Thinking About Legal Research Problems

Field Guide to Legal Research is not another exhaustive treatise but a short book written for legal research novices who have some familiarity with legal research, but who lack confidence in their abilities. The Guide is written for upper-level law students, law clerks, and attorneys. To advance legal research novices toward becoming experts, the Guide stresses constructs (or mental models) and techniques to approach both problem solving and the landscape of legal research resources. Particular skills that are emphasized are “working the problem,” “problem typing,” and applying mental constructs to understanding the terrain of legal research resources. Learning to match appropriate resources to particular problem types is the ultimate objective. The book includes many examples and problems to help illustrate the application of constructs and techniques to particular situations. The types of research problems discussed are much broader than in a first-year legal research classes, including problems based on government agencies, statistics, and even patent law. There are numerous “screen shots” and images to facilitate the learning process. A Teachers Manual, with additional material and insights, is available for instructors who wish to use this book in their courses.