This exciting course is designed to teach advanced and specialized approaches to utilize the legal resources available in a law library, and elsewhere. The conceptual differences between computer-assisted legal research and hard copy research will be taught. You will also learn how to formulate WESTLAW search queries and effectively and efficiently use WESTLAW and other online legal research methods as time-saving devices in legal research and legal writing.

This course is designed to examine more thoroughly advanced and specialized approaches to utilizing the legal sources available in the law library and online.

Lessons

     Lesson 1: Legal Authorities and Citations
     Lesson 2: Legal Analysis
     Lesson 3: Westlaw© online legal research
     Lesson 4: The Legal Memorandum of Law
     Lesson 5: Manual Legal Research
     Lesson 6: Types of Legal Writing

Objectives

     How to conduct manual legal research
     How to conduct electronic legal research
     How to find, interpret and use various types of legal authorities
     How to shepardize legal authorities
     How to write a legal analysis
     How to draft a Memorandum of Law
     How to brief case opinions
     How to engage in various types of legal writing

Prerequisites

Participants will be expected to complete reading and homework assignments and will be assigned an advanced legal research project and legal writing assignment. Final research and writing projects will be presented for grading to the instructor or The Center for Legal Studies as a prerequisite of course completion.

Continuing Education Units and Contact Hours

45 contact hours or 4.5 CEUs