Legal Writing and Research Commons^™

Digital Pro Bono: Leveraging Technology To Provide Access To Justice, Kathleen Elliott Vinson, Samantha A. Moppett

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

Part I of this Article explores the United States justice system’s failure to adequately serve all people irrespective of wealth and position. Next, Part II discusses the ABA’s call to leverage technology to increase access to justice. Part III explores ABA Free Legal Answers Online, the program that the ABA pioneered to help confront the justice gap in the United States. Subsequently, Part IV illustrates how law schools can leverage technology to increase access to justice for low-income communities while providing pro bono opportunities for attorneys and students in their state. This Part highlights Massachusetts as an example of …

Sustainable And Open Access To Valuable Legal Research Information: A New Framework, Alex Zhang, James Hart

Scholarly Articles

This article evaluates the current status of access to foreign and international legal research information, analyzes the challenges that information providers have experienced in providing valuable and sustainable access, and proposes a model that would help create and facilitate effective and sustainable access to valuable foreign, comparative, and international legal information.

Research Resources For Michigan Criminal Law, Kate E. Britt

Law Librarian Scholarship

Few areas of the law are as consequential to the personal lives of those involved as criminal law. The law can, and does, change quickly, and attorneys need to stay abreast of the latest developments to effectively represent their clients. Thankfully, modern government bodies publish current primary law (and many useful secondary sources) online. The sites outlined below will take users to reliable sources of Michigan criminal law and procedure.

“Unknown Symbols”: Online Legal Research In The Age Of Emoji, Jennifer L. Behrens

Faculty Scholarship

Over the last decade, emoji and emoticons have made the leap from text messaging and social media to legal filings, court opinions, and law review articles. However, emoji and emoticons’ growth in popularity has tested the capability of online legal research systems to properly display and retrieve them in search results, posing challenges for future researchers of primary and secondary sources. This article examines current display practices on several of the most popular online legal research services (including Westlaw Edge, Lexis Advance, Bloomberg Law, Fastcase, HeinOnline, and Gale OneFile LegalTrac), and suggests effective workarounds for researchers.

Beyond The Annals Of Murder: The Life And Works Of Thomas M. Mcdade, Jennifer L. Behrens

Faculty Scholarship

Thomas M. McDade is best known (if not well-known enough) for his seminal 1961 reference bibliography, The Annals of Murder: A Bibliography of Books and Pamphlets on American Murders from Colonial Times to 1900. Beyond that singular text on early American murder trial accounts, though, lies more than 70 additional publications on American legal history, law enforcement, and literature, gathered together for the first time in an annotated bibliography of McDade’s lesser-known writings. The article also examines McDade’s fascinating life and varied career as an early FBI agent, World War II veteran, corporate executive, and true crime chronicler.

Inside The Black Box Of Search Algorithms, Susan Nevelow Mart, Joe Breda, Ed Walters, Tito Sierra, Khalid Al-Kofahi

Publications

A behind-the-scenes look at the algorithms that rank results in Bloomberg Law, Fastcase, Lexis Advance, and Westlaw.

Fake News, Alternative Facts, And Disinformation: The Importance Of Teaching Media Literacy To Law Students, Marin Dell

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Tracking Colorado Legislation, Robert Linz

Other Faculty Publications

When the 72nd General Assembly commences in January 2019, many researchers will want to follow the developing legislation. In the Second Regular session of the 71st General Assembly, the House considered 441 bills and the Senate considered 280 bills on a wide range of subjects, both controversial and mundane.1 Researchers need a way to sift through this large amount of legislation so they can track legislation pertinent to them through the legislative process. h e General Assembly’s website offers one approach. So too do commercial services, which of er not only access to the status of legislation and documents created …

Playing To Their Passion: A Legal Research Course That Resonates With Law Students, Susan Drisko Zago

Law Faculty Scholarship

The first year of law school is chock-full of new experiences. Students can become overwhelmed in the face of so much change that they forget why they chose law school as a career path. They often lose sight of their end goal and need a touchstone to ground them back to their initial interests. Legal Research is the ideal first-year class to connect the acquisition of legal skills with interesting topics in a way that encourages students’ engagement in their present and future learning. By adding a student-selected subject context to their class, Legal Research instructors can incorporate contextualized learning …

Using Problem-Enhanced Library Tours Rather Than Scavenger Hunts To Teach Incoming 1ls About Legal Sources And The Research Process, Paul Mclaughlin

Law Library Faculty Scholarship

Recommended citation: Paul McLaughlin, Using Problem-Enhanced Library Tours Rather than Scavenger Hunts to Teach Incoming 1Ls About Legal Sources and the Research Process, 43 Southeastern L. Libr. 1, 20-22 (2018).

Published in Southeastern Law Librarian (volume 43) (Spring 2018).

Crafting Relatable Tales: Teaching Students The Importance Of Multidisciplinary Legal Research Using A Story Arc Structure, Paul Mclaughlin

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Crafting Relatable Tales: Teaching Students The Importance Of Multidisiplinary Legal Research Using A Story Arc Structure, Paul Jerome Mclaughlin Jr.

Library Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Using Problem-Enhanced Library Tours Rather Than Scavenger Hunts To Teach Incoming 1ls About Legal Sources And The Research Process, Paul Mclaughlin

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Crafting Relatable Tales: Teaching Students The Importance Of Multidisciplinary Legal Research Using A Story Arc Structure, Paul Mclaughlin

Law Library Faculty Scholarship

Recommended citation: Paul McLaughlin, Crafting Relatable Tales: Teaching Students the Importance of Multidisciplinary Legal Research Using a Story Arc Structure, 43 Southeastern L. Libr. 1, 16-18 (2018).

Avoiding Ethics Complaints: Finding The Rules And Leos, Joyce Manna Janto

Law Faculty Publications

One nightmare shared by all lawyers is the prospect of a letter from the Standing Committee on Lawyer Discipline informing them of a complaint. Prudent lawyers avoid this by becoming familiar with the ethical rules and standards of their jurisdiction. Because, as many a lawyer has learned, ignorance of the rules is no excuse.

Results May Vary, Susan Nevelow Mart

Publications

No abstract provided.

Understanding The Human Element In Search Algorithms And Discovering How It Affects Search Results, Susan Nevelow Mart

Publications

When legal researchers search in online databases for the information they need to solve a legal problem, they need to remember that the algorithms that are returning results to them were designed by humans. The world of legal research is a human-constructed world, and the biases and assumptions the teams of humans that construct the online world bring to the task are imported into the systems we use for research. This article takes a look at what happens when six different teams of humans set out to solve the same problem: how to return results relevant to a searcher’s query …

Researching Colorado Health Law, Kerri Rowe

Publications

No abstract provided.

Bloomberg’S Points Of Law: Can They Compete With Headnotes?, Jill Sturgeon

Publications

No abstract provided.

Tracking Colorado Legislation, Robert Linz

Publications

No abstract provided.

Access To Justice Starts In The Library: The Importance Of Competent Research Skills And Free/Low-Cost Research Resources, Deborah K. Hackerson

Maine Law Review

Access to justice is an important aspirational goal for everyone in the legal profession. Lawyers, however, cannot provide access to justice without adequate practical skills and the tools necessary to complete their work. Lawyers and law students provide many hours of public and pro bono service every year. With the current state of the economy and the record jobless rate, it is likely that the need for low cost and free legal services will continue to grow. In order to carry out the mission of continuing to provide services to those in need, law students must prepare learn the practical …

Finding The Theory And Method For The Pedagogy Of Teaching Legal Research: A Response To Callister's "Time To Blossom", Paul Jerome Mclaughlin Jr.

Library Faculty Publications

In his article “Time to Blossom,” Callister invites legal research experts to begin a discussion as to what theory and methodology would be most effective for teaching legal research. This article suggests that utilizing a tailored form of systems theory in conjunction with active learning methods would allow legal educators not only to teach students in an effective and understandable manner but also to adapt their teaching methods to correspond to changes in the legal research field.

Finding The Theory And Method For The Pedagogy Of Teaching Legal Research: A Response To Callister's “Time To Blossom”, Paul Mclaughlin

Law Library Faculty Scholarship

In his article “Time to Blossom,” Callister invites legal research experts to begin a discussion as to what theory and methodology would be most effective for teaching legal research. This article suggests that utilizing a tailored form of systems theory in conjunction with active learning methods would allow legal educators not only to teach students in an effective and understandable manner but also to adapt their teaching methods to correspond to changes in the legal research field.

Citation: Paul Jerome Mclaughlin, Jr. (2017) Finding the Theory and Method for the Pedagogy of Teaching Legal Research: A Response to Callister's “Time …

Data For The Algorithm As A Human Artifact: Implications For Legal [Re]Search, Susan Nevelow Mart

Research Data

These documents underlie and are cited in this empirical study: Susan Nevelow Mart, The Algorithm as a Human Artifact: Implications for Legal [Re]Search, 109 Law Libr. J. 387, 409 n.123 (2017), available at http://scholar.law.colorado.edu/articles/755/.

The ZIP file contains three files: one PDF document ("Tables for Charts 1-3"), and two SPSS files ("Data Archive" and "Syntax Archive" (SPSS version 24)). The "Syntax Archive" file may be viewed in a text editor (e.g., Notepad) as well as in SPSS.

Appendix B: The Algorithm As A Human Artifact: Implications For Legal [Re]Search, Susan Nevelow Mart

Research Data

This document, "Search Instructions for Algorithm Study," is an electronic Appendix B to, and is cited in, the empirical study: Susan Nevelow Mart, The Algorithm as a Human Artifact: Implications for Legal [Re]Search, 109 Law Libr. J. 387, 400 n.78 (2017), available at http://scholar.law.colorado.edu/articles/755/.

Decision Making Models In 2/2 Time: Two Speakers, Two Models (Maybe), Sharon Bradley, Tim Tarvin

Presentations

Our students have to learn so many new skills to be successful in law school and law practice. Legal research, client interviewing, and case analysis just for starters. Our teaching methods have to engage our students while preparing them to “think like a lawyer.” We also have the responsibility to familiarize students in evaluating the “benefits and risks associated with relevant technology” and to develop efficient practices and processes. The speakers will look at decision making models that are practical and useable.

One speaker will discuss his experiences in a clinical setting using decision trees, teaching his students to visualize …

Legal Writing And International Students: Reconsidering “Complete Immersion”, Alissa J. Hartig

Applied Linguistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Before I began my current position, I worked as a writing specialist with multilingual international students in the LL.M. legal writing program at Penn State Law for four years. At the time I started working with law students, I was taking coursework for my Ph.D. in applied linguistics, focusing on second language acquisition and writing. Since I was new to the field of legal education, I tried to get a better sense of what legal writing faculty saw as best practices in working with international students by speaking with faculty, reading articles in law reviews and journals, and attending conferences. …

Real Resources For Researching Ip Law, Anne Burnett

Presentations

A presentation on strategies for researching intellectual property law in classroom L. Sponsored by the Alexander Campbell King Law Library and the Intellectual Property Law Society.

Federal Research, Yolanda Patrice Jones Phd, Mls

Faculty Books and Book Contributions

Finding legal information in the United States can be difficult and/or confusing for the layperson. Electronic databases such as LexisNexis or Westlaw may only be accessible for those who can afford it. Even with access to these databases, those without legal training may find them to be overwhelming. This chapter aims to shed some light on the process of doing federal legal research as well as recommend Internet sites where the layperson can get access to free legal resources.

Bibliography, Editorial Board

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

This bibliography is a comprehensive list of all of Professor Calvin Massey’s scholarship. Unless otherwise indicated, each title was written exclusively by Professor Massey. We have not, however, included every edition of each title; rather, where multiple editions were published, we reference only the first edition. We have also omitted supplements written by Professor Massey to his own casebooks.