Advanced Legal Research SPRING 2009
January 13
1. Introduction
Overview of class requirements | Review library and class web pages | Questionnaire | Pathfinders | Introduction to research strategies
Assigned reading must be finished before class begins. Visit the websites on the class page, as well. Check TWEN for any quizzes. Please check the web page every week. Entries may be revised, and readings and links may be added or deleted.
Sign on to TWEN and check for quizzes.
Come prepared to discuss the following readings:
Assigned Reading:
Mark Herrmann, This is What I'm Thinking: A Dialogue Between Partner & Associate... From the Partner, 25 No. 1 Litigation 8 (1998). Westlaw Lexis
From the Associate, 25 No. 1 Litigation 9 (1998). Westlaw Lexis
Mark Herrmann has included his article in a short book for new lawyers, The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law, Chicago, IL: ABA Publishing (2006). It covers such additional useful topics as How to Write and Seven Hours Locked in a Room. I've put a copy on course reserve at the Circulation Desk in the library. The book provides both very useful advice and some comic relief.
Power Point
January 20
2. Research Strategies | How to Find a Treatise & Searching Subject Specific Resources
Sign on to TWEN and check for quizzes.
Developing strategies for research problems: fact analysis, legal universe, jurisdiction, steps in researching, cost, time, and outcome desired
Websites:
Venn Diagram for Boolean Searching: Graphically.
Search Engine Showdown's Features Chart
Assigned Reading:
Carolyn P. Ahearn, The Right Way to Research, Legal Times, Sept. 29, 2003, at 30. Westlaw
Barbara Bintliff, Electronic Resources or Print Resources: Some Observations on Where to Search,14 No. 1 PERSPEC 23 (2005) Westlaw
Duane L. Ostler, The Strength Is In The Research, 20 Utah Bar J. 42 (2007) Lexis Westlaw
Powerpoint: Questions to Ask and Answer
How to find a treatise and searching subject specific resources.
Guest Teacher: Linda Weir
Head of Public Services
Powerpoint: Treatises
January 27
3. Interviewing the Partner | Lexis & Westlaw
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An interview with a law firm partner on expectations for research skills for new attorneys, and an interview/ research problem
Guest Speaker:
Chuck Hansen
Specialized Westlaw Training with Mark Cygnet
Specialized Lexis Training with Debbie Myers
February 3
4. Cases and Case Searching Strategies
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Review of case publication. On line searching techniques for Westlaw and
Lexis, and free or inexpensive databases (Findlaw, LexisOne, Jurisearch, Loislaw, state and federal databases).
Assigned Reading:
Barbara Bintliff, Mandatory v. Persuasive Cases, 9 No. 2 PERSPEC. TEACHING LEGAL RES. & WRITING 83 (2001).
Scott P. Stolley, The Corruption of Legal Research, For the Defense, April 2004, at 39.
The Curse of Thamus: An Analysis of Full-text Legal Document Retrieval, Daniel Dabney, 78 L. Libr. J. 5 (1986).
Weblinks: Web
Guide to U.S. Supreme Court Research; Oyez:
The U.S. Supreme Court Multi-Media; The United States Court System: The Chart; State Court Structure Charts; California Court Structure Chart; Overview of the California Court System; Map of the Federal Circuits; National Center for State Courts - Links to Court Web Pages; Cardiff
Index to Legal Abbreviations; http://www.findlaw.com/;
http://www.lexisone.com/; http://jurisearch.com
Official California:
California
Cases (1850-present)
"Slip
Opinions" (Supreme)
"Slip
Opinions" (Appellate)
Official
Federal:
Official
Supreme Court Site (includes orders, opinions & oral
arguments)
U.S.
Courts of Appeal - Opinions
by Circuit:
1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | 11th | DC | Federal
Additional
links to circuit cases (with
various search features)
Search all 13 Circuit Courts of Appeals' opinions
Findlaw Links:
Findlaw
California: Case Law
FindLaw:
Federal Cases
US District
Courts - Listed
on FindLaw by State
PowerPoint: Cases
Hands on Research
PowerPoint: Constructing A Search (Thanks to Lee Ryan)
February 10
5. Digests and Updating the Law
Homework: Assignment 1 is now online and will be due next week(February 17).
Sign on to TWEN and check for quizzes.
Supplemental Facts
Digests (Key Numbers |Core Concepts)
Assigned Reading:
The Universe of Thinkable Thoughts: Literary Warrant and West's Key Number System, 99 Law. Libr. J. 229 (2007).
Outline of West's Digest of the Law
Powerpoint: Digests and Citators
Shepard's
and KeyCite.
Assigned
Reading:
William L. Taylor, Comparing KeyCite and Shepard's for Completeness, Currency, and
Accuracy, 92 Law Libr. J. 127 (2000).
Jane W. Morris, A Response to Taylor's Comparison of Shepard's and KeyCite,
92 Law Libr. J. 143 (2000).
Susan
Nevelow Mart, Cite
Checking: A Brave New World, 25 L. Info. Alert 1,
2006.
J. Paul Lomio, Caveat Citator (Or Why Shepardizing Your Cases Isn't Always Enough), S.F.Daily J., Jan. 31, 2008.
Mary Whisner, Practicing
Reference: When Judges Scold Lawyers, 96 Law. Libr. J. 43 (2004).
February 17
6. "Unpublished" Cases & Depublication in California | Current Awareness | Law Reviews & Indexes
First Assignment Due TODAY in class.
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"Unpublished," depublished,
and partially published cases | Current Awareness
Assigned Reading:
Sarah E. Ricks, The Perils of Unpublished Non-precedential Federal Appellate Opinions: A Case Study of the Substantive Due Process State-created Danger Doctrine in One Court, 81 Wash. L. Rev. 217 (2006) Westlaw, Lexis
William R. Mills, The Shape of the Universe: The Impact of Unpublished Opinions on the Process of Legal Research, 19 N.Y.L. Sch. J. Hum. Rts. 59 (2003). Westlaw, Lexis.
Alex Kozinski and Stephen Reinhardt, Please Don't Cite This: Why We Don't Allow Citation to Unpublished Opinions, 20 California Lawyer 43 (June 2000).
Steven
B. Katz, The California Supreme Court's Experiment with Depublication
Should Come to an End, 24-MAR L.A. Law. 43 (2001).
Westlaw, Lexis.
Powerpoint:Publication
A
Few Selected Websites for Current Awareness:
The Library has an online subscription to the BNA International Trade Reporter.
American
Society of International Law Insights
These 2-3 page articles on topics of current interest are written
by international law experts.
BNA
Family Law Reporter
The current guide to federal and state cases, legislation, trends,
and issues in Family Law. Includes court cases, legislative and
regulatory news, and other developments in key areas of family law.
Covers state and federal issues. Published weekly every Tuesday.
CCH
Human Resources is a research portal to CCH publications on
Labor and Employment Law, Human Resources Management, Health Care
Compliance, Food and Drug Law, Pensions, Benefits, Payroll, Safety/OSHA,
and Global Employment Law.
Free
BNA Current
Awareness Alerts on corporate law and business; employment and
labor law; environment; health & safety; health care services;
human resources; intellectual property; and litigation.
The
Tax
Policy Center is a joint venture of the Urban Institute and
the Brookings Institution. It researches pending tax issues, and
will e-mail its newsletter on request.
Blogs:
The
UCL Practitioner: A blog about California Business & Professions
Code 17200 et seq.
The
Ninth Circuit Blog: A blog for criminal defense attorneys practicing
in the Ninth Circuit.
The 10b-5 Daily:
A blog for news and events about securities class action litigation.
SCOTUSblog:
A blog discussing recent developments in Supreme Court jurisprudence.
Sign on to TWEN
Finding Articles & Using Indexes.
Guest Teacher: Linda Weir
Head of Public Services
Weblinks:Indexes to Legal Periodicals
CLASS PARTICIPATION PREPARATION:
Student presentations will be given in class on February 24.
February 24
7. Other Secondary Sources
Sign on to TWEN and check for quizzes.
Acts, Uniform
Laws, and other secondary sources
Guest Teacher: Vince Moyer
Foreign, Comparative and International Law Librarian
[The focus of this class will be on student presentations covering each of the assigned secondary sources: Assignment | Topics]
Assigned Reading:
FINDING THE LAW, Berring & Edinger, 12th ed., Chapter 6, Statutes, 159-160, Chapter 10: Secondary Authority, 311-316.
FUNDAMENTALS OF LEGAL
RESEARCH, Mersky & Dunn, 8th ed., 2002, 405-427. Any
additional pages mentioned in your assignment will be on course
reserve at the Circulation Desk.
FUNDAMENTALS OF LEGAL RESEARCH, Mersky & Dunn, 8th ed., 2002, Chapter 16 (350-362). Any additional pages mentioned in your assignment will be on course reserve at the Circulation Desk.
Weblinks:
Uniform Law Commissioners - Final Acts & Legislation
National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws - Drafts of Uniform and Model Acts
March 3
8. Statutory Research | Federal & State
Sign on to TWEN and check for quizzes.
Federal Sources
Guest
Teacher: Chuck Marcus
Head of Reference
Assigned Reading:
On
Second Thought, Court Finds, a Law 'Makes No Sense', NEW YORK
TIMES (December 7, 2004). (Westlaw)
(Lexis)
The US Code, the Statutes at Large, and Some Peculiarities of Codification, Michael J. Lynch, 16 LEGAL REF. SERV. Q. 69-84 (1997).
Weblinks:
Thomas (Library of Congress) -- provides access to bills and public laws
Govtrack
-- Follow the status of pending federal Legislation
United
States Code from GPO ACCESS
United
States Statutes and the United States Code: Historical Outlines,Notes,
Lists, Tables, and Sources
Powerpoint: Federal Statutes
Federal Statutory Research Examples
California Statutory Research
Guest
Teacher: Hilary Hardcastle
Reference Librarian
State Sources - Weblinks:
California Legislative Info
– Bills
(& legislative history)
– Chaptered
Laws
– California
Code
– Constitution
– Daily
Legislative Calendar
– Statutes
& Amendments to the Code
Legislative
Analyst's Office
State
Legal Sources on the Web (online access to the bills, codes,
session laws, regulations, and attorneys general opinions of the
fifty states)
Powerpoint: State Statutes
March 17
9. Federal Legislative History | Federal Regulations
Federal Legislative History
Sign on to TWEN and check for quizzes.
Assigned Reading: Disabled in Action of Metro. New York v. Hammons, 202 F.3d 110 (2nd Cir. 2002), pages 124-129. Lexis Westlaw Find out what courts do with legislative histories, and be prepared to discuss the case.
Research Guide: Compiling a Federal Legislative History (Hastings)
Federal Legislative Histories on a Shoestring: USCCAN Finding Chart, Diane Gleason, 18 LEGAL REF. SERV. Q. 93 (2001).
How Our Laws Are Made
Enactment of a Law: Procedural Steps in the Legislative Process
Weblinks: Years
of the 1st - 110th Congresses (1789-2008)
Chart of the Legislative Process
LexisNexis Congressional
U.S.C.C.A.N (Westlaw)
Statutes at Large (Lexis)
Disabled in Action of Metropolitan New York v. Hammons, 202 F.3d 110 (2nd Cir. 2000). Lexis Westlaw
USCS citation: LexisNexis® 42 U.S.C.S. 1973gg-5
USCA citation: 42 U.S.C.A. 1973gg-5
Updating
Legislation:
GovTrack.us - legislative update service
Capitol Spotlight: Congressional Quarterly & C-Span bring you daily stories about legislation and news on Capitol Hill. You can sign up for e-mail updates
CapitolHearings.org is C-Span's website linking you to real-time Congressional hearings.
CQ Today is fee-based full service daily reportage on Congressional
news. Westlaw
Powerpoint: Federal Legislative History
Federal Regulations
Guest Teacher:
Chuck Marcus
Head of Reference
Assigned Reading:
Tracking
Current Federal Legislation and Regulations: A Guide to Resources,
Congressional Research Service, February 28, 2007.
Weblinks:
Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (Up to date but not official)
GPO
Access Executive Branch Materials
Regulations.gov
Reginfo.gov
US
Government Manual
Powerpoint: Federal Regulations
Handout: Making Regulations The Reg Map
March 24
10. State Legislative History| Finding State Regulations | AG Opinions | Local Government Law | Multi-State Research
Sign on to TWEN and check for quizzes.
Homework:
Assignment
2 is now online, and will
be due next week (March 31).
State Legislative Process
Assigned Reading:
Say What You Mean and Mean What You Say: The Resurrection of Plain Meaning in California Courts, Russell Holder, 30 U.C. Davis L. Rev. 569 (1996-1997). Westlaw Lexis
Kaufmann & Broad Communities, Inc. v. Performance Plastering, Inc., 133 Cal.App.4th 26, 34 Cal.Rptr.3d 520 (2005).
Weblinks: Legislative History Research Guides (online access to guides for the fifty states)
Compiling a California Legislative History (Hastings)
PowerPoint: California Legislative History
State Regulations: Finding and Updating Them |Attorney General Opinions | Local Government Law | Multi-State Research
Legal Research Guide: California Regulations and Administrative Law (Hastings)
Powerpoint: California Regulations
Local Government Law
Weblinks:
Local Government Law (Hastings)
Lexis (selected codes from 34 states)
Municipal Code Corporation. Includes Local Ordinances.
The Seattle Public Library hosts Municipal Codes Online, a page of links to free, searchable city and county codes, organized by state.
California Local Codes And Charters at the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies Library. The IGS Library maintains a large depository collection of local ordinance codes and charters issued by California cities and counties. Their website includes a list of currently available codes and charters issued in loose-leaf format; links are provided to electronic editions, when available.
California Attorney General Opinions from 1986 to current are available at the Office of the Attorney General Website and can be searched by word, phrase or opinion number (e.g., 01-107). There is also a monthly opinion report current for pending assignments and activities of the Opinion Unit with links to newly issued opinions. Attorney General Opinions from 1943 to current are available in the 4th Floor Stacks (KFC780 .A55) and from 1852 to 1943 in Micrographics (KF5406.A619 A88).
Comparative State Law
Subject Compilations of State Laws. Cheryl Rae Nyberg, editor. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1981- current. LOCATION: Reference Desk KF1 .N93. Also available from Hein-Online.
National Conference of State Legislatures Legislative Tracking
March 31
11. Google and Beyond - For Lawyers
Second
Assignment Due TODAY in class.
Sign on to TWEN and check for quizzes.
Google for Lawyers | Other Search Engines | The Wayback Machine | Evaluating Internet Resources |Hands on Research: Advanced Web Surfing
Guest Teacher: Chuck Marcus
Head of Reference
Assigned Reading:
Gregg
Notess, Review
of Google, Search Engine Watch (Last updated Oct.
10, 2006)
Danny Sullivan, How
Search Engines Work, Search Engine Watch (Oct. 14, 2002)
Danny
Sullivan, How
Search Engines Rank Web Pages, Search Engine Watch (Jul.
31, 2003)
Powerpoints: Assessing the Web Google and Beyond
Websites:
Google Web Search Features
Google Options
April 7
12. International Law & Foreign Law
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International Law: Public International Law, Private International Law.
Guest Teacher: Hilary Hardcastle
Reference Librarian
• Powerpoint:
Researching International Law
• Weblinks:
EISIL
Electronic Resources
for Int'l Law (ASIL)
E.U. Law @ Europa
- Court of Justice
- EUR-Lex
(includes CELEX)
- Official
Journal
GlobaLex: International
& Comparative Law Research Guides
Hastings Adv. Int'l Law Research Webpage
Hastings UN Webpage
LLRX: International
Law Research Guides
U.N. Treaty
Collection
U.S.
Treaties in Force
• In-Class Assignment:
Treaty Research In Practice
Foreign Law: Print sources, online sources, translations, and more.
Guest Teacher:
Vincent Moyer
Foreign, Comparative & International Law Librarian
•
Powerpoint & Outline:
Powerpoint: Foreign Law Research
Outline: PDF & Word
• Weblinks:
Cornell's
Legal Research Engine
Columbia
Law School's List of Foreign Legal Research Guides
LLRX
Research Guides
GlobaLex (NYU School of Law's Foreign & Int'l Legal Research Guides)
Online
Foreign Law Guide (enter ID for off-campus access)
Foreign
Collections by Jurisdiction (NYU)
Web
Resources: Foreign Law (Harvard)
Guide
to Law Online (Library of Congress)
World Legal Information
Institute (WorldLII)
Intute
Law Gateway (University of Bristol Law Library)
• In-Class Assignment:
Finding Foreign Law
April 14
Final Project: The Final Project is now online and will be due in my office April 24 by 5 p.m.
3. Rules, Jury Instructions & Briefs | Knowledge Management | Research Strategies Revisited
Sign on to TWEN and check for quizzes.
Knowledge Management
Reading: Giving Legal Research Assignments to Others
Guest
Panel:
Mary Staats, Farella,
Braun & Martel
Camille Reynolds, Nossaman LLP
Court Rules, Briefs, Dockets & Jury Instructions | Revisiting
Research Strategies
Assigned
Reading:
Robert
J. Ambrogi. 47 Res Gestae 48, A Brief Summary:
Free Briefs on the Web (2003), available on Westlaw.
The
Impact of the Internet and Other Electronic Sources on an Attorney's
Duty of Competence Under the Rules of Professional Conduct, Michael
Whiteman, 11 Alb. L. J. Sci. & Tech. 89 (2000). Lexis Westlaw
The
Perils of Online Legal Research: A Caveat for Diligent Counsel,
29 Am. J. Trial Advoc. 81 (2005). Westlaw
Weblinks:
Plain
English Jury Instructions: Civil
State
and Local Government on the Net
California
Court Rules Conversion Chart (with a link to the new rules)
Smart Rules
Public Access to Court Records
Free
Court Case Docket Monitoring
Pacer
Research Plan Handout
Powerpoint: Briefs, Dockets, Jury Instructions, & Rules
Prepared by Susan Nevelow Mart, Faculty Services Librarian and Adjunct Professor of
Law. Contact
. 415-565-4759 |Office:435 - 200 Building | Last updated December 15, 2008 |
Office Hours Wednesday 3:30 to 4:30