Category Archives: Mandatory Law

Legal Research Finally Demystified.

26 Sunday Apr 2020

Posted by in Case Law, Court Rules, Federal Law, Internet, Law Journals, Law Reviews, Legal Encyclopedia, Legislative History, Mandatory Law, Primary Law, Regulations, Research, Secondary Resources, State Law, Statutes

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Legal Research Demystified, by Eric Voight, Professor of Legal Research and Writing, Faulkner University

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3354594 (table of contents and a sample chapter)

I have a new favorite legal research textbook and reference guide for law and paralegal students — Legal Research Demystified.  In my opinion, it offers a fresh approach to finding and understanding the law. It guides a student in a logical process to research common law and statutory issues. It minimizes the chances that students will miss an important step or forget a necessary tool, such as the digest system or a citator.    

I like the way this book uses hypotheticals and visual aids, including screen captures from online databases, checklists, and charts. It does what a book on legal research should do – it shows and tells you how to do legal research rather than discussing finding research tools in a vacuum.

Everyone learns in a different way, but I think the opportunity to practice what you have learned is one of the strongest ways to teach. I was impressed to see that both students and professors have access to online exercises for each chapter using Core Knowledge for Lawyers (https://coreknowledgeforlawyers.com).

Each self-guided exercise walks students through the steps identified in the textbook and teaches them to research on Westlaw and Lexis Advance, again using visual aids, tips, and hypotheticals. As students electronically answer each question, Core Knowledge instantly provides feedback and an explanation of the right anwer.  It is my understanding that additional exercises should be available May 2020. -CCE

 

 

Beginner’s Research Guide to Lemon Laws and Consumer Protection Law.

10 Friday Apr 2015

Posted by in Case Law, Consumer Law, Federal Law, Internet, Legal Directories, Lemon Laws, Library of Congress, Mandatory Law, Primary Law, Research, State Law, Statutes, Westlaw

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Lemon Laws: A Beginner’s Guide, Barbara Bavis and Robert Brammer, In Custodia Legis, Law Librarians of Congress

http://blogs.loc.gov/law/2015/04/lemon-laws-a-beginners-guide/?loclr=eaiclb

You are really getting two for one (and more) with this post. Please note the hyperlink to consumer protection law in the first sentence. Both posts provide guides on how to research both subjects. Click on “Legal Research” to the left once you are at the website, and you will find the link to all posts at this website on how to research other laws. -CCE

In response to our last post on consumer protection law, we determined there was additional interest in ‘lemon laws.’  Lemon laws are defined by Black’s Law Dictionary as statutes ‘designed to protect a consumer who buys a substandard automobile, usu[ally] by requiring the manufacturer or dealer either to replace the vehicle or to refund the full purchase price.’ So, if you find that the new car of your dreams is actually a waking nightmare, you can use this guide to determine what recourse you might have. Lemon laws vary by state, but this guide should help get you started with your research. . . .

Continue reading →

Law Guru – Free Internet Legal Research.

25 Sunday May 2014

Posted by in Case Law, Federal Law, Internet, Law Libraries, Legal Dictionaries, Legal Directories, Legal Directory, Mandatory Law, Primary Law, References, Research, State Law, Statutes

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Law Guru

http://www.lawguru.com/research.html

Another free Internet legal research tool. Law Guru have over 535 search engines. You can search state and federal case law, statutes and codes, and more.

It has some other nice features, too. It has a database of over 500,000 legal questions and answers. I know that sounds tempting and it may point you in the right direction. But if you are not an experienced legal researcher, please do not rely on these answers as you sole source of legal information. These questions and answers are generic – the facts of your situation may mean that the answer you get here is not the right one for your problem.

Law Guru also has a legal dictionary, links to legal articles, the Internet Law Library, and legal forms (there is a charge for these forms). -CCE

The Public Library of Law.

25 Sunday May 2014

Posted by in Case Law, Constitutions, Court Rules, FastCase, Internet, Law Libraries, Mandatory Law, Primary Law, References, Regulations, Research, State Law, Statutes

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The Public Library of Law

http://www.plol.org/Pages/Search.aspx

The Public Library of Law is free. Actually, it’s one of the largest free law libraries on the Internet. It gives you access to case law from the U.S. Supreme Court, all U.S. Circuit Courts, case law for all states (from 1997 to date), the United States Federal Code (federal statutes), states for all 50 states, regulations, court rules, state and federal constitution, and more.

One of the more interesting things about PLoL is that it provides free links to paid content on Fastcase®. If you are not familiar with Fastcase®, check it out at http://www.fastcase.com. If you need help learning how to use it, you will find free tutorials at http://www.fastcase.com/support/. -CCE

Basics of Legal Research – And More.

02 Friday May 2014

Posted by in Case Law, Federal Law, Law Libraries, Legal Encyclopedia, Mandatory Law, Primary Law, Regulations, Research, State Law, Statutes

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Basics of Legal Research, Cornell University Law Library

http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/library/whatwedo/researchguides/basics.cfm

If you are not familiar with the Cornell Law Library and the Cornell Legal Information Institute, you are missing a fantastic, free legal research honey pot.  This link will take you to Cornell’s basic legal research guide. If you know nothing about legal research, this is a great introduction. If your legal research is rusty, this is an excellent refresher.

But we are just getting started. The Legal Information Institute (LLI) (http://www.law.cornell.edu/) is one of the top online law libraries – and it’s free. Even though it’s free, I encourage you to make a donation. To understand why, please go to http://www.law.cornell.edu/lii/about-lii. There is no question that you definitely get a big bang for your buck. -CCE

Legal Research Tutorials.

05 Saturday Apr 2014

Posted by in Administrative Law, Case Law, Legal Directories, Legal Encyclopedia, Legislation, Legislative History, Mandatory Law, Primary Law, Regulations, Research, Secondary Resources, State Law, Statutes

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Legal Research and Writing Tutorials, Georgetown Law Library

http://www.law.georgetown.edu/library/research/tutorials/lrw.cfm

This link will lead you to these tutorials. -CCE

  • Administrative Law Research Tutorial
  • Bloomberg Law Tutorials
  • Case Law Research Tutorial
  • Legislative History Research Tutorial
  • Secondary Sources Tutorial
  • Statutory Research Tutorial

E-Discovery Federal Rule Amendments and More.

06 Thursday Mar 2014

Posted by in Bankruptcy Law, Case Law, Court Rules, Discovery, E-Discovery, Federal District Court Rules, Federal Law, Litigation, Mandatory Law, Metadata, Preservation, Primary Law, Regulations, Research, Sanctions, State Law, Statutes, Technology, The Sedona Conference, Trial Tips and Techniques

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Category Archives: FEDERAL RULES AMENDMENTS, by Electronic Discovery, K&L Gates

http://www.ediscoverylaw.com/articles/federal-rules-amendments/

 Notice and analysis of electronic discovery federal rule amendments. You can count on this website to be updated promptly and the information and analysis is accurate. Free subscription by RSS feed.

While you are there, it is worth your time to browse the variety of information published by K&L Gates. They are experts on e-discovery. You will find, among other things:

Just poke around. I do not think you will be disappointed. -CCE

Updated Foreign Law Research Primer.

02 Sunday Mar 2014

Posted by in Australia, Brazil, Case Law, China, Citations, Egypt, Eritrea, France, Hong Kong, India, International Law, International Law, Israel, Law Journals, Law Libraries, Lebanon, Legal Directories, Legal Encyclopedia, Mandatory Law, Primary Law, References, Regulations, Research, Russia, Sweden, United Kingdom

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Foreign and International Legal Research Guides – Pic of the Week, by Donna Sokol, In Custodia Legis: Law Librarians of Congress

http://tinyurl.com/opqzrpr

Don’t let the title “Pic of the Week” fool you. This is an updated legal research guide for fourteen foreign jurisdictions:  Australia; Brazil; United Kingdom; China; Egypt; Eritrea; France; Hong Kong; India; Israel; Japan; Lebanon; Russia; and Sweden.  It links to these countries’ reference sources, compilations, citations guides, periodicals (indexes and databases), dictionaries, web resources, free public web sites, subscription-based services, subject-specific web sites, and country overviews. -CCE

Good Advice On How to Avoid Embarrassing Mistakes In An Appeal.

16 Sunday Feb 2014

Posted by in 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, Appellate Law, Bad Legal Writing, Brief Writing, Case Law, Citations, Citations to the Record, Legal Analysis, Legal Writing, Mandatory Law, Primary Law, Proofreading, Research, Statement of Facts, Texas Supreme Court

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Common Mistakes Seen in Appellate Petitions and Briefs, by Chad M. Ruback, Appellate Lawyer

http://news.appeal.pro/appeals-to-texas-supreme-court/appellate-petitions-and-briefs/

Mr. Ruback served as a briefing attorney to the Fort Worth Court of Appeals. Here he shares the common mistakes that are normally seen in appellate writing. Because an appellate court never questions witnesses or hears evidence, the written documents submitted by the parties are all it has upon which to base its ruling. Sloppy and lengthy garbled arguments simply will not do. Mr. Ruback’s comments are worth noting.

I would like to add to Mr. Ruback’s list – neglecting to verify the accuracy of the appellate record while it remains in the jurisdiction of the trial court. It is a simple exercise to compare the record compiled by the trial court clerk using the Designation of Record and Counter-Designation of Record to make sure that the record is accurate.

This may seem a waste of time until the appellate record includes a deposition that was never admitted into evidence or a crucial piece of evidence is overlooked by the court clerk who assembled record for the appeal. No one is perfect; mistakes can happen.

Too often, counsel ignore this simple step. Personally, I would make sure the person you send to check the record put the trial exhibits together and/or was part of the trial team. Or to put it another way – how do you explain to a client that you couldl have avoided the appeal’s fatal flaw if you had checked the record before it was sent up on appeal? -CCE