A Legal Research Checklist For Associates (And Others)

Soon, many of you shall be departing for your Summer associateships or permanent positions. As you are aware, your legal research skills are an important component of your success in the legal profession. It can be difficult, however, to scan systematically and efficiently all the sources that your particular problem may require.

To help with this obstacle, Harvard's Law Library has compiled a very useful research checklist. The resources given at the left of the list will help to remind you of the various possible sources for your research. The source list itself covers secondary sources, primary sources (case law, statutes, and regulations), among others, as well as a reminder to check various internal resources that your law firm may have. If you print the checklist, then you will also be able to take brief notes and to check off each source as you have consulted it, thus helping you to keep track of what you have and have not covered.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat