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Insurance Law Research. Marin Dell, JD MLIS FSU Law Research Center Workshop. How Do I Get Started?. Online Research Guides: Guide to Legal Research (University of Maryland School of Law’s Thurgood Marshall Law Library)
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Insurance Law Research Marin Dell, JD MLIS FSU Law Research Center Workshop
How Do I Get Started? • Online Research Guides: • Guide to Legal Research (University of Maryland School of Law’s Thurgood Marshall Law Library) http://www.law.umaryland.edu/marshall/researchguides/TMLLguide/index.asp • Research Road Map (Boston University Law Library) http://www.bu.edu/lawlibrary/research/researchpaper/
Boston U Research Road Map • Select a topic • Conduct a preemption check • Research primary and secondary sources • Update your research http://www.bu.edu/lawlibrary/research/researchpaper/
1. Select A Topic • Pick a topic that you are excited about! • Insurance Law is an important issue in many areas of law… • Environmental Law • Estate Planning • Real Estate/Planned Communities
How Do I Find a Topic? • Supreme Court Docket • Current awareness materials • Newspapers and magazines • Professors, attorneys and industry specialists
The Supreme Court Docket • BNA US Law Week • Current Alerts, The Supreme Court Docket and Legal News Access through BNA All or in print • Medill School of Journalism (Northwestern University) http://docket.medill.northwestern.edu
BNA All (Bureau of National Affairs) • Database of publications/newsletters in many different practice areas • Subscribe to email alerts to keep abreast of any new developments in your topic area • E.g. • Biotech Watch • Toxics Law Daily
2. Conduct A Preemption Check • Search your topic in an index such as Current Index to Legal Periodicals, LegalTrac or IndexMaster • What has been written on your topic? • Can you add anything to the legal scholarship already written on your topic?
3. Research primary and secondary sources • Insurance Law Background • Journals and Law Reviews • Case Law • Administrative Materials
For Background on Insurance Law • Consult Secondary Materials Appropriate To Your Beginning Level of Knowledge • Very basic background information: • Insurance Law in a Nutshell by John F. Dobbyn • More scholarly, but still very readable: • Understanding Insurance Law by Robert H. Jerry, II • The classics: • Appleman on Insurance 2d by Eric M. Holmes • Couch on Insurance 3d by Lee R. Russ
HeinOnline Law Reviews and Journals in PDF format • Insurance Law Journal • Insurance Counsel Journal • The Forum AKA Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Journal 1965 – 2004; volumes 1 – 39 (Westlaw coverage begins in 2003, vol. 38)
How To Choose A Resource: • Different Coverage • Different Formats • Different Search Capabilities
4. Update your research • Search the index services for new articles • Keep up with current awareness materials in your topic area • Ask for a last update from the professionals in your topic area • Search recent case law on your topic by using the search form’s date restriction option • Shepardize your case law!
Questions? • Talk to a librarian at the FSU Reference Desk: • In person • By phone • By email