First Year of Law School

Legal Research has moved into the digital age! Using the library while you attend school here means more than just finding books on the shelves--although you will find plenty! The Muse Law Library contains both the usual Reference and Access services of a university library combined with the Computer and Technology Services department, including the Computer Help Desk.

Classes are run through a central system called Blackboard. Many of you will be familiar with Blackboard, or a system like it, from your undergraduate classes. You should become familiar with Blackboard quickly. It will be the central location for your courses, including assignments, syllabi, faculty information, and your grades.

You can access Blackboard from anywhere on the law school website using the link at the top right. Your login is the same as your NetID--meaning the first part of your email address before the @ symbol--and the same password.

The University of Richmond has a cloud storage service used by all students, faculty, and staff to share and store files. If you have a Network ID and password, you already have an account! Just follow the link, sign in using your NetID and password, and watch the quick tutorial.

Box functions like most cloud-based storage services--you can make folders, share files with others, and sync Box to your personal computer.

Use the "Help" link under your account information to access tutorials provided by Box about managing, sharing, and syncing your files.

Box Apps

Box provides free apps to use the program on Android and Mac, as well as workflow tools for your PC.

Box Sync allows you to sync files from Box directly to your computer and open them as though they are on your hard drive.

Box Edit allows you to open files directly into Microsoft Office from the web-based Box application.

The Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction is a non-profit dedicated to creating lessons and courses on legal topics. You should have received a CALI activation key when you received your other commercial database login information. The interactive tutorials are a great way to review when you are stuck on an area of law and can't make headway in your notes. This is also where you will find the citation exercises which you may be requried to complete as part of your Legal Research course.

"Core Grammar for Lawyers^SM (CGL) is an online, self-directed learning tool designed to help law students, pre-law students, paralegal professionals, and practicing attorneys acquire the grammar and punctuation skills that are prerequisites to successful legal writing."

If your Legal Writing Professor has assigned these exercises as part of your Lawyering skills class, you can sign up for the online modules using this link.