Research Instruction

Fall Semester 2026 | Scheduled Courses

Advanced Legal Research: Methods & Sources (ALR) (20486-01)

Units: 2 or 3, Graded
Instructor: Lucie Olejnikova
Fridays 10:10 AM - 12:00PM

An advanced exploration of the specialized methods and sources of legal research in the following areas: secondary legal authority, case law, statutes, legislative history, court rules, practice materials, and administrative law. The course will also cover the legal research process and tracking research, as well as other strategies for efficient and effective legal research. Class sessions will integrate the use of online, print, and other sources to solve legal research problems. Laptop computer is strongly recommended for use during class time. Students are required to complete a series of assignments, addition to the other course requirements.

Note: LLM students who wish to qualify for a third unit will need to write a paper. The option of a third credit is only available to LLM students.

Note: First class attendance is strongly recommended as the classes build on one another. Attendance at the first class meeting is mandatory for those on the waiting list who wish to remain in consideration for admission if a place becomes available.

History and Language Research in Legal Practice (20045-01)

Units: 2, Graded
Instructors: Steven Mitchell
Thursday 4:10PM - 6:30PM

In recent decades, American courts have taken an increased interest in incorporating interdisciplinary research into their legal decision-making process. This course introduces students to interdisciplinary research sources and methodologies in legal practice through the lens of two areas which have recently gained legal valence: history and language. Through exercises, discussions of readings, and research projects, students will learn how to critically address the pragmatic and theoretical questions a lawyer should consider in their research and how to apply them to legal practice: namely how to identify, find, evaluate, apply, and ethically use information in the context of legal advocacy.

The primary assessment for this course is an annotated bibliography, demonstrating the student's engagement with historical and linguistic sources and critical understanding of the use of non-legal sources in both legal practice and scholarship, as well as supporting the student with their existing or prospective research projects.

Note: This course will meet weekly for the first ten weeks of the semester, allowing students to incorporate what they learn into final papers in other courses. 

Rare Books and Manuscripts for Legal Historical Research (20042-01)

Units: 1, Credit or Fail
Instructors: Kathryn James
Tuesday 10:10AM - 12:00PM

This course equips J.D., LL.M., and M.S.L. students with the skills and experience to engage with rare book and manuscript collections for legal historical research. The course focuses on medieval and early modern legal practices of textual production, circulation, and reception, to introduce practices and methodologies applicable to the study of textual artifacts for other historical periods. The course will meet in the Law Library’s Rare Book Room and the Beinecke Library, drawing on Yale University’s internationally-recognized law rare book and manuscript collections. Topics include: manuscript and print traditions; approaches to paleography; professional writing and legal documents; histories of law publishing, circulation, and readership; material cultures of law practice; collection development and canon formation.

Assignments will be hands-on, asking students to engage with rare book and manuscript collections each week. Some examples include: transcribing a passage from an early modern manuscript; locating a citation in early manuscript and printed editions of a text; describing the material and textual components of an historical legal document.

Note: This course will meet weekly for seven weeks in the first half of the term in the rare book room.