Legal research and writing skills are critical in any law practice.
Currently, 31% of paralegals report conducting legal research on at
least a weekly basis. Additionally, 88% of working paralegals who
have been employed as paralegals for more than five years report an
increase in work that involves independent judgment, and 68% report
an increase in the level of sophistication of the work. These
statistics indicate that lawyers may be recognizing and utilizing
the skills of professional paralegals to a greater extent than ever
before; they certainly indicate that lawyers make use of the
critical thinking and analytic expertise of paralegals when these
skills are apparent and available. The two legal research seminars
described below are designed to help paralegals utilize a variety
of legal research tools and methodologies, to understand and
analyze what they find, and to communicate these findings
effectively to third parties.
This program will review the basic sources of law in our common
law society, the difference between primary and secondary
authority, and how to use standard research materials such as
encyclopedias and more sophisticated secondary authority, and
statutes, case reporters, and digests. This part of the seminar
will also introduce the Internet and proprietary computer-assisted
legal research technology to conduct legal research and include
strategies for creating a research plan and updating your research
with Shepards?.
If you intend to take a course for CLE credit, please make sure your state is listed in the "Accreditation" section to the upper right of the program description. Accreditation displayed is unique to the purchased program format (live conference, live webcast, on demand, podcast). Credit totals listed for live conferences are the maximum credits available. Credits issued will be based upon actual time in attendance. Credit totals for other formats are for complete programs. Partial credit is not available for any online or downloadable format.
West LegalEdcenter will not provide accreditation for states not listed.
This product is intended for individual use by the named purchaser. Group viewings for online programs may be arranged for five or more attorneys within the same organization prior to viewing by emailing west.wlec-sales@thomson.com.
