Harris County Law Library
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March marks Wills & Probate Law Resources Month at the Harris County Robert W. Hainsworth Law Library—a time to focus on organizing, planning, and preparing for the future. As we move into a new season, the Law Library invites you to treat estate planning as part of your spring reset—an investment in organization, preparedness, and care for those who matter most.
Read moreElder law and disability law are closely related areas of legal practice that focus on protecting the rights, autonomy, and well-being of older adults and people with disabilities. In Texas, these legal issues intersect with state-specific laws, public benefits programs, and agencies that can be difficult to navigate without reliable information and planning. This brief overview introduces key topics in Texas elder and disability law and points readers toward trusted resources for learning more.
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January is Consumer Law Resources Month at the Harris County Law Library. Consumer law focuses on protecting individuals in everyday transactions—when buying goods or services, dealing with debt collectors, credit reporting issues, or resolving landlord-tenant disputes. In Texas, many of these protections come from laws like the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices–Consumer Protection Act (DTPA), which prohibits false, misleading, or deceptive business practices. At the federal level, agencies such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and nonprofit advocacy organizations—including the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC)—play a key role in enforcing consumer protections, developing policy, and providing educational resources for consumers and advocates alike.
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Published irregularly but read consistently, Ex Libris Juris, the blog (or blawg) of the Harris County Robert W. Hainsworth Law Library, continues to punch well above its weight. In 2025, the Law Library published 36 blog posts, which together drew more than 14,000 views—accounting for a remarkable 20% of all traffic to the Law Library website. For a blog that is neither daily nor news-driven, that percentage tells an important story: readers are not just visiting Ex Libris Juris—they are actively seeking it out.
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In December, the Law Library is featuring a number of self-help resources for self-represented litigants. Handbooks, research guides, and concise legal treatises will be on display in the library.
Read moreWhat’s behind the name? “Ex Libris Juris” is Latin for “from the books of law” and much of the information here will relate to the legal information collected and curated by the Law Library. Additionally, “Ex Libris” has long appeared on bookplates – labels appearing inside the front cover of books – and has acquired the connoted meaning “from the library of” to show ownership of the book. Using this connotation, the phrase becomes “from the library of law” and better describes the posts about digital resources, event announcements, and research tips that will regularly appear here.
