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Welcome To Legal Research

Welcome To Legal Research. PS 102 MONDAYS, SPRING 2012. Welcome…. To The Revamped Legal Research for Paralegals Course . UNIT ONE. Explain the Course. CLASS RULES. ATTENDANCE 80% rule (ABA Rule). This means that you can miss 5 hours of class. PUNCTUALITY

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Welcome To Legal Research

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  1. Welcome To Legal Research PS 102MONDAYS, SPRING 2012

  2. Welcome… To The Revamped Legal Research for Paralegals Course

  3. UNIT ONE Explain the Course

  4. CLASS RULES • ATTENDANCE • 80% rule (ABA Rule). • This means that you can miss 5 hours of class. • PUNCTUALITY • we start on time (6:00PM) • ABSENCE • If you miss a class, get notes (don’t ask me) • FINAL EXAM • must pass final exam to pass course

  5. WHERE WE MEET • We either meet • CEP I, Room 9 (here) OR • Rosenthal Library (Alcove 4) • If you are not sure where we are meeting that night ASK BEFORE

  6. Materials You Will Use

  7. Materials You Will Use • Course Material: • Download and read • before class and • after class!

  8. Materials You Will Use • Legal Dictionary (to bring to all your courses): • Paperback: • Blacks, • Barrons, • Gilberts, • Random House • App: • Blacks, • Free, • Nolo • Law.com

  9. Materials You Will Use • Books in Library: • Rosenthal library • Any other library with law books you can access

  10. Materials You Will Use • Internet & Westlaw: • Home; • Here; • Queens College; • Public Library; or • anywhere else.

  11. Materials You Will Use • Suggested Text: • Legal Research and Writing for Paralegals, Sixth Edition, Deborah E. Bouchoux. • (Used in Legal Writing) • You can get a used copy of the 5th edition from Amazon for about $25

  12. Materials You Will Use • The Tanbook: • The NY Style Manual: available free on line • PDF version • Searchable HTML version

  13. GO TO WEBSITE The course is divided into eight units. Each unit will have at least one webpage (page) for that unit. On each page you will find the same set-up for that particular unit

  14. Each Unit Page • What to do • Reading Materials • Other Helpful Reading Material • Class Slides • Charts • Task/Assignment • Documents to complete • What is due

  15. The Units

  16. Unit-by-Unit: Let’s Go Over Each Unit

  17. Unit One: Explaining the Course

  18. What Tools You Will Need • The course syllabus • Access to a computer with a reliable internet connection

  19. What Tools You Will Need • On the computer: • Word Processing Program (that produces .doc): • Microsoft Word • OpenOffice • Apple Pages • GoogleDocs

  20. What Tools You Will Need • On the computer: • Presentation Program (do not buy one): • PowerPoint • OpenOffice • Apple Keynote • GoogleDocs

  21. Face-to-Face Class • Lecture • Demonstration • One-on-one assistance to perform what you have learned in the demonstration.

  22. Non-Face-to-Face Class • On line tasks (e.g., Westlaw exercises, posting to a blog) • Tasks in the library (i.e., finding the law) • Other tasks (e.g., writing and editing) • Either way, I will be there (physically) with you

  23. Unit Two: Introduction to Law and Legal Research (Quick Primers)

  24. Quick Primer: Legal Research What is Legal Research?

  25. Quick Primer: Types of Law • Different Types of law • Constitutional Law • Statutory Law • Administrative Law • Case Law • Common Law & • Interpretive Law)

  26. Quick Primer: Government • Government as the law-maker • Government • The Court System

  27. Quick Primer: Citations • Citations • What is a citation? • What purpose does it serve? • Official versus parallel? • Writing Citations • In order to find the law again • In order to report it in a legal document

  28. Quick Primer: Citations • TASK 2A: • Fixing Citations [ON LINE]

  29. Quick Primer: Westlaw • Westlaw & Other on-line legal research databases/services • TASK 2B: • Sign on to Westlaw and sign up for OnePass

  30. Unit Three: Finding and Reading Law

  31. Finding and Reading Law • Statutes: • Using to solve legal problems • Court Decisions: • What do they do? • Common Law: • What are they? • Interpretative Case Law: • How to use them?

  32. Finding and Reading Law • ASSIGNMENT: • You will be assigned a Supreme Court decision: • You find it • You read it • You summarize it • You edit summaries

  33. Finding and Reading Law • How to find case law: • in a library; and • on line • What to look for to use in solving legal problems

  34. Case Summaries: (On Computer in Class)

  35. Case Summaries • TASK 3A: Draft a case summary: • you will be assigned a case to: • find in the library and on line; • read; and • post a summary on line in the course website.

  36. Case Summaries • TASK 3B: Read and edit another paralegal’s summary: • you will be assigned another paralegal’s summary to read and edit.

  37. Case Summaries • TASK 3C: Post your edited case summary: • based on your experience reading the case summaries, editing another paralegal’s summary, you will make another edit of your case summary.

  38. Unit Four: Introduction to Course Assignment

  39. Introduction to Assignment • Your Problems: you will get two legal problems: • Straight forward legal question; and • Client story-based problem.

  40. Example “A” Problem: • New York’s Statute of Limitations for Criminal Acts. • What is the definition of the Statute of Limitations as it pertains to criminal actions? • What is the statute of limitations for murder? • What is the statute of limitations criminal possession of a weapon?

  41. For the “A” Problem:

  42. Example “B” Problem: • New York Wills • Our client is the wife of a NYC firefighter. Last year, he went to California as a part of the NYFD to help put out the huge forest fires. The last she heard from him was that he was heading to Yosemite National Park to put out a fire. She never heard from him again and he was never found by his unit. Using New York law address the following issues: • When can she submit his will to be probated? • Since no body was found, is there some kind of presumption? • When he left, his wife was pregnant, is this after born child entitled to any part of his estate?

  43. For the “B” Problem:

  44. Unit Five: Solving Legal Problems

  45. Solving Legal Problems • Dealing with a legal question • e.g., “What is the the Official State Bird of New York?” • Dealing with a client’s story • e.g., “A graduate assistant walks into the college library and sees an attractive student....”

  46. Solving Legal Problems • Finding what you need to look for: • Issue spotting (find the legal problem). • Key words: • The Grid Part One

  47. Unit Six: Finding Legal Answers in Westlaw

  48. Finding Answers In Westlaw • Westlaw in detail • TASK 6A: • Exercises on your own on the basics of Westlaw

  49. Developing a Research Plan • Forming Successful Queries • The Grid, Part Two • What you are looking for? • Primary law (usually cases)

  50. Secondary Sources Of Law • Legal Encyclopedias • Corpus Juris Secundum • New York Jurisprudence • The Digests • From Secondary to primary law

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