Strategies for Stellar Legal Research: Helping Law Students Avoid Common Mistakes

Abstract:     
I drafted this eight-step guide to help my students effectively research legal authority for their memos and briefs. Young attorneys would also benefit from this guide.

Instead of having a systematic approach to researching a legal issue, students want to conduct legal research like they use Google to find restaurants or movie times. They often start on Lexis Advance or WestlawNext, type in a few search terms, and expect relevant authority for their legal issues. This guide is intended to break them of that bad habit.

This guide sets forth eight simple steps that students should follow in researching statutes and cases using print and online resources. It discusses secondary sources, annotated statutory codes, the West Digest System, LexisNexis and Westlaw, citation services, and other finding tools.

I have also drafted an exercise that walks students through most of these steps. If you want that exercise, please email me.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 3

Keywords: annotated code, law school, law students, research guide, research, common law research, statutes, statutory research, digest, legal research

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