Civil Procedure
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Reference Department
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
- Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
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The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure govern civil proceedings in the United States district courts. Their purpose is "'to secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action and proceeding.' Fed. R. Civ. P. 1. The rules were first adopted by order of the Supreme Court on December 20, 1937, transmitted to Congress on January 3, 1938, and effective September 16, 1938." (United States Courts website)
Study Aids
The GW Law Library provides access to the Aspen Learning Library, which includes the Examples & Explanations series and CrunchTime study guides; and the LexisNexis Digital Library, which includes the Understanding and Q&A series. When prompted to login, use your GW Law email address and password.
Print study aids may be borrowed from the Reserve Collection at the Law Library's Circulation/Reserve Desk for up to 2 hours. Older editions may be found in the Law Library stacks. For more study aids in the Law Library's collection, please consult our Study Aids guide.
Civil Procedure: Examples and Explanation, 9th ed. by 
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Offers hypothetical questions complemented by detailed explanations that allow you to test your knowledge of the topics in your courses and compare your own analysis.
Emanuel CrunchTime for Civil Procedure, 7th ed. by - This link opens in a new window
Provides flowcharts and capsule summaries of major points of law and critical issues, as well as exam tips and sample exam and essay questions with model answers.
Emanuel Law Outlines for Civil Procedure, Twenty-Sixth Edition by - This link opens in a new window
Features include: "Quiz Yourself," "Essay Q & A," "Exam Tips," and a "Capsule Summary" providing a quick review of the key concepts covered in the full Outline.
Glannon Guide to Civil Procedure: Learning Civil Procedure through Multiple-Choice Questions and Analysis, 5th ed. by - This link opens in a new window
Supplements classroom lecture with explanations of concepts interspersed with hypotheticals to illustrate application. Correct and incorrect answers are explained.
Understanding Civil Procedure, 7th ed. by - This link opens in a new window
Contents cover selecting a court, acertaining the applicable law, pleading and practice, discovery, disposition without trial, trial and post-trial motions, appeal, and remedies.
Civil Procedure (Concepts and Insights), 4th ed. by 
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Examines the overall structure of public dispute resolution through six basic concepts: rudimentary fairness and the trade off between equity and efficiency; defining the parameters of a dispute in terms of the presentation of issues and the obtaining of information; defining the scope of the dispute in terms of parties; defining the power of the courts; securing finality; and the costs of procedure.
Civil Procedure in a Nutshell, 9th ed. by - This link opens in a new window
Discusses choosing the proper court, framing the litigation, adjudication without trial, judgments and their effects, appeals, specialized multi-party, multi-claim proceedings, and special problems in federal litigation.
Federal Civil Procedure Course Study Collection
- Federal Civil Procedure Course Study Collection
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Thomson Reuters Practical Law provides practical law resources about topics that are commonly covered by Federal Civil Procedure courses in law school. Unless noted, the resources in this collection are Practice Notes, which provide in-depth coverage of specific legal issues written for practicing attorneys.
Hornbooks
Hornbooks are concise one-volume legal treatises, written primarily for law students on subjects typically covered by law school courses.
Principles of Civil Procedure, 7th ed. by - This link opens in a new window
Provides a brief introduction, an overview of the stages of litigation, and a discussion of major procedural problems (governing law, authority to adjudicate, former adjudication, and complex litigation).
Law of Federal Courts, 8th ed. by - This link opens in a new window
Discusses the federal judicial system and the judicial power of the United States, the federal question, diversity of citizenship, jurisdictional amount, removal jurisdiction and procedure, venue, the procedure in the district courts, appellate jurisdiction of the courts of appeals and the Supreme Court, and original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.
Civil Procedure, 6th ed. by - This link opens in a new window
Discusses the laws governing all of the major steps in the civil litigation process, starting with jurisdiction, venue, and ascertaining the governing law, and pleading, joinder, discovery, pretrial management and adjudication, trials, appeals, and the effect and enforcement of judgments.
Civil Procedure, 4th ed. by - This link opens in a new window
Topics covered include: personal jurisdiction, subject matter jurisdiction, venue, pleadings, amended pleadings, and judgments based upon pleadings, discovery and judicial management of litigation, the Erie Doctrine(s), special multiparty litigation, and appellate review.
Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction (CALI)
CALI lessons are interactive tutorials written by law professors at CALI member schools. They can be used for studying specific topics.
Ask a Reference Librarian for the GW Law CALI code.
- Civil Procedure Outline
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- Civil Procedure Lessons
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Black's Law Dictionary
Black's Law Dictionary, 12th ed. by - This link opens in a new window
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This comprehensive law dictionary contains more than 55,000 law-related words and phrases and includes definitions of more than 1,000 abbreviations and acronyms.
