Legal Research Demystified

Legal Research Demystified
Author: Eric P. Voigt
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2019
Genre: Legal research
ISBN: 9781531007836

Legal Research Demystified offers a real-world approach to legal research for first-year law students. The book guides students through eight steps to research common law issues and ten steps to research statutory issues. It breaks down the research steps and process into "bite-size" pieces for novice researchers, minimizing the frustration often associated with learning new skills. This text also gives students context, explaining why and when a source or finding tool should be used when researching the law. The process of legal research, of course, is not linear. This book constantly reminds students of the recursive nature of legal research, and it identifies specific situations when they may deviate from the research steps. Through the book's step-by-step approach, students will connect seemingly unrelated tools (e.g., citators and the Key Number System) and understand how to leverage them to answer legal questions. Every chapter includes charts, diagrams, and screen captures to illustrate the research steps and finding methods. Each chapter concludes with a "summary of key points" section that reinforces important concepts from the chapter. This book provides students and professors with multiple assessment tools. Each chapter ends with true-false and multiple-choice questions that test students' understanding of chapter content. These questions are replicated on the book's companion website, Core Knowledge. Students may answer these end-of-chapter questions, as well as more advanced questions, on Core Knowledge and receive immediate feedback, including an explanation of why the answer is correct or incorrect. Professors can generate reports to track students' performance. Based on students' performance, professors will know whether to review a topic in more detail or to move to the next topic. (New books contain an access code to Core Knowledge; students purchasing used books can buy an access code separately.) Core Knowledge offers yet another assessment tool: interactive research exercises. These online exercises walk students through the research steps on Westlaw and Lexis Advance, giving professors the option to "flip" the classroom. Through many screen captures and tips, students can navigate both research platforms outside of class, allowing students and professors to dig deeper into the material during class. Each research exercise simulates a real-world research experience and contains self-grading questions. For example, in one exercise, students research on Westlaw to determine whether the client could recover damages against a neighbor for the emotional distress for the death of the client's dog. To answer the client's question, students must complete the research steps, including finding and reviewing secondary sources on Westlaw, using the Key Number System and KeyCite, and performing keyword searches. Professor support materials include a Teacher's Manual, sample syllabi, and sample research exams.

The Process of Legal Research

The Process of Legal Research
Author: Christina L. Kunz
Publisher: Aspen Publishers
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2012
Genre: Legal research
ISBN: 9781454805526

A time-tested, proven introduction, The Process of Legal Research acquaints students with all of the sources and relevant vocabulary and shows how each source works, how to combine sources into a cohesive research process, and how to resolve legal problems through effective techniques. Extensive illustrations and examples quickly engage students in actual research problems, as the text carefully demonstrates how research and writing are interrelated processes. The authors focus on teaching the best research practices, illustrating how to choose the appropriate source and media for each type of problem. Electronic research is completely integrated into the text. Students are given solid guidance for every type of situation, learning when and how to choose between paper and electronic research, and how the choice among different media can result in different access means, scope, and currency of materials. The Process of Legal Research offers extensive, well-researched problems sets, ideal for large programs that need plenty of exercise options for their students. Pages with problems sets are perforated for easy use. The Eighth Edition finds a sharper focus on the basics, asking and answering the questions, "What are the various forms of legal authority?" and "How does each contribute to resolving a client's legal problem?" A greater emphasis on how to choose the optimal research options for various authorities includes a mix of print and online as well as public and commercial resources. Each chapter includes a table of optimal research options. The Eighth Edition skillfully interweaves smaller employment law problems faced by a firm throughout the text, rather than the single mega-problem of previous editions, and new flow-chart style charts illuminate much of the denser text. Citations are covered in citation boxes, reflecting both the Bluebook and ALWD. In a leaner writing style designed appeal to modern students, the Eighth Edition confronts some of the most current hot topics, such as how people think about research today and what firms find wanting in new lawyers research abilities. Hallmark features: Provides a complete introduction to the process of legal research the sources and vocabulary of legal research how each source works how to combine sources into a research process how to resolve legal problems through effective research techniques Extensive illustrations and examples of actual research problems Teaches the best research practices how to choose the appropriate source and media for various types of problems Integrates electronic research discusses when and how to choose between paper and electronic research shows how the choice among media results in different access means, scope, and currency of materials Includes extensive, well-researched problems sets

Arizona Legal Research

Arizona Legal Research
Author: Tamara S. Herrera
Publisher:
Total Pages: 140
Release: 2017
Genre: Legal research
ISBN: 9781531006846

The research process -- Researching secondary authority -- Researching constitutions -- Researching statutes and court rules -- Researching legislative history -- Finding cases in reporters and online -- Researching cases in digests and online -- Researching administrative law -- Researching Arizona tribal law -- Updating research

New York Legal Research

New York Legal Research
Author: Elizabeth Adelman
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2020
Genre: Legal research
ISBN: 9781531016661

"This book provides an alternative to the excellent, but often lengthy, legal research books that take a bibliographic approach to this dynamic lawyering skill. The goal of the third edition is to explore concisely both the sources of New York state law and the process of conducting research using those sources. New to the third edition is a greater emphasis on online sources and performing online research. The book begins with an overview of the legal research process and an introduction to research techniques using online media. Then the book turns to secondary sources, recognizing these sources as the entry point for most new research projects. Next, New York Legal Research addresses primary authority, with chapters dedicated to case law, enacted law (statutes, constitutions, local law, and court rules), and administrative law. Additional chapters cover legislative history, free and commercial updating tools, legal ethics research, New York City law, and research strategies and organization. An appendix explains legal citation by New York courts following the New York Law Reports Style Manual"--

Introduction to Legal Research Method and Legal Writing

Introduction to Legal Research Method and Legal Writing
Author: Uzoma Ihugba
Publisher: African Books Collective
Total Pages: 291
Release: 2020-07-01
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9785916545

The book is written in a conversational style, and the language is accessible and simple, with flowing examples that users can relate with. Practical legal questions are raised and application of individual research methods, strategies, approaches and philosophies are demonstrated. The book starts with a clear definition of legal research method to justification and importance. It spans the research process, theoretical positions and justification for research, the writing up process and the defence of research output either in seminars, conferences or for PhD defence. It also prepares researchers and academicians for discussion and interaction with peers at conferences and seminars.

Texas Legal Research

Texas Legal Research
Author: Spencer L. Simons
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2016
Genre: Legal research
ISBN: 9781611635621

Texas Legal Research, Second Edition, is a practical, process-oriented guide to the skills and resources necessary to research Texas law. The book is designed for teaching first-year students, either as a stand-alone text or in conjunction with a research text focusing on federal law. The book is also suitable for use in advanced legal research courses. Others who will find the book useful include practitioners, paralegals, college students, laypersons, and anyone needing a concise handbook on how to find and use Texas legal materials. The book begins by explaining the nature and types of legal authority. The process of legal research and control of legal research projects are described in the first chapter, with an emphasis on the integral nature of legal research and legal analysis. These concepts are revisited and reinforced throughout the book. The second chapter explains basic principles underlying legal research, factors to consider in choosing whether to search online or in print, and techniques to add power and precision to legal research. Since students often use online research tools from the beginning of their studies, the second chapter also introduces online searching techniques and principles. Research using print and online resources is explained for each type of legal resource throughout the book. The order of coverage of types of legal authority has been substantially changed in the second edition, in order to track the author's recommended research process. Secondary materials are now addressed in chapter 3, followed by chapters devoted to the resources and techniques of constitutional research, statutory research, legislative history research, administrative agency law research, and case law research. The second edition adds an entirely new chapter on Texas local government law research. The historical and governmental roots of Texas legal resources are traced for each type of primary law. Updating techniques are explained in context for each type of legal material and a chapter is devoted to the use of online citators. An appendix explains the basics of legal citation, the use of the Greenbook and the Bluebook, special rules of Texas citation, and the ALWD Guide to Legal Citation. The second edition contains a new appendix discussing techniques for searching directly in the online case databases included in Westlaw, Lexis Advance, and Bloomberg Law. Most chapters contain tables with step-by-step guides to research in particular types of legal resources, as well as summaries of other critical information. Screenshots and images of research materials are included to illustrate the lessons of the text. For each type of resource, research in federal law is addressed following the discussion of research in Texas law. This book is part of the Legal Research Series, edited by Suzanne E. Rowe, Director of Legal Research and Writing, University of Oregon School of Law.

Idea and Methods of Legal Research

Idea and Methods of Legal Research
Author: P. Ishwara Bhat
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 578
Release: 2019-09-05
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0199098301

Legal research examines subject matter enshrouded in social circumstances in order to conceptualize theories and prepare a future course of action. This dynamic, inter-disciplinary, and labyrinthine character of legal research requires researchers to be fluid, eclectic, and analytical in their approach. Idea and Methods of Legal Research unearths how the thinking process is to be streamlined in research, how a theme is built on the basis of comprehensive and intensive study, and the paths through which notions of objectivity, feminism, ethics, and purposive character of knowledge are to be understood. The book first explains the meaning, evolution, and scope of legal research, and discusses objectivity and ethics in legal research. It engages with the requirements, advantages, and limits of various doctrinal and non-doctrinal methods and tools, and the points to be considered in selecting a suitable method or combination of methods. It highlights analytical, historical, philosophical, comparative, qualitative, and quantitative methods of legal research. The book then goes on to discuss the use of multi-method legal research, policy research, action research, and feminist legal research and finally, reflects on research-based critical legal writing, as opposed to client-related legal writing. This book, thus, is a comprehensive answer to key questions one faces in legal research.

Michigan Legal Research

Michigan Legal Research
Author: Pamela Lysaght
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2016
Genre: Legal research
ISBN: 9781531000585

Michigan Legal Research, Third Edition, is a concise, yet thorough, guide to conducting legal research in Michigan. Importantly, it also includes references to federal legal resources. In addition to updating all sources discussed, this edition, more so than previous editions, focuses on free legal resources, including current commercial and government sources. For the free online sources, this edition includes directions on how to navigate the website to make it easy for the reader to find the relevant information. Where applicable, references to new and established subscription-based resources are juxtaposed against those resources that are available for free. The goal is to help the reader make an informed decision regarding when to use a fee-based service as opposed to a free legal resource. This edition continues to draw upon the authors' years of experience teaching legal writing and research by providing the tools for conducting efficient and effective legal research, as well as discussing the interplay between legal research and legal analysis. This book is part of the Legal Research Series, edited by Suzanne E. Rowe, Director of Legal Research and Writing, University of Oregon School of Law.

Legal Research in New Zealand

Legal Research in New Zealand
Author: Mary-Rose Russell
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2014-12
Genre: Legal research
ISBN: 9781927248034

Written for undergraduate students of law, law clerks, novice law librarians, librarians in public libraries which host Depository Collections, and self-litigants, Legal Research in New Zealand explores the various legal sources, how to find them and how to go about best using them in a practical and user friendly style. Features: Written by well-respected New Zealand authoring team; Addresses legal research skills relevant to the New Zealand student and invaluable for their legal career; Up-to-date and relevant content