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Doing It by the Book

Doing It by the Book. How to Shepardize a Case Without Using a Computer. Agenda. Why is it important to Shepardize? Why must I learn to do it both ways? Using the computer Using the books BuILder activity Wrap-up. Why is it important to Shepardize my cases?.

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Doing It by the Book

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  1. Doing It by the Book How to Shepardize a Case Without Using a Computer

  2. Agenda • Why is it important to Shepardize? • Why must I learn to do it both ways? • Using the computer • Using the books • BuILder activity • Wrap-up

  3. Why is it important to Shepardize my cases? • You must ensure that your case is good law before you present it to a judge • Judges remember the attorneys who present them with bad case law • Shepardizing helps to discover splits in authority among courts • Locate the cases which help bolster the arguments you are making

  4. Why must I learn to Shepardize both ways? • Isn’t using a computer the way to go? • It is true that most legal personnel use Lexis to Shepardize their cases. • Their format is easy to understand • They update their databases within 24 hours of receiving a case • You can set alerts to notify you when a new case is added • So, with all that going for you, why use a book?

  5. Why must I learn to Shepardize both ways? • Well, there are two reasons to learn to “do it by the book” • Many parts of learning to be a lawyer involve doing things because others had to do them in the past • For example: • The Socratic method • The Bar Exam • And, yes, learning to Shepardize by a book • Is this fair, probably not, but it is the way things are in the law school community • But, I said that there were two reasons...

  6. Why must I learn to Shepardize both ways? • The second reason is the important one • Think about how a law firm works, as a junior associate, do you get the choice assignments? • The answer is no! • You get sent to the courts that no one else in the firm wants to visit • These courts are usually out of the way and rather limited in their facilities • Picture the following scenario

  7. Why must I learn to Shepardize both ways? • You are in court located in a rural community in Northeastern New York State (that’s in the mountains for those not from New York) • Right before the lunch break, opposing counsel quotes a case that you’ve never heard of to the judge as the final authority on your case • You need to find out all you can about this case in less than an hour so that you can argue against it after lunch

  8. Why must I learn to Shepardize both ways? • You run up to the court’s law library. Guess what, they don’t offer Lexis because they don’t have the budget for it. • You call your firm, but everyone is at lunch • Do you want to call your partner who has been practicing law for over 30 years and tell him that you are stuck? • Trust me, you don’t want to do that, because he learned to Shepardize using a book and that is what he will tell you to do

  9. Why must I learn to Shepardize both ways? • Luckily, you remember what we will earn today in this class. You know how to Shepardize using a book! • You can confidently approach the task, get it done in less than an hour and face the judge with your new argument in place • Those are the successes that make the difference between the partnership track and looking for a new firm

  10. Why must I learn to Shepardize both ways? • What are the chances of this scenario happening to you? • In your first few years of practice, actually quite good. • Do you want to take the chance that you can’t provide top service to your client? • Do you want to take the chance that opposing counsel wins because you are caught off guard? • I didn’t think so!

  11. Your assignment • Each of you will receive a different Supreme Court case to Shepardize • You will complete the BuILder for this session using your laptop computer and the Shepard’s United States Citations books • As you work your way through the exercise, answer the questions on your worksheet • We will discuss them at the end of class

  12. Your assignment • This is a tough assignment, but you will benefit greatly from learning the process • At the very least, some day when you are a partner, you can tell a junior associate that you had to learn to Shepardize using a book and so should they • Good luck!

  13. Wrapping Up • What are your thoughts on the process • Was it as hard as you thought it would be? • What did you learn about your case? • If you had to do it again, do you think you could Shepardize using a book? • How much more do you appreciate using Lexis?

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