In keeping with Yale Law School’s tradition of providing students with a legal education of outstanding breadth and depth, the librarians of the Lillian Goldman Library offer a series of research courses designed to teach students how to research and analyze complex legal problems. At the heart of this program are two courses: Research Methods in American Law and Advanced Legal Research, which teach students how to master effective and efficient research methods, including devising strategies to find cases, statutes, regulations, and secondary authorities. Students may also elect one of a number of areas requiring specialized research skills, including tax law, international law, immigration law, legal history, or corporate law. In these courses, students will learn how to locate and use specialized reporters, legislative and administrative materials, and online databases tailored towards their particular field of study.
Below is a description of the research courses offered at the Yale Law School. If you have questions regarding the legal research instruction program, please contact Camilla Tubbs at camilla.tubbs@yale.edu.
ADVANCED LEGAL RESEARCH: METHODS AND SOURCES
Credit: 3 Units.
Offered: One section in the Fall and in the Spring 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; foreign and international law; legislative history; and statutory research. Class sessions will integrate the use of online, print, and other research sources. Research problems and paper required.
RESEARCH METHODS IN AMERICAN LAW
Credit: 1 Unit
Offered: One section in the first half of the Fall semester; two sections offered in the first half of the Spring Semester.
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 state and federal case law, legislation, administrative law and secondary sources, using both print and online resources. Students will be required to complete a series of short research assignments and a legal memo.
RESEARCH METHODS IN AMERICAN LEGAL HISTORY
Credit: 2-3 units
Offered: One section offered Spring 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. 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.
SPECIALIZED LEGAL RESEARCH: FOREIGN AND INTERNATIONAL LAW
Credit: 1 unit
Offered: Second half of the Fall semester; second half of the Spring Semester.
Target Audience: 2L’s, 3L’s and second semester 1L's. Students who are interested in F&I/transnational law research or who are working in a clinical program that focuses on international law.
Course Description: Explore the major sources of international law, the law of some of the largest inter-governmental organizations, and general methods for finding laws from nations other than the United States. Both print and online sources will be examined. Although several area perspectives will be included, much of the course will be taught from an American perspective and we will concentrate on sources widely available in the United States.
SPECIALIZED LEGAL RESEARCH: AMERICAN IMMIGRATION LAW
Credit: 1 unit
Offered: One section offered the second half of the Spring semester.
Target Audience: 2L’s and 3L’s interested in Immigration law and/or who are working in a clinical program that focuses on immigration law. Prerequisite: Research Methods in American Law or permission of the instructors.
Course Description: Explore research issues and sources that arise in the practice of immigration law. Particular attention will be paid to administrative issues, the organization of the law, and practical solutions to legal research issues. Students may work through the legal research issues and sources through the framework of a problem of their own choice.
SPECIALIZED LEGAL RESEARCH: FEDERAL TAX LAW
Credit: 1 Unit
Offered: One section offered the second half of the Spring semester.
Target Audience: 2L’s and 3L’s interested in tax law. Prerequisite: Research Methods in American Law or permission of the instructors.
Course Description: This class will provide students with an in-depth examination of the sources and issues that arise when researching in federal tax. Both print and online sources are examined, and students will be exposed to specialized online tax databases not offered to the general law school community. Students will be required to complete a series of short research assignments and a legal memo.