How to Locate the Law: A Guide to Locating Nevada Law and Legal Resources

This guide gives simple information about finding legal resources in Nevada. It lists different law libraries and what they have, like legal books and help with research. Library staff can help you find resources and show you how to use them, but they can’t give legal advice or pick forms for you. The guide also talks about specific law libraries in Nevada, like the Supreme Court of Nevada Law Library, Clark County Law Library, Washoe County Law Library, and the Weiner-Rogers Law Library. For more help, you can contact these libraries or use the Nevada Legal Resources Directory from the Access to Justice Commission.

This guide is intended to provide basic information about Nevada legal materials and resources.

The information and resources in this guide are not intended as a substitute for a detailed legal research guide or the advice of a licensed attorney. 

A Law Library is a specialized library that provides access to legal materials, and assistance in locating legal resources. They usually contain print resources of self-help books, primary law, and secondary resources, as well as online access to legal databases.

Staff at law libraries can:

• Refer to proper agencies and legal service providers
• Refer to sources of laws and forms
• Instruct where to find and how to use legal materials
• Locate informative reading materials
• Explain how to conduct legal research

Staff at law libraries cannot:

• Give legal advice
• Interpret statutes, cases, or regulations
• Offer opinions on legal issues
• Select forms and/or instruct you on what to put in those forms
• Make referrals for attorneys
• Perform legal research

Supreme Court of Nevada Law Library

The Supreme Court of Nevada is the oldest law library in the state and provides a wealth of print and digital resources, all accessible from our catalog. The library serves the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, the Legislature, the Office of the Attorney General, and other executive branch agencies, as well as the local bar and the general public. The library is open Monday through Friday, from 8 am to 5 pm, except on holidays. We offer numerous online research guides on legal topics, specific Nevada resources, legislative histories, and general legal resources.

Contact the Reference desk at (775) 684-1640 or send an email to reference@nvcourts.nv.gov. Online chat services are available Monday through Friday, 9:00am to 4:00pm (excluding state holidays). 

Clark County Law Library

The Clark County Law Library is a public law library open to everyone and there is no fee to use the library.  The Law Library maintains state and federal statutes, regulations, and cases, as well as commentary (in the form of treatises and periodicals). The entire collection contains more than 103,500 materials in a variety of formats including books, serials, loose-leafs, microfiche, audio, video, CD-ROM, and electronic databases. The Library also has access to over 270,000 legal resources through its subscription databases. Nine computers are available for legal research purposes. The Library offers information on federal legal topics, general legal research, legal education classes, and Nevada legal research and legal topics.

Contact the Reference desk at (702) 455-4696, or send an email to AskInfo@ClarkCountyNV.Gov.

Washoe County Law Library, Second Judicial District Court

Dedicated to helping patrons find and access the law. The mission of the Washoe County Law Library is to enhance access to justice by (1) providing legal information, education, resources, tools, and materials, in print and digital formats, to those engaged with the justice system, and (2) partnering with the courts, bar associations, legal clinics, civic organizations, and government entities to help ensure the legal needs of the community are addressed. The Library also offers programs such as the Lawyer in the Library, and research guides on several subjects.

Contact the Reference desk at (775) 328-3250, or send an email to LawLibrary@washoecourts.us.

Weiner-Rogers Law Library, William S. Boyd School of Law

As the largest law library in the state, and the only law library in Nevada maintaining comprehensive collections of United States legal materials, the Wiener-Rogers Law Library also serves as a resource and archive for the entire state, providing services and making its collections accessible to researchers across disciplines and to members of the general public.

Contact the library by sending an email to lawlibraryrefdesk@unlv.edu, completing the reference librarian contact form, or by phone at 702-895-2420.

Research Division

The Research Division of the Legislative Counsel Bureau is the general information and service arm of the Legislature. It conducts research into a wide variety of subjects at the request of legislators, legislative committees, State and local officials, and the public. The Division also responds to inquiries concerning Nevada's government, laws, and public policy issues from residents, legislative agencies, and public officials in other states.

Contact the Research Division at (775) 684-6825, fill out their contact form, or send an email to research@lcb.state.nv.us.

Research Library

Search for compiled legislative histories, find past and present Nevada Legislators, search Legislature reports, search vetoed bills, and Legislative session information, committees, minutes, and exhibits.

Contact the Research Library at (775) 684-6827 or send an email to library@lcb.state.nv.us.

Nevada Access to Justice Commission

The Nevada Supreme Court Commission on Access to Justice was started by Nevada Supreme Court Rule 15 (SCR 15). The Access to Justice Commission works to make it easier for people in Nevada to get legal help.

Nevada Legal Resources Directory was created by the Nevada Access for Justice Commission and the Nevada State Bar and includes contact information for legal services organizations throughout the state of Nevada.