citationsAcknowledged source mentions
- footnotesMarginal citations below text
- bibliographyList of cited works
- glossaryAlphabetical list with definitions
appendix · table of contents · chapters · sections · volumes · editions · supplements · headnotes
Educational reference volumes
- curriculumEducational program's content plan
- syllabusCourse plan document
- casebooksCompiled legal precedent collections
- bar examLicensure test for attorneys
lectures · seminars · students · professors · legal education · study aids · exam prep · LSAT
statutes
Formally enacted laws
- regulationsEnforced rules and standards
- legislationOfficial enactment of statutes
- ordinancesLocal government rules
codes · enactments · provisions · bylaws · decrees · charters · edicts · mandates · compiled · consolidated
jurisprudence
Philosophy governing legal systems
- treatiseFormal scholarly composition
- doctrineEstablished body of teachings
- commentaryExplanatory remarks on events
legal theory · hornbook · restatement · annotations · principles · interpretation · precedent · analysis · Blackstone · digests
litigation
Legal dispute process
verdict · prosecution · defense · testimony · evidence · cross-examination · appeal · objection · judgment · ruling
index
Alphabetical guide to contents
- citationsAcknowledged source mentions
- footnotesMarginal citations below text
- bibliographyList of cited works
glossary · appendix · table of contents · chapters · sections · volumes · editions · supplements · headnotes · annotations
textbooks
Educational reference volumes
- curriculumEducational program's content plan
- syllabusCourse plan document
- casebooksCompiled legal precedent collections
bar exam · lectures · seminars · students · professors · legal education · study aids · exam prep · LSAT · moot court
lawbooksfiction
Imagined narrative work
novels · fantasy novels · romance novels · comic books · storybooks
lawbooksleisure reading
Unpressured engagement with texts
pulp fiction · bedtime stories · page-turners · guilty pleasures · escapist fiction
lawbooksjoke books
Collections of humorous stories
comic strips · tabloids · gossip magazines · zines · humor books