News and information useful to Cleveland State College of Law students, faculty and staff.

Archive for September 30th, 2010


Law Student’s Guide to Legal Research on the Web

The Law Student’s Guide to Legal Research on the Web not only links to major free legal resources on the Internet, but it also explains what the resources are, suggests the best source for a particular item (for example, the U.S. Code) and gives tips on how to update your research on the web.  There is a handy Research Primer, which outlines the 10 steps in the legal research process and provides a cool flowchart of the process.  The Primer is helpful for legal research in general, not just web research.   The Law Student’s Guide is brought to you by LII and CALI and Justia.  (LII and Justia are two great places for free legal research on the web.)

You may also want to take a look at our library’s collection of links, Legal Research on the Web.

Advice from the Real World

The Three Geeks and a Law Blog’s latest ” Elephant Post: What Would You Tell a Law Student Before They Enter the ‘Real World’? “ summarizes responses to that question from practitioners, law firm managers and support staff.  Among the key points:

  • Take a clinic
  • Develop contacts and relationships now: your fellow law students will be your colleagues in the practice world
  • Take the initiative to ask for feedback
  • You are marketing yourself now: Rethink your Facebook photos and posts, get onto Linkedin
  • Lexis and Westlaw are NOT FREE (where have you heard that before?) – learn to search efficiently

The Law Library is happy to help you with that last point:  See our Cost Effective Legal Research Guide, sign up for a Research Certificate Seminar, or set up an appointment for a research consultation.