A recent article in the Student Lawyer offers some legal research advice to summer associates:
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Determine what research tools are available at your firm, and at what cost. They will undoubtedly be more limited than those you had access to through your law school library.
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Don’t be afraid to ask questions and clarify the assignment you are given. You don’t want to spend a lot of time researching the wrong issue.
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Find someone you can trust who can give you some tips and ease the transition from law school to law firm. That person can be a law professor or someone at your workplace - a newer associate who can relate to your situation, a seasoned veteran with experience to share, or your trusty firm librarian.
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Spend a few minutes planning out your research. Write down your issue, come up with possible search terms, and keep track of what you find as you go along.
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Don’t reinvent the wheel. Begin with a secondary source - like a treatise - that can give you an overview of the law and some good cases or statutes to start with. Secondary sources can also provide you with needed context and search terms.
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Have a handle on administrative law. Know what a regulation is and how it differs from a statute. Review how to research regulations in the CFR and the Federal Register.
For more, go to the full article.
Hat tip to the Legal Skills Prof Blog.
