RESEARCH STRATEGY &
SECONDARY SOURCES
Amy Wright, JD, MLIS
Zief Law Library, Fall 2007
Common Reaction to First Days on the
Job
Hunkering Down in Your Workspace:
*”The Bunker” idea originally came from a July 2006 presentation by Terry Psarras, “Teaching CALR to Law Students,” at AALL’s 2006 Annual Meeting.
COMMON “NEWBIE” MISTAKES

Jumping on Lexis or Westlaw
when you have no good leads for
relevant cases, statutes, or
regulations.

Ignoring secondary sources.

Focusing too heavily on case law
and ignoring statutes and
regulations.

Not asking questions when
you’re stuck!
RESEARCH STRATEGY
GATHER & ANALYZE
THE FACTS:




Who’s involved?
What are the parties’
relationships to each
other?
What facts do I already
know?
What facts are missing
that I need to know?
RESEARCH STRATEGY
WHAT TYPE OF ANSWER IS REQUIRED?

E-mail, conference call, verbal answer, research
memo, or client letter?

Short summary or exhaustive treatment?

Answer given to client or to assigning attorney?
RESEARCH STRATEGY
DEFINE YOUR RESEARCH
QUESTIONS:





Federal, state, or local law?
Tort? Contract? Regulatory or
statutory issue?
What’s the client’s desired
result?
What terms of art or industry
lingo do I need to know to define
my research questions?
Begin creating a list of search
terms.
RESEARCH STRATEGY
GET UP TO SPEED:

Review secondary sources.

Talk the issues out: Brainstorm
with someone else who knows the
area well.
RESEARCH STRATEGY
RESIST THE URGE TO
JUMP RIGHT IN!




Don’t waste time
getting lost on Lexis &
Westlaw!
Consult secondary
sources first….
Find leading cases,
statutes, and regs…..
…..then use Lexis &
Westlaw.
RESEARCH STRATEGY
CONSULT FREE INTERNET SOURCES –
SPARINGLY.

Search for 15-30 minutes – if you’re not finding
anything useful, try new resource.

Use the Internet to find a good research guide on
your topic written by a law librarian or a law
professor. Check the date on the guide to make sure
it’s relatively recent.

Sample search:
–
Immigration law “research guide” site:.edu
RESEARCH STRATEGY
NOW….WRITE DOWN A RESEARCH PLAN

Budget your time: figure out how much time you
can spend on each question.

List the resources that you plan to consult for
each research question and relevant search
terms.

If you use Lexis & Westlaw, call the reference
attorney hotline and ask them for help with
search creation. Open 24/7.
RESEARCH STRATEGY
UPDATE YOUR RESEARCH

Are the cases, statutes, & regulations that you
found during research still good law?

Use electronic citators such as KeyCite and
Shepard’s, even if your client won’t pay for
electronic research. Print citators are not
sufficiently up-to-date!

Shepardize secondary sources, too!
RESEARCH STRATEGY

Lexis and Westlaw both offer “Alert” services:
emails Shepard’s & KeyCite updates for your
sources; runs your searches regularly for you.

Use these services to find:
–
–
New primary & secondary authority; and
Make sure what you’ve already found remains good
law.
RESEARCH STRATEGY
AM I DONE?

Are you running into same
info? – probably done.

Read the most recent article
or case on your topic – if
you’re familiar with all of the
relevant legal issues & cited
authority, that’s a good sign.
SECONDARY SOURCES
WHY SHOULD I USE THEM?
SECONDARY SOURCES

Reason #1:
DON’T REINVENT THE
WHEEL.


Good secondary sources
jumpstart your research by giving
you citations to major cases,
statutes, and regulations about
your topic so you don’t have to
find these citations yourself in
multiple locations.
Also…will explain & analyze the
law for you.
SECONDARY SOURCES

Reason #2:
LEARN THE JARGON.

Every practice area
uses special “terms of
art,” acronyms, and
lingo. Secondary
sources define these
terms for you.
SECONDARY SOURCES

Reason #3:
FIND SOME NEW
ARGUMENTS OR
NEW WAYS TO
ANALYZE THE LAW.
HOW TO FIND SECONDARY SOURCES




Ask a law librarian or your supervisor for
recommendations.
Browse the Westlaw Directory and the Lexis
“Find a Source” tab.
Check out a law library research guide.
Review Zimmerman’s Research Guide online
for tips:
http://www.lexisnexis.com/infopro/zimmerman
NEW SOURCES FROM ZIEF

Laurie Levenson’s California Criminal Law
and California Criminal Procedure.

John Sink’s California Subpoena Handbook.

Gregory Caskey’s California Search and
Seizure.
(all available on Westlaw)
COMMONLY-USED SOURCES
DON’T FORGET THESE
SOURCES FROM FIRSTYEAR!
AmJur
& CalJur are
great legal encyclopedias:
–
Perfect for quick
overview & citations to
statutes and case law.
COMMONLY-USED SOURCES
ALSO….
Witkin’s treatises on
California law:

–
–
–
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Summary of CA Law;
California Evidence;
California Procedure; and
California Criminal Law
COMMONLY-USED SOURCES

Words and Phrases
–
Supplies a summary of federal
and state cases that contain
the definitions of certain words
and phrases.
–
EXAMPLE: can help you find
cases that define legal terms
like “conspiracy” or
“constructive eviction.”
COMMONLY USED SOURCES

American Law Reports
–
–
–
Essays that discuss
selected state or federal
legal topics in detail
Includes West Key
Numbers and citations to
law review articles, practice
guides, form books, and
more.
Case & statute summaries
cover all 50 states and
federal law as well.
PRACTICE GUIDES

Practice Guides:
–
–
–
Strive to provide a practical but
thorough discussion of the law,
along with practice tips and
citations to relevant primary
authority.
Some have sample forms and
agreements along with
commentary.
Some focus just on supplying
commentary or providing forms.
FINDING PRACTICE GUIDES

Popular Publishers of Practice Guides:
–
–
–

Matthew Bender;
Rutter Group;
CEB (CA Continuing Education of the Bar).
Zief Handout has recommendations for most
practice areas.
FORM BOOKS



Use a form book when you need
ideas on how to draft any legal
document.
Exist for both transactional and
litigation practices.
CAUTION: It’s very rare that you
can use a form straight from the
book without tweaking it! Each
form has to be adapted to your
facts and your client.
FINDING FORM BOOKS

California Forms of Pleading and Practice
most popular resource (Bender; on Lexis).

Also look for West publications like:
–
–
–
–
West’s Legal Forms;
West’s Federal Forms;
West’s California Code Forms;
AmJur Legal Forms 2d.
LITIGATION DOCUMENTS ON
WESTLAW & LEXIS



Westlaw has a growing collection of trial
documents from both federal and state
courts.
Go to Westlaw Directory  Litigation
Use with caution –
–
–
May be great, but…
some may be very poorly drafted.
….AND ON LEXIS

Lexis offers “Total Litigator”

Task-oriented library that includes collections
of drafting resources, including actual court
filings.
COURT FORMS

Each jurisdiction has its own required
forms for various filings.

Check the California courts web page
for forms
(http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/forms/) as
well as your individual court website.
–

Most up-to-date source for forms.
LLRX website has a handy online
search engine for state & federal court
forms, rules, and dockets:
http://www.llrx.com/courtrules/
CALIFORNIA COURT FORMS
COURT FORMS

uscourts.gov – allows you to find websites
of all of the federal courts throughout US.
–
Go to the individual federal court’s website to find
relevant forms.
Northern
District of
California’s
Forms Page
JURY INSTRUCTIONS

Most states, including CA, develop
standardized jury instructions for use
in both civil and criminal trials.

In California, the Book of Approved
Jury Instructions (BAJI), was the first
publication.

Now replaced by the Judicial Council’s
new “plain English” instructions,
known as CACI and CALCRIM.
JURY INSTRUCTIONS

Can still use BAJI instructions, if accepted by
court.

California civil & criminal jury instructions
on California courts website:
http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/

Check individual federal court websites (links
on www.uscourts.gov) for jury instruction
information.
California
Civil Jury
Instructions
Page
COURT RULES

Not a secondary source –
court rules are the laws that
govern how courts function,
so they are a primary
source.

Annotated versions are
most useful: include
summaries of cases
interpreting the rules.
CALIFORNIA COURT RULES

Find them on California’s official court
website: http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/rules/

Includes both California-wide rules and links
to local courts’ individual rules.

Annotated versions available in Deering’s
annotated statutes under “Rules of Court” &
West’s annotated set under “Court Rules.”
California
Court Rules
Page
FEDERAL COURT RULES

Categories include:
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–
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
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure
Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure (governs
civil and criminal)
Federal Rules of Evidence
Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure
Individual courts’ rules.
Text available on: http://www.uscourts.gov/
FEDERAL COURT RULES

Also available in annotated versions in print
in both the USCA and the USCS.

Use citator services (Shepard’s & KeyCite) to
determine current status and judicial
treatment of federal & state court rules.
Lexis & Westlaw Password Use

Lexis Account Use
–
Students in any judicial externship/clinical
internship who are receiving course
credit may use Lexis student account.
Lexis & Westlaw Password Use

Westlaw Account Use:
–
OK to use in unpaid clinical internships (incl.
those taken for course credit) so long as they’re
not with federal, state, or local government or
courts; and
–
OK to use for pro bono and public service
activities required for graduation.
GOOD LUCK!

Remember….you’re welcome
to call Zief librarians for
research help during any type
of internship (and after you
graduate, too)!

Contact Info:
–
–
Reference Desk: 415-422-6773
Website:
www.usfca.edu/law_library
LOOSELEAF SERVICES



Great single source for
commentary, cases, statutes,
regulations, and agency
decisions.
Common publishers: CCH,
BNA, RIA
Can be tricky to use for novices
– best to start with a simpler
secondary source, then move to
a looseleaf once you have some
foundational knowledge.