Habeas Corpus, UofC's pre-law society, in collaboration with
CAPS and the UofC Law School Library is pleased to offer "Introduction
to Research in Law" Seminar. This seminar will enable students
to:
1. Better understand what awaits them in law school and
2. Give a leg up when applying for summer and full-time jobs
in legal offices.
The syllabus for the course is at the end of this document.
Registration will begin in February, and we will post more information as it becomes avaiable.
If you have any questions, please contact either Jason Novak (janovak) or Nancy Hoffman (nancylou).
The Specifics:
Course Schedule
Meetings: The course will meet twice during the first two weeks
of Spring Quarter. Course meetings will take place at the Law
School during the first two weeks of Spring Quarter.
Prior to the beginning of the course, there will be an introductory
meeting including a tour of the D’Angelo Law Library. Students
must attend one of the two introductory meetings. The introductory
meeting will be offered twice at the Law School during the first
week of spring quarter on the following dates:
TBA
Instructors for the course are Judith Wright, Associate Dean
for Library and Information Services and Lecturer in Law, Sheri
Lewis, Associate Law Librarian for Public Services, and Margaret
Schilt, Faculty Services Librarian.
Outcomes: What you will take away from this course
Upon completion of the Seminar: Introduction to Research in Law,
the student will have a basic understanding of the following concepts:
1. Overview of the United States Legal System
A. Structure
B. Types of legal resources: primary law and secondary materials
C. Legal citation form, common abbreviations and legal terminology
D. Federal and state courts: three levels
2. Secondary sources in legal research
A. Types of secondary sources
B. How and when they are used
3. Case law: United States legal case reporting system
A. What case reporters are and what they look like
B. Anatomy of a reported case
C. How to find relevant cases in print and online
D. How to make sure your cases are still good law: updating
4. Statutory law
A. Publication of statutory law: session laws, codes and annotated
codes
B. Finding statutory law in print and online
C. Updating statutory law
5. Administrative law
A. Two types: quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial
B. Sources of federal administrative law: Federal Register and
Code of Federal Regulations
C. Other resources for administrative law
6. Legislative history
A. Documents generated in legislative process
B. How to locate information on legislation
Requirements: What we expect from students
In order satisfactorily to complete the Seminar: Introduction
to Research in Law, the student must:
1. Attend one of the scheduled introductory meetings.
2. Attend both class meetings.
3. Complete readings as required during the course. It is anticipated
that the readings will total less than 100 pages spread over
the two weeks of the course. Readings will be contained in a
course packet available for purchase at the introductory meeting
at a nominal price of between $5.00 and $10.00.
4. Complete satisfactorily all assigned homework. In addition
to the readings, the homework will consist of two sets of exercises
(2 to 3 hours) designed to familiarize the students with use
of the resources discussed in the class meetings. Emphasis will
be on obtaining functional skills to solve legal research problems.
5. Neither the course nor the homework will be graded, but in
order to satisfactorily complete the course and receive the
certificate of completion, the student must complete all homework
assignments and any required corrections.
