Research Courses: Spring 2013
Are you still mulling over your Spring course schedule? Although legal research is not a required course here at Yale Law School, we offer several electives for your consideration. Research courses range from 1-3 credits, with some meeting over the whole term and others meeting over half of the term, before or after spring break.
Here are the research courses offered this Spring. Please contact Julie Graves Krishnaswami, if you have any questions.
ADVANCED LEGAL RESEARCH: METHODS AND SOURCES
Credit: 2 or 3 Units (varible course).
Offered: Fall and Spring semester (full semester)
Target Audience: All levels. Students writing a substantial paper or who plan on clerking.
Course Description: An advanced exploration of the specialized methods and sources of legal research in some of the following areas: administrative law; case finding; computer-assisted research; constitutional law and history; court rules and practice materials; international law; legislative history; and statutory research. Class sessions will integrate the use of online, print, and other research sources. Laptop computer recommended. Research problems or paper required. Excellent completion of course work for honors eligibility. Course satisfies the skills requirement.
EFFICIENT TECHNIQUES IN LEGAL RESEARCH
Credit: 1 Unit
Offered: Spring semester (first seven weeks of the semester, before Spring Break)
Target Audience: All levels. Students who haven’t taken a legal research course before and who need a basic understanding of legal research principles.
Course Description: This course will instruct students in basic legal research skills, including researching and updating federal case law, legislation, administrative law and secondary sources, using both print and online resources, with an emphasis on online resources. Students will be required to complete a series of short research tutorials. The course will meet once a week for the first seven weeks of the term. The skills requirement will be satisfied by taking this course with another 1-unit legal research course.
RESEARCH METHODS IN AMERICAN LEGAL HISTORY
Credit: 2-3 units
Offered: Spring semester (full semester)
Target Audience: 2L’s, 3L’s and Second semester 1L’s who are interested in legal history.
Course Description: This seminar will examine the methods and major materials used in American historical legal research, whether for scholarly pursuits or professional advocacy. It will cover early judicial, statutory, and constitutional sources; crime literature; court records; government documents; biographical materials and personal papers of lawyers and judges; other manuscript collections; and early sources of American international law and civil law. Paper required. This course satisfies the skills requirement.
LEGAL RESEARCH & TECHNOLOGY IN PRACTICE
Credit: 1 unit
Offered: Spring semester (offered after Spring Break)
Target Audience: 2L’s, 3L’s and second semester 1L's interested in legal technology, knowledge management and social media.
Course Description: This course will introduce students to technological tools of the trade with each class covering in-depth a topic of law technology in practice. Topics may include e-discovery tools and techniques, knowledge management, law practice management technology, virtual law offices, social media & marketing, courtroom technology and more. This class will not focus on the legal issues created by technology. Classes may include guest speakers from law firms, the courts, as well as knowledge management, marketing, and IT experts to speak about technological issues. Students will take turns monitoring and leading short discussions of legal technology news every week. This course will meet weekly for seven weeks in the second half of the term. Minimum enrollment of five required. The skills requirement will be satisfied by taking this course with another 1-unit legal research course.
SPECIALIZED LEGAL RESEARCH IN CORPORATE LAW
Credit: 1 Unit
Offered: Spring Semester (offered first half of semester, before Spring Break)
Target Audience: 2L’s, 3L’s and second semester 1L's interested in corporate law.
Course Description: This course will include both lecture and discussion on methods and sources in corporate law, including securities law and criminal prosecutions of corporate fraud. Secondary sources will be emphasize, but basic finding-skills will also e address: case-finding, statutes-finding, locating legislative histories, and locating administrative materials. Online, print, and other resources will be considered throughout. Three guest speakers are scheduled: one who will present non-law business databases, another who will provide an introduction to reading a financial report, and a third guest (an Assistant U.S. Attorney and YLS alumnus) who will address the use of secondary sources in legal research generally, and with special attention to securities law and corporate fraud. This course will meet weekly in the first half of the term. The skills requirement will be satisfied by taking this course with another 1-unit legal research course.
