LAW 6903 - Lawyering Skills: Practical Skills IV

Every law student is taught that legal research involves various sources of law (i.e., federal, state, administrative, primary, secondary, etc.) and myriad research techniques (i.e., online searches on Westlaw using Boolean search or natural language search, use of headnotes, key cites, digests, citators, etc.).  What introductory legal research classes provide little guidance on, however, and what law students and young lawyers struggle with, is how to effectively plan out and efficiently complete a legal research project in the real world.

This course is designed to fill that legal research "know how" gap that young lawyers face when they enter the practice of law.  In this course, we will seek to deconstruct the process of legal research, focusing on practical skills and research techniques that will help you develop an intentional and effective process for conducting research to arrive at accurate and binding research results in an efficient manner.  Throughout this course, we will consider the organic, multi-dimensional nature of research projects and discuss how and when to use different types of sources, searches, and databases to engage in strategic and cost-effective research that delivers value to clients. 

 
Units: 1
Grading: Pass/Fail