Advanced Legal Research: Litigation

Catalog description

This course aims to prepare law students for research in litigation practice and judicial clerkships. More broadly, the primary goal is to enable students, now and later in their professional lives, to map out a coherent plan of action when asked to research a topic previously unfamiliar to them. Students should acquire a solid knowledge of research tools and a frame of reference that enables them to function independently and competently in the complex world of legal information. Students will accomplish the following learning objectives: (1) demonstrate and analyze common research strategies and processes related to legal research, (2) build habits for critically assessing and tracking their research processes; (3) develop an understanding of and approach to researching common litigation research questions; and (4) find, evaluate, and use legal research materials, including different types of secondary sources and primary sources, to answer general and specific research questions. Learning legal research requires a hands-on approach, so students will complete in-class exercises, homework assignments, and a final research project -- all of which contribute to grading. There will not be a final exam. This course is open to Stanford graduate students with permission from the instructors.