All JD students at Georgetown take an introductory Legal Research and Writing course, but there are many other opportunities to master the important skill of Legal Research. Courses currently being offered include:

Legal Research Skills for Practice
This one-credit course reinforces the skills learned in the Legal Research and Writing course. Students learn how to develop strategies for approaching legal research problems and how to select and use the basic legal sources. Topics covered include the legal research process, statutory and regulatory research, case law research sources and techniques, using secondary sources effectively, legislative history, and understanding the different varieties and uses of legal treatises.  Currently this course is offered every semester. 

Advanced Legal Research
In this two-credit course, students learn the concepts and skills needed to research complex legal problems. This course provides in-depth coverage of the full range of legal research materials including: case law; court rules; state and federal legislation and legislative history; state and federal regulations and regulatory history; agency decisions; and specialized legal research resources. There are two sections of this course, each offering a slightly different focus. Professor Sampson’s evening course has a practice focus, while Professor Jayasuriya’s course has a scholarly focus.

Legal Research and Communication Theory in International and Comparative Law
This two-credit course instructs students in understanding the relationship between the sources of public and private international law in a theoretical sense with their actual embodiment in tangible and electronic media. Comparative law bibliography and sources will be covered, as will selected jurisdictions in the civil law tradition. With regard to locating legislation and jurisprudence, students will learn which topics are usually covered in a civil code, and how to deal with problems of language and translation.  This course, taught by Professor Raisch, will be offered in the spring semester. 

Law Firm Research 2.0
This three-credit course focuses on the research milestones lawyers encounter in practice and explores the sources and strategies that support efficient and effective research management (e.g., financial information and its relationship to business development, conflict avoidance, and settlement design).  This course is offered every other year and will be offered next in Spring 2012. 

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