A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO LEGAL RESEARCH IN PRACTICE

UNDERSTAND THE ASSIGNMENT.

Ask the dumb question(s): Be SURE that you understand what your assignment is. Lawyers, as a general rule, are terrible at explaining things to young associates. Therefore, be sure you understand what you are being asked to do, and why, before you leave the assigning lawyer’s office. An extra twenty seconds of clarification now can save thousands of dollars in wasted fees later.

Ask questions now, not later . Do NOT assume that clarifying questions can be asked later. Lawyers are busy people. Ask now.

Know the jurisdiction and legal issue . Understand the legal jurisdiction (is this New York or New Jersey law?) and the basic legal issue (contracts or environmental law) before you leave the office.

Know the deadline. The perfect legal answer delivered after the statute of limitations has run is useless. Partners rely on people who meet internal deadlines, too, and they hire reliable people. Meet every deadline, and never be late. Remember, even projects with “no set deadline” have a deadline. Get it done, and don’t procrastinate.

Know the context . Try to learn why you have been asked to research this issue. If you don’t understand why you are doing the research, you cannot possibly understand a different argument or novel approach to the client’s problem.

RESPECT YOUR IGNORANCE.

You are a first year law student, not a practicing lawyer. You have not yet taken Tax, Evidence, BA, Criminal Procedure, Professional Responsibility, etc.

Know your resources. Tap the knowledge of other lawyers, and of treatises, before trying a 50 state Lexis search.

Legal encyclopedias, treatises, Key numbers, and other print “cheats” are designed for the ignorant. Use them.

Legal Encyclopedias and ALRs

(information from Harvard Law Library’s website)

Print Lexis (fee-based) Westlaw (fee-based)American Law Reports 2d-5th

Yes Yes

American Law Reports 6th No YesAmerican Law Reports Federal 1st

Yes Yes

American Law Reports Federal 2d

No Yes

American Jurisprudence 2d Yes YesCorpus Juris Secundum No YesCalifornia Jurisprudence 3d No YesSummary of California Law (Witkin)

Yes Yes

Colorado Law Annotated 2d

No No

Florida Jurisprudence 2d Yes YesGeorgia Jurisprudence No YesIllinois Law and Practice No YesIllinois Jurisprudence Yes NoIndiana Law Encyclopedia No NoLouisiana Civil Law Treatise

No Yes

Maryland Law Encyclopedia

No Yes

Massachusetts Practice No YesMichigan Law and Practice Encyclopedia

Yes No

Dunnell Minnesota Law Digest

Yes No

Encyclopedia of Mississippi Law

No No

Summary of Mississippi Law

No No

New Hampshire Practice No NoNew Jersey Practice No YesNew York Jurisprudence 2d Yes Yes (more current?)Strong’s North Carolina Index, 4th

No Yes

Ohio Jurisprudence 3d Yes Yes (more current?)Pennsylvania Law Encyclopedia

Yes No

Summary of Pennsylvania Jurisprudence 2d

No Yes

South Carolina Jurisprudence

No Yes

Tennessee Jurisprudence Yes NoTexas Jurisprudence 3d Yes Yes (more current?)Michie’s Jurisprudence of Virginia and West Virginia

Yes No

Useful treatises by subject areas (most are available in law school libraries or online):

Corbin on ContractsWilliston on ContractsDobbs on Torts (hornbook)Wright, Miller & Cooper, Federal Practice &

ProcedureMoore’s Federal Practice – Civil

procedure/litigationFederal ProcedureNimmer on CopyrightCollier on Bankruptcy

CCH’s Labor Law ReporterBNA’s Labor Relations ReporterEmployment CoordinatorCCH’s Standard Federal Tax ReporterCCH’s Federal Securities Law ReporterModern Tort Law (West)BNA’s U.S. Law WeekBNA’s Criminal Law ReporterKatz & Gianelli – Ohio Criminal Procedure

Many other titles are available: ask a librarian or search an online catalog

Publisher Affiliations

i. Thompson/West (West) products may be on Westlaw

ii. Matthew Bender (MB) products may be on Lexis

iii. Bureau of National Affairs (BNA) sells directly to law firms, though its products may be on the Lexis or Westlaw platform if the firm purchases titles electronically.

iv. Commerce Clearinghouse (CCH) licenses electronic access directly to law firms.

v. Aspen Law and Business may be on the enhanced version of LoisLaw.

Use Research Tabs to find relevant treatises in an area of law with which you are unfamiliar.

i. Westlaw: “Summer Associates” research tab

DON’T REINVENT THE WHEEL.

Your research project will be unique, but not THAT unique. If you’ve never drafted a motion to suppress evidence, try to find a sample or form to work from.

Ask the boss if she has a form you can use, or ask an associate.

Search your firms’ intranet, or the internet (with caution) for sample forms, or use a form book. This isn’t plagiarism, it’s efficiency.

Remember to adapt the form for your client’s unique facts and circumstances, and remember to proof your work carefully.

Some sample sources for forms:

West Legal Forms (online on Westlaw: forms—all)Am. Jur. 2d Legal FormsAm Jur. Pleadings and PracticeAm Jur. Proof of FactsAm Jur. TrialsRabkin and Johnson, Current Legal Forms

(with tax analysis)Bender’s Federal Practice FormsBender’s Forms of Discovery

- interrogatories/depositions

Practice Guides (Domestic Relations; Ohio Consumer Law, etc.); Jury Instructions; Jury Verdict Awards; Continuing Legal Education materials, etc.

VERIFY YOUR WORK, AND KEEP IT HONEST.

No matter how fast the deadline, always verify your work. There is NEVER an excuse for failing to KeyCite or Shepardize. Failure to verify is malpractice, and justifies your immediate termination.

Every case, every time. Verify that the case is good law. I mean it. No summer associate screw up is more common, or more easily avoided.

Choose your words carefully. Don’t use confident and conclusive language unless you are really confident about your conclusions.

Do NOT assume that your boss will catch your errors. That is your job, and your responsibility to the client.

Don’t lie, don’t cheat, and don’t steal. Respect your ethical obligations as an attorney – they apply to you even as a law student. Don’t conceal mandatory authority, make legal or factual misrepresentations, or get involved in something you wouldn’t want disclosed on the internet. Getting another job is easier without the felony convictions.

SPEND YOUR CLIENT’S MONEY AS IF IT WERE YOURS.

Lawyers who do good work on budget will never have trouble finding a job.

Be aware of how much of the client’s money you are spending on a daily basis – don’t spend $20,000 “solving” a $4,000 dispute.

Consider low-cost alternatives to Lexis and Westlaw.

Be Aware of What Lexis and Westlaw Cost, and how to use them efficiently.

LEXIS AND WESTLAW *

Know Your Plan. Know Your Account Manager. Know the Price. Think before You Research. Free Support

i. 1-800-WESTLAW; online instant messengerii. 1-800-45-LEXIS; online instant messenger

iii. Subject specialists may also be available. Choose the most appropriate database (“smaller” = “cheaper”) Search within results if the result list is O.K.

i. FIND or LOCATE (instead of “edit search”)ii. Shepard’s: Focus-restrict by

iii. KeyCite: Limit KeyCite

* Courtesy of a Westlaw rep, but applicable to either system.

MICROSOFT WORD TIPS AND TRICKS

Word 2003 Legal Users Guide (192 pages) http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=3641478c-2cc6-487b-a15f-53b83a560df7&displaylang=en#Overview

Legal research tools (dictionary, etc.) http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word/HA010776281033.aspx

Pleading template/wizardhttp://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word/HP051896201033.aspx?pid=CH060829781033

The pleading wizard primarily links to sample FindLaw forms. Use with caution, and always adapt them to your specific circumstances. More useful forms may be available (for a fee) from Lexis or Westlaw.

MAJOR FLAT RATE/FIXED COST OPTIONS

CaseMakerOhio State Bar attorneys and student members may access Ohio, federal, and selected other states’ primary law sources.

FastCaseCleveland Bar Association attorney have access to this database.

LoisLawSee the Law School Intranet for the Law School’s code.

VersusLaw (fixed rate)

Flat rate access to basic primary law material targeted to the layperson.

FindLawBasic court informationAll U.S. Supreme Court opinions

Free /Inexpensive (PACER)Registered users may access U.S. District Court (and Bankruptcy) opinions for $.08 per page/screen viewed. Documents from a docket sheet may also be available for the same fee.

INTERNET RESOURCES

Federalhttp://www.gpoaccess.gov

U.S. Code (unannotated); Code of Federal Regulations; Federal Register

U.S. Governmental Manual (information about federal agencies)

http://firstgov.gov

“Citizens [and lawyers’] portal to the federal government”

A-Z federal agency information

http://www.supremecourtus.gov Official source for current and recent (2002) opinions

(PDF format); much basic information about the Court, as well

http://www.findlaw.com/casecode/supreme.html Supreme Court opinions (1893-, vol. 150 U.S. Reports-) Searchable, full-text, HTML versions

http://www.oyez.org/oyez/frontpage

Oyez, a multimedia U.S. Supreme Court website

http://www.uscourts.gov/courtlinks/ Federal courts finder Many federal appellate court began distributing

decisions free via the internet in the 1990’s

http://thomas.loc.gov Quick and easy site for recent legislative history (cf.

USCCAN)

https://pacer.psc.uscourts.gov/psco/cgi-bin/regform.pl PACER: Public (including attorneys) Access to Court

Electronic Records https://pacer.psc.uscourts.gov/psco/cgi-bin/regform.pl

o pre-registration required; password sent via snail mail

o Check with your librarian/office manager to see if you have account

Various pleadings (complaints, opinions, motions, etc. may be available.

U.S. District/bankruptcy courts $.08/page viewed and/or print can save as PDF version

http://lexisone.com With registration, free source of federal case law

targeted at smaller firms Links to selected (free, legal) website Can purchase additional services (as needed, e.g.

Shepard’s), with credit card

http://findlaw.com Westlaw’s free version of legal information for

practitioners and the public Can purchase additional services (as needed, e.g.

KeyCite).

http://www.lexis.com or http://ww.westlaw.com

Unlimited use for a day/week/month at a fixed cost by credit card.

o But check about printing costs.

State Materials (links to free (but not comprehensive) state resources)

State Codes and Caseshttp://www.findlaw.com/casecode/

State Administrative law Siteshttp://www.nass.org/acr/internet.html

Other Online Sources

Ask if your firm subscribes to electronic (or) print newsletters in topical areas (intellectual property, bankruptcy, etc.) in which you are working. For example, the Bureau of National Affairs publishes many topical newsletters which your firm may be able to send you via e-mail. Commerce Clearinghouse (CCH) may also supply your firm with looseleaf services (“mini-libraries”, according to Kunz) either in print or electronically.

PRINT/INTERNAL RESOURCES

Check to see if the following are able in print at your firm(‘s library).

annotated statutes legal encyclopedias (C.J.S., Am. Jur. 2d., state-state

specific, if available) treatises/handbooks/practice guides (Ohio Consumer

Law, Nimmer on Copyright, etc.) Digests (state or federal, as applicable) (especially if

your firm does not have flat rate access to Lexis/Westlaw/CaseMaker, etc.)

Formbooks (Ohio Civil Practice, Moore’s Federal Practice, Bender’s Forms of Discovery, West’s Legal Forms, etc.). These may be easier to use in print.

Check for an intranet to see if there is an internal database of forms, pleadings, etc which you can use as guides, especially if you are working in a boutique firm. Obviously, you must adapt whatever you use to your specific situation.

Ask for clarification before and during your assignment, instead of wasting time and/or making assumptions that could prove costly later.

GORY DETAILS ON LEXIS/WESTLAW(SOME CONCEPTS ARE REPEATED.)

Sources: presentation by a Westlaw representative and the “cost effective research tutorial available at http://lawschool.lexis.com). Quoted prices are maximum rate charged to an individual using a credit card (“street rate”). Law firms pay varying amounts, specified by their contracts with Westlaw.

Types of Plans – Ask Your Account Manager, Librarian, or Office Manager

Unlimited access to a specific segment (e.g. all Ohio law) (Pro Plan on Westlaw)

Special Offer (negotiated contract with large firm) Window Plan (Westlaw) Firm that has been spending

consistent amount per month will continue to pay that amount, but get an additional amount of time “free”

o Don’t be the one to put your firm over the additional time

Know Your Account Manager Account Manager knows your plan. ONLY the Account Manager can “fix” your mistakes.

Account Manager may dole out free research time.

Know the PriceAsk librarian or office managerAsk your Account ManagerWestlaw: Search database name = SUBSCRIBER

e.g. SUBSCRIBER;ALLFEDS – will tell you how much is charged, per your contract

Think before you researchMajor Mistakes (Westlaw)

a. PricingPrinting may cost extra.

$5/document or $.025/lineDefault setting is per document.** Copy and paste is free. ** (Westlaw)

- but filing requirements (Rule 2, Ohio) may require dual column format

** Print from browser to attached printer is free (Lexis)

b. Searching (Lexis or Westlaw) Transactional -- charge per search

You own the documents only for a certain amount of time.

(Westlaw)Hourly -- charge per minute

Lexis: Get a Document -- “significantly cheaper” to retrieve known citation (case/statute) v. running a search (case/statute). Probably true of Westlaw, as well.

Book Browse (Lexis) -- (with transactional ID), allows one to view adjacent sections of a statute/treatise. Also on Westlaw.

Lexis: Table of Contents (TOC) – fastest & easiest way to understand entire compilation of statutes organized by topic.

TOC (expandable and collapsible) is available in many sources on either Lexis or Westlaw.

Scan results of a cite list with brief excerpts for contextLexis: “show hits” (“Hide hits” to go back.)Westlaw: “KWIC” search results

- ID jurisdiction and legal issues before searching. KeySearch (Westlaw) Search Advisor (Lexis) to ID legal issues.

** Better way: use free research help by phone or IM to formulate search, and ask how many documents were retrieved by the search. If necessary ask if a subject specialist (tax, IP, environmental expert is available). Pick proper jurisdiction and legal issues before beginning to search.

** (transactional mode): use LOCATE (on Westlaw) or FOCUS (on Lexis) to search within results you just bought (for the day) instead of “EDIT SEARCH”.

Use Research Tabs; Tax Resources, Environmental Resources, etc.

ResultsPlus (Westlaw) /Practitioner’s Toolkit (Lexis)– are said (by the vendors) to be more accurate than a novice lawyer (re-)running a search. ResultsPlus is 99.98% accurate, according to Westlaw. ALR article “street rate” is $25/document, but your firm may have ALRs included in its contract.

“Street Rate” for an individual to purchase a Westlaw documents (with a credit card online) is $5/document.

Street Rate for the LIST of KeyCite results is $4.25. Accessing each document would cost up to $5/each.

** Use Limit KeyCite to find the most relevant documents from the list of citing references (KeyCite) you just purchased (e.g. by jurisdiction, type of document, etc.)

** After buying a list of Shepard’s results on Lexis, use “Focus—restrict by” to get more precise results.

** Choose most specific source. (e.g., U.S. District Courts vs. federal and state combined) (Lexis)** Smaller is cheaper (and often more effective). (Westlaw)

A search in allfeds costs ½ of search in all cases. A search in one state case file is $30 vs. $180 for a search in all cases.

Subject Access to case law“KeySearch rocks!” (Westlaw rep)“Search Advisor rocks!” (Lexis rep)

Click directly on a relevant West key number or Lexis Headnote in a known case.

Embed a known West topic and key number within a search by jurisdiction.

Click directly on a relevant LexisNexis Headnote in a pertinent case

Search by (known) LN Headnote as a segment.

To run a citator check on multiple citations (i.e., in a table of authorities within a brief), you can use Checkcite (Lexis/Shepard’s) or Westcheck.com (Westlaw/KeyCite).

To access previous searches:History (Lexis)Research Trail (Westlaw)

-- access current days’ searches and past 30 days’ searches

- - additional charges to re-run archived searches

Terms and Connectors (T&C)- best approach, if well-used- people tend to overestimate their T & C skills

Natural Language - will retrieve some results, if you are stuck

Scope (“i” icon): See coverage and updating currency of a specific database.