
Five Things to Know
Although the Jacob Burns Law Library is closed, we're here to help with our virtual services. The library staff continue to work to help you with your legal research requests. Here are five things to know: Our virtual desk is open Monday - Friday, 9am - 5pm, and...

27th Amendment Ratified May 7, 1992
The 27th Amendment requires that no change in compensation for a Representative or a Senator "shall take effect, until an election of representatives shall have intervened." The intent of the amendment was to prohibit sitting members of Congress from giving themselves...

Jacob Burns Law Library Operations and Covid-19
Although the law library is closed, we are still here to help. We're working remotely to answer your questions about legal research. You can reach us: 9am - 5pm, Monday - Friday 10am - 5pm, Saturday - Sunday. Contact us: Email: ask@law.gwu.libanswers.com Chat Text...

A display of scholarship by GW Law Women Faculty in honor of Women’s History Month, March, 2020
The Burns Law Library has mounted a display of scholarship by women members of the GW Law School faculty in honor of Women’s History Month. Located outside the library’s second-floor entrance, it highlights publications from 25 members of the permanent faculty. The...

Single-Use Plastics & the Law
We're as excited about taking care of the environment here at GW Law as we are about the 50th anniversary of our International Environmental Law program! Our latest display, "Single-Use Plastics & the Law," explores the impact of single-use plastics on the...

Belva Lockwood – First Women to Argue Before the Supreme Court
Belva Lockwood, a graduate in 1873 of the the the National University Law School (now GW Law), became the first woman member of the Supreme Court bar and the first to argue a case before the Supreme Court. Once she had completed her course work, the law school...

Data Privacy Day ~ January 28, 2020
Data Privacy Day is a global effort to "empower individuals and business to respect privacy, safeguard data and enable trust." January 28 was recognized as Data Privacy Day by S. Res. 337, 113th Cong. (2014). Get involved by taking simple steps to safeguard your own...

Eighteenth Amendment
On January 16, 1919, the Eighteenth Amendment was ratified, after years of campaigning by prohibition proponents. The amendment prohibited the manufacture, sale or distribution of "intoxicating liquors" within the United States. The Volstead Act was passed later in...

Season’s Greetings
The Jacob Burns Law Library wishes everyone a safe and enjoyable holiday season. The Law Library is open December 18 to December 20, 9:00am - 4:45pm. The Law Library is closed for the University's Winter Holiday from Saturday, December 21, 2019, through January 1,...

Bill of Rights Ratified
On this day in 1791, the first ten Amendments to the United States Constitution were ratified. The Bill of Rights, as these Amendments came to be known, guaranteed personal liberties with the federal government. The First Amendment alone included the right to...
Jacob Burns Law Library
716 20th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20052