Law Commons^™

Deals And Dispute Resolution: Teaching Research Skills In A Short-Term Simulation Class, Karen Westwood

Faculty Scholarship

My colleague, Reference Librarian Jean Boos, and I were invited to participate in planning a Deals and Dispute Resolution class atWilliam Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota, and we were told that the instructors wanted to require the students to research their issues. Our challenge was to come up with a meaningful research experience that wouldn’t devolve into a treasure hunt for the students.

In a situation where the timeframe and setup of a course don’t lend themselves to in-depth research skills instruction, librarians can still fully participate and add value for students. In our experience, this course …

Legal Research Assessment, Simon Canick

Faculty Scholarship

Legal research instructors seek to provide their students with a working knowledge of important research tools, strategies with which to develop a rational research plan, and the skill to conduct research efficiently, among other things. A well-conceived legal research class may utilize short-answer assignments, quizzes, and scavenger hunt exercises as a means to establish a baseline of knowledge with critical sources; a series of research problems, with grading based upon students' ability to describe a coherent and logical progression; and a pathfinder or process-oriented final exam, all depending on the instructor's goals. Ultimately, the variety of available assessment tools suggests …

Our Perspective On Irac, Christina L. Kunz, Deborah A. Schmedemann

Faculty Scholarship

In this brief article, the authors present their view of IRAC, an acronym for Issue, Relevant law, Application to facts, and Conclusion. The authors conclude that IRAC can be taught so that students understand not only why it is useful as a thinking and writing tool, but also that proper use of it requires judgment and creativity. When IRAC is presented this way, the authors assert, it can serve first-year students well as they study legal writing. And they will operate accordingly, even without being aware of its influence, during their years as practicing lawyers.