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How to Do Legal Research at the Law Library

By admin

One of the secrets to success in law school is knowing where to find an answer, and find it quickly. Lawyers aren’t expected to know the answer to every legal question, but they are expected to know where to find the answers.

Hours of legal research can be wasted if law students look in the wrong books. One key to success in law school studying and legal research is knowing where to look for an answer.

To find an answer quickly, a law student must (1) know the resources in a law library, (2) know which resource is best for a law student’s particular question, and finally, know how to use that resource.

I learned this approach from law review editors when I served on law review. I still use this approach as an attorney today.

Where to Start

Some law students start their research by searching cases in WestLaw. Normally this is a big waste of time. Law students can spend hours reading through cases that match a search criterion without ever finding a case that answers their question.

Although research should end by finding a primary authority (case or statute) that answers your research question, the best place to start is (more…)

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Full post as published by Law Student on May 16, 2008 (boomark / email).