Advanced Legal Research and Writing Certificate Course

Course Description

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

Registration Deadlines

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