Course

Written Products: Research Project, Memorandum, Discussion Post

Project includes research on how implicit bias affects legal research and writing in relation to gender, race, class, and other historically marginalized and underrepresented populations and the bias embedded in word choices

Project includes research on the historical roots of offensive terms including labels for individuals and groups of individuals and international implications of word choice

Written documents avoid use of your personal life experiences and personal views as part of legal analysis

Written analysis describes structural inequalities in the justice system based on cultural conditioning as a conduit for unsupported legal opinions and arguments

Written legal analysis avoids cultural bias based on untruths, stereotyping, and lack of respect for differences and assumptions related to race, gender, class, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and disability

Written legal analysis is void of imprecision, stereotyping, potential for unintended offense, and legal opinions based on unsupported assumptions, cultural biases, and faulty reasoning

Written office documents address clients, parties, counsel, and judges using appropriate workplace language and preferred terms for members of groups and individuals being named

Your list of national and local Model Rules of Professional Conduct for ethical standards that apply to legal research include competency, civility, and confidentiality

Written Products: Project, Scenario Response, Discussion Post

Write using appropriate, basic legal terms associated with legal research

Apply the concept of precedent/stare decisis

Explain the necessity and purpose of legal research

Define primary and secondary sources of law

Written documents show evidence of accurately applied terminology and spelling

Written Products: Project, Scenario Response

Identify the primary and secondary sources of law

Differentiate between primary and secondary sources of law

Describe the role of the judicial branch of government with respect to the application of laws

Differentiate among the types of law created by the different branches of government

Your research and analysis differentiate among federal, state, and local sources of law

Use credible sources for legal and factual research

Written Products: Project, Scenario Response, Memorandum

Identify the law applicable to a set of client facts

Differentiate between relevant and non-relevant facts

Formulate a complete legal issue including elements of law and fact based on client scenarios

Refine and clarify drafted legal issues

Written Products: Project, Scenario Response, Memorandum

Identify the types of primary sources

Explain when a source is defined as primary

Differentiate between mandatory and persuasive authority

Identify the weight of sources and authority of law

Identify secondary authority

Explain the appropriate use of secondary authority

Written Product: Project, Scenario Response, Memorandum, Performance

Create complete case citations

Use the official and unofficial reporters for courts in the federal and state court systems

Create appropriate parallel citations when required

Create accurate statutory citations

Include public domain citations when required

Create complete administrative law citations

Use the Harvard Bluebook Guide to Citation form for citations

Written Products: Discussion Post, Scenario Response, Memorandum

Statutory research is performed accurately and meets guidelines as specified by instructor

Administrative law research is performed accurately and meets guidelines as specified by instructor

Case law research is performed accurately and meets guidelines as specified by instructor

Apply research to client factual scenarios

Written Products: Project, Scenario Response, Memorandum

Explain the tools and system used to validate legal research

Use industry-endorsed tools to validate the currency of legal research

Confirm the currency of legal sources while proofreading work of others

Update all sources of law in your writing

Maintain records of your research projects and results

Written Products: Project, Scenario Response, Memorandum

Legal research tasks are completed using electronic legal research database

Use appropriate industry-endorsed tools to complete legal research within given deadlines

Use electronic legal research database search restrictions to focus research

Use alternative electronic resources available for legal research, including subscription-based, low-cost, and no-cost alternatives

Describe the benefits of using low-cost and no-cost legal research alternatives

Use appropriate tools for legal research and factual research