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Employer Expectations for Legal Research Skills Elaine M. Egan, Manager Information Center Shearman & Sterling February 18, 2014
Challenges
Development of countless electronic content resources Unprecedented pressure to run a law firm like a business Complex global markets Higher levels of service, efficiency, and cost containment
3/6/2014 2
Effective Approach to Legal Research – the basics
ASK QUESTIONS - understand your assignment Ask about specific resources (not all sources are equal) If you must GOOGLE 10 minute rule Validate results
Valid sources effective, legally binding or able to withstand objection
Yahoo Finance 2/14/14 Close: 79.23 Volume: 7,001.100
Bloomberg 2/14/14 Close: 79.23 Volume: 7.003
3/6/2014 3
Business Acumen and Knowledge Management
Understanding of the financial, accounting, marketing and operational functions of an organization
Understand your client and their industry Organizations generate value from their intellectual and knowledge-based
assets Share Innovate Reuse Collaborate Learn
3/6/2014 4
Efficiency
Legal Project Management Project management approach the process and activity of planning, organizing, motivating, and controlling
resources to achieve specific outcomes Scope Deadlines Project team Costs
3/6/2014 5
FFF
Faculty Update
Lexis Advance® New Enhancements
Faculty Webcast - Employer Expectations for Legal Research Skills
Guest Speakers
Sally Wise, Library Director, University of Miami School of Law Elaine Egan, Manager, Department of Information & Knowledge Services, Shearman & Sterling Julie Jones, Branch Librarian, United States Courts Library, Second Circuit
Agenda
• AALL Principles & Standards for Research Competencies • Employer Expectations - Large Law Firm perspective • Employer Expectations – Federal Court perspective • LexisNexis Law Schools- “prepare to practice” resources • Q&A
LexisNexis® Think Like a Lawyer Resources
• On Demand Learning tools - Law School You Tube channel - Reference pieces • Rebooting Legal Research in a Digital Age, by Steve Lastres • Professional Research Certification • Cost Effective Research classes • Think Like a Lawyer (TLAL) Microsite
Think Like a Lawyer – www.lexisnexis.com/tlal
Think Like a Lawyer – www.lexisnexis.com/tlal
QUESTIONS
Employer Expectations for Legal Research Skills:
Working in the Federal Courts
Julie M. Jones U.S. Courts Library, Second Circuit
Hartford, CT julie_jones@ca2.uscourts.gov
Primary Tasks of Law Clerks
• Critical thinking • Case law research • Statutory and rule based research • Jury instructions • Sentencing • Drafting court memoranda and opinions
Case Law
• Advanced search techniques – Boolean queries – Field/Segment searching
• Leverage the full power of Westlaw Next and Lexis Advance filters
• Finesse Keycite and Shepard results
Statutes and Rules
• Advanced filtering of citations to statutes and use of annotated codes
• Federal Rules of Civil & Criminal Procedure • Local Court Rules • Judge Rules
Jury Instructions
• Sand’s Modern Federal Jury Instructions preferred in the Second Circuit
• What is the difference between Sand’s or O’Malley’s and pattern jury instructions?
• How current are pattern jury instructions?
Federal Sentencing Guidelines
• What are they? • How are sentences calculated? • What about crack cocaine?
Format: Print or Online?
• Content matters, not form
Questions?
Thank you!
AALL PRINCIPLES AND
STANDARDS FOR LEGAL
RESEARCH
COMPETENCY
Promoting the AALL Principles and Standards for Legal Research Competency Task Force
Sally Wise, University of Miami School of Law
Mary Jenkins, Hamilton County Law Library
Catherine Lemann, Alaska Supreme Court Librarian, Retired
Gail Partin, Dickinson School of Law, Pennsylvania State University
Linda-Jean Schneider, Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP
Jean Wenger, Cook County Law Library
AALL Principles And Standards For Legal
Research Competency
will provide value to the
legal profession
• To foster best practices in
law school curriculum
development and design;
• To inform law firm planning,
training, evaluation, and
articulation of core
competencies;
• To encourage bar admission
committee evaluation of
applicants' research skills;
• To inspire continuing
education program
development; and,
• To impact law school
accreditation standards
review.
Value to the Legal Profession
The Principles
I. A successful legal researcher possesses foundational knowledge of the legal system and legal information sources.
II. A successful legal researcher gathers information through effective and efficient research strategies.
III. A successful legal researcher critically evaluates information.
IV. A successful legal researcher applies information effectively to resolve a specific issue or need.
V. A successful legal researcher distinguishes between ethical and unethical uses of information, and understands the legal issues associated with the discovery, use, or application of information.
Hierarchy of the PSLRC
Principles
Standards
Competencies
The Concern Where can
I find the
USC? I
need to
look up a
regulation.
The Response
Principle I: A successful legal researcher possesses foundational knowledge of the legal system and legal information sources
Standard B: An information-literate legal professional understands the similarities, differences, and interrelationships among and between United States federal, state, and local legal systems.
Competency 3: Identifies appropriate resources to locate the legislative, regulatory, and judicial law produced by the respective government bodies.
The Concern
Where are
those state
bankruptcy
filings?
The Response Principle II: A successful legal researcher
gathers information through effective and
efficient research strategies.
Standard A: An information-literate legal
professional selects appropriate research
sources.
Competency 2: Recognizes the authority or
authorities governing particular legal issues.
The Concern There has to be a better
way to filter these
research results!
The Response
Principle II: A successful legal researcher
gathers information through effective and
efficient research strategies.
Standard C: An information-literate legal
professional confirms and validates research
results, incorporating existing work product and
expertise.
Competency 4: Understands when to stop the
research process.
The Concern
The Response
Principle IV: A successful legal researcher gathers information through effective and efficient research strategies.
Standard A: An information-literate legal professional synthesizes research problems in an analytical approach to legal research.
Competency 1: Synthesizes legal doctrine by examining cases similar, but not identical, to cases that are the current focus of research, in order to articulate how courts should apply current authoritative and relevant case law.
AALL – Research Instruction Caucus
AALL Special Committee - Fostering
Legal Research as a Subject Specialty
Boulder Statement : 2009 & 2010
Association of College & Research
Libraries (ACRL)
• To foster best practices in
law school curriculum
development and design;
• To inform law firm planning,
training, evaluation, and
articulation of core
competencies;
• To encourage bar admission
committee evaluation of
applicants' research skills;
• To inspire continuing
education program
development; and,
• To impact law school
accreditation standards
review.
Value to the Legal Profession
Instruction
Law Schools
Law Firms
CLE Providers
Self-Assessment
Assessment
ABA Learning Outcome Standard
Bar Exam
Performance Evaluation
PSLRC in instruction & assessment
A law school shall establish
learning outcomes that
shall, at a minimum, include
competency in the following:
(b) Legal analysis and
reasoning, legal
research, problem -
solving, and written and
oral communication in
the legal context;
Standard 302 - Learning Outcomes (coming soon)
Research questions on the Bar Exam!
• Characteristics of primary law
• Characteristics of secondary legal information
• Primary legal sources
• Secondary legal sources
• Relative weight of authority
• Statutory construction
• Citation verification
• Application of ethics
rules to research
• Documenting research
strategies
• Efficiency and cost
• Evaluation of sources
Bar exam questions
Does the associate consider
costs to the client and the
firm when completing
research assignments?
(Principle III, Standard B.)
Is the associate able to resolve all questions posed and provide sufficient support for conclusions reached?
(Principle IV, Standard C.)
Lawyer performance evaluation
Your feedback
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http://www.aallnet.org/main-
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