Treatises

Treatises are written by well-recognized experts in the field and provide an in-depth discussion and analysis of a topic. Treatises have many target audiences:

  • Law students
    • "Hornbooks" and "nutshells" are types of treatises intended to help students understand the "black letter law."
  • Legal Scholars
  • Practicing Attorneys
    • "Practice Guides" is a type of treatise providing in-depth analysis of a particular area of law

Locating Treatises

There are many ways to find relevant treatises for your research issues:

  1. Georgetown Law's Treatise Finders provides list of treatises for various areas of law.
  2. Westlaw, Lexis Advance, & Bloomberg Law
    1. Browse. Select "secondary sources" (or "secondary materials") from the main page. Then select the area of law or jurisdiction to see the list of relevant treatises.
    2. Keyword Search. Run a keyword search to see if a treatise provides in-depth discussion of your topic. 
  3. Not all treatises are available on Westlaw, Lexis Advance, & Bloomberg Law. Search the law library catalog to see if the law library has relevant treatises.
  4. Use the law library stack guide and browse the law library stacks. For example, if you are looking for tort law treatises, browse the shelves containing the books with call numbers KF 1246. 
    • Note: Books on the following topics are located on the fourth floor:
      • Human Rights & Civil Rights
      • Gender Studies
      • Labor & Employment Law
      • Responsible Lawyering
      • Gaming & IP
      • Rhetoric
      • Teaching & Learning
      • Bankruptcy & Consumer Debt
      • Health Law
      • Insurance Law
      • Water Law
  5. Index & Table of Contents. Your treatise, whether print or electronic, is likely to include the table of contents and index. Use them to find relevant sections.
  6. Ask a reference librarian.