1 / 43

Legal Research in the Real World

Legal Research in the Real World. Mary Whisner, UW Law Library Rita Kaiser, King County Law Library. On. Managing research assignments Developing research strategies Learning tips to make legal research easier. We Can’t Cover Everything Today!. Use research guides . Incl. int’l

gwyn
Download Presentation

Legal Research in the Real World

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Legal Researchin the Real World Mary Whisner, UW Law Library Rita Kaiser, King County Law Library

  2. On • Managing research assignments • Developing research strategies • Learning tips to make legal research easier

  3. We Can’t Cover Everything Today! • Use research guides. Incl. int’l Ask a reference librarian. Develop your skills -- e.g., by taking advanced legal research classes.

  4. Project Log • Date assigned • Supervisor • Project • Due • When you’ll work on it • Done!

  5. Calendar • Due dates • Chunks of time for working on projects (before their due dates!) • Meetings • “Extras”

  6. Getting the Assignment • School assignments • What topic • How long (pages, margins, font size) • What sources to use • When due • Work assignments • ????

  7. For instance… • I need you to do a legislative history of the breathalyzer statute. • Our client (a large company) is being sued for sexual harassment allegedly done by one of the supervisors. Could you research possible defenses?

  8. Asking Questions Is Good! ? • Requester? • Contact info? • Others who know project? • When is it due? • Format? • Time? • Billing? • Background? Suggestions? ? ? ? ? ?

  9. What Resources Are Available? Important to know about yourworkplace Librarian, office manager, summer clerk coordinator • Information, policies • Advice In-house library • Books, etc. • Brief bank • Electronic subscriptions

  10. What e-Resources Are Available? Yourworkplace • LN & WL? • academic subscriptions - externships for credit • employer’s subs for all else • be aware of firm policies

  11. How Much Do LN & WL Cost? Depends on K: • Hourly • Transactional • Flat-rate • Databases included • Usu. extra for big databases

  12. For example... If you click on a Westlaw Results Plus link outside your contract secondary source: $55 brief or motion: $80

  13. “How can one get by without Westlaw or LexisNexis?”

  14. What e-Resources Are Available? Your workplace • LN & WL? • Loislaw (OK to use for work) • Casemaker (all WSBA members) • Other products Free websites Local libraries

  15. A Few Internet Tips • Often efficient to search specific site rather than whole Web. (Problem of “deep Web.”) • Great links for Washington and federal law: http://lib.law.washington.edu/research/research.html

  16. A Few Internet Tips • Wide variety of sources (and authority!) • Official court and agency sites • Newspapers • Law reviews • Firm newsletters, blogs • Wikipedia • Citation • Credit your source • Will it be findable later?

  17. “I have relied VERY heavily on electronic research during school and I need to get stronger at using books to keep costs down.”

  18. Tips for Using Books • Practice Materials later today • Library catalogs • Ask a librarian • No keyword searching, BUT • Table of Contents • Index • Table of Cases • Table of Statutes • How is this source kept up to date?

  19. Local Law Libraries • Law school libraries – SU, UW • King County Law Library • Subscription plan • Collection • Electronic resources • Reference help • KCLL RJC

  20. KCLL Resources • Online Library Catalog (from web site) • Current secondary sources and primary law for Washington & Federal • Historical Washington & Federal primary law • Codes for all 50 states

  21. KCLL Resources • Legal Databases (search free, print for 15¢ a page) • Westlaw– 50 states plus federal case law, statutes, and administrative material • Lexis– Wash. State & federal, plus Get a Document • HeinOnline – for law reviews, treaties, Federal Register, etc.

  22. KCLL Resources • Legal Research and Training Center • Access to Internet • SCOMIS & ACORDS • Word processing & printing • Wireless

  23. KCLL Research Help • Experienced reference staff • Research Links on our web site • Research Guides • Ask a Question – from the web site How do I Find --- ?

  24. More Libraries • Other law libraries • County law libraries • U.S. Courts • What about nonlegal info? • Seattle Public Library • University libraries

  25. Keep a paper trail – including dead ends ♪What’s the question? ♪ Where’d you look? ♪ How’d you look? ♪ What’d you find? ♪ What’s the date? ♪ Why’d you copy that? Notes

  26. Notes Keep a paper trail – including dead ends ♪ What’s the question? ♪ Where’d you look? ♪ How’d you look? ♪ What’d you find? ♪ What’s the date? ♪ Why’d you copy that?

  27. Notes Prepare to cite Write down the information you’ll need now rather than waiting until you’re ready to write.

  28. Speaking of Citation • If you want a Bluebook refresher, see: http://lib.law.washington.edu/ref/bluebook101.html • Washington practitioners also need Style Sheet from Wash. courts: http://www.courts.wa.gov/court_rules/Word/GAGR14_A1.doc

  29. Developing Research Strategies

  30. Rombauer Preliminary analysis Search for statutes Mandatory precedent Persuasive precedent Refine, double-check & update Think Framework

  31. Preliminary Analysis • Issue • Jurisdiction • Key facts • Relevant search terms • Knowledge assessment

  32. For instance… Our client was in a car accident just this side of the Idaho border. A Washington State Patrol trooper followed the ambulance that took him to a hospital in Idaho and then had the hospital do a blood alcohol test. The Idaho tech isn’t certified by Washington. Can the prosecution still use the results?

  33. When Do I Stop? • When the costs outweigh the benefits • When you keep finding the same sources • When you find the answer • When you run out of time

  34. Miscellaneous Tips

  35. Indian Law • Tribes are sovereign governments • 29 in Washington • Guide: http://lib.law.washington.edu/ref/indian.html

  36. 50 State Surveys • M-H Law Digest • National Survey of State Laws • Subject Compilations of State Laws • Uniform Laws Annotated

  37. Unfamiliar Topic • Find a research guide • Consult a treatise • Check ALR or Causes of Action • Read a law review article

  38. Leave It to Bieber’s • Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations • Dictionary of Legal Citations

  39. The Bluebook • Blue pages • Tables & abbreviations • Jurisdiction-specific • Courts, documents, states, periodicals, services

  40. Tricks with Full-Text Databases • Bluebook puzzles? Find a law review article that cites the source. • Obscure document? Find an article that cites it – and maybe says where it’s reprinted. • (Remember cost constraints.)

  41. Words and Phrases • Judicially defined • Nationwide • Annual pocket parts • Westlaw: search cases or statutes, field WP (term)

  42. Questions?

  43. Gallagher Law Library University of Washington School of Law Box 353025 Seattle WA 98195-3025 http://lib.law.washington.edu • We are happy to have our guides used by other libraries, librarians, and legal researchers. • Before copying or adapting one of our guides, please contact Cheryl Nyberg (cnyberg at u.washington.edu) to obtain permission. Then give appropriate attribution, such as: "Adapted from a guide by Mary Whisner at the Gallagher Law Library website." 

More Related