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Email Reference Question Form

Members of the University of Washington community (students, faculty, and staff)  are invited to use this form to submit questions to the Gallagher Law Library reference librarians. Questions will be reviewed during the hours the Reference Office is open.

Not a member of the University of Washington community? Click here

We will suggest sources that you will find useful for conducting your research. For instance, if you say you want to locate articles on a certain topic, we will suggest an appropriate index and perhaps some search terms, but we will not prepare a bibliography for you.

We cannot provide legal advice. We cannot tell you what "the law" is or how courts have interpreted the law.

Our Reference Office is available to all patrons. If you are not a University of Washington student, faculty, or staff member, please visit our Reference Office or call: (206) 543-6794. Library and Reference Office hours and directions to William H. Gates Hall are on the Internet.

Where else can you get legal information?

  1. The Gallagher Law Library has a large collection of legal research guides and an extensive list of free Internet Legal Resources.
  2. Washington LawHelp and LawforWa provide legal self-help materials. Washington LawHelp also identifies legal service providers that offer free or low-cost assistance.
  3. The King County Law Library and the Washington State Law Library offer email legal reference services.
  4. Other local libraries offering live chat or email reference services include the UW Libraries, the King County Library System, and Seattle Public Library.

Some questions are too complex to answer via email. We will let you know if your question requires a visit to the Library. You may review our reference policies which apply to all of our reference services: in-person, phone, or email.

Your Name:
E-mail Address:
Status at UW : undergrad  grad student  faculty  staff 


Question: When submitting your question, please include as much specific information as you have, especially:

  • jurisdiction: Are you asking about the law in Washington State, the United States, or some other state or country?
  • status: Are you asking about a law that is in force or a case that has been decided, or one that is pending?
  • date: Are you asking about a very recent law, case, or other action, or one that is from 10 years, 50 years ago, etc?
  • citation: Do you have a citation to a particular source from a footnote, article, or book? Add that information to the form.

 



 
If you are not eligible to use our email reference form because you are not a member of the University of Washington community, consider using one or more of the following options:
  1. Visit our Reference Office in person or call the office at (206) 543-6794; hours and directions are here.
  2. Review one of our legal research guides or our list of free Internet sources on Washington State law.
  3. Contact an agency that provides free or low-cost legal services at the Washington LawHelp. site.
  4. Consult one of the legal self-help documents provided by Washington LawHelp or LawforWa.
  5. Use the email reference services offered by the King County Law Library and/or the Washington State Law Library.
  6. Use the live chat or email reference services offered by the UW Libraries, the King County Library System, and/or Seattle Public Library.
©2008, M.G. Gallagher Law Library, University of Washington