CONTENTS

Preface for the Fifth Edition xxiiiAcknowledgments xxv

Introduction and Survival Skills (Case Briefing and Outlining) 1 I. Preparing for and Participating in U.S. Law School Classes 1 II. Engaged Reading and a Study Plan 3

A. Time Management and Prioritization 4B. Engaged Reading 4

1. Strategic Reading 62. Reading with Focus, Efficiency, and Engagement 7

a. Book Briefing and Engaged Reading 7b. Read with Legal Dictionary, Hornbook, and Statute Book at

Hand 8 III. Briefing Cases 9

A. Why Should You Prepare Case Briefs? 9B. Components of a Case Brief 9

Practice Assignment 12 IV. Class Participation 17 V. Outlining 17

Exercise 18Discussion Questions 24Supplementary Exercise 24Checklists 24

Chapter 1 United States Common Law 25Introduction 26 I. The Nature of U.S. Common Law, as Compared to Other Legal Systems 27

A. U.S. Common Law Contrasted with Civilian Jurisdictions 27B. Background Norms of United States Law 30

1. United States Law as Compared to Shar’ia (Islamic) Law 302. United States Law as Compared to Asian Legal Traditions 323. United States Legal Philosophy as Compared to Marxist/

Leninist Theories 33 II. Comparative Development of Western Legal Systems 36

A. The Civil Law Tradition 36B. The Anglo-American Development of Common Law 36

1. The Founding of Circuit Courts, Separation of Law and Religion, and Stare Decisis 37

2. The Role of Scholars 383. The Jury System 394. Common Law Civil Procedure: Writ Pleading, the Distinction

between Law and Equity, and Its Effect on the Jury System 41xi

LRRW_2021_FM.indd 11 10-12-2020 14:26:48

Contentsxii

5. Legal Education 42 III. The Study of Law in the United States: The Case Method 43

Discussion Questions 46Bibliography 47

Chapter 2 Introduction to American Legal Research and the Federal System 49 I. United States Legal Resources 50

A. Types of Legal Resources 50B. Advantages and Disadvantages of Various Research Media 51

II. Research Techniques and Interpretive Skills 52 III. The First Research and Interpretive Skills: Finding a Given Legal

Authority and Understanding Its Relative Weight 53A. Primary Authority and Citation Forms 55

1. Constitutions 552. Statutes 563. Regulations 584. Case Law 59

a. The Role of Judicial Review 59b. Official and Unofficial Versions 60c. Commercial Versions versus Official Versions 61d. Federal Court Reporters 62e. Regional Reporters 63

5. International and Foreign Law 63B. Secondary Sources 65

IV. The First Interpretive Skill: Relative Weight of Authority 67A. Primary versus Secondary Authority (i.e., law and not-law) 67B. Primary Authority: the Three-Tier Court System 68C. Primary Authority: Mandatory versus Persuasive 69D. Federalism, Subject Matter Jurisdiction, and the Preemption Doctrine 69E. Timeliness 72

Discussion Questions 74Exercise 76Exercise Hints for Various Media 79Quick Review Charts 80

Chapter 3 Legal Reasoning and Objective Legal Writing: IRAC, the Hypothetical Exam, and the Interoffice Memo 83

Introduction 84 I. Deductive Reasoning and the Syllogism 86 II. IRAC and CRAC Reasoning 87

A. I: Identification of an Issue 88B. R: Analysis of a Legal Rule 89

1. Types of Legal Rules 89a. Elemental or Conjunctive Rules 89b. Disjunctive Rules 90c. Exceptions 90

LRRW_2021_FM.indd 12 09-12-2020 12:46:03

Contents xiii

d. Factors and Balancing Tests 90e. Totality-of-the-Circumstances Rules 91f. “If . . . then” — A Shortcut for Statutes 92

2. Difficulties in Stating Common Law Rules 923. Inductive Reasoning: Incorporating Case Law into the Rule

Analysis 944. Incorporating Policy Concerns 945. Considering Relative Weight of Authority 95

C. A and C: Application and Conclusion 96 III. Example of IRAC Analysis: The Gun-in-the-Boot Problem 96

A. Facts and Basic Rule Analysis 96B. Case Law 97C. Issue Identification 98D. Example of a Case Law Chart 98E. Factual Comparisons to the Harris Problem and Informal

Application of Rules to Facts 100F. Policy Analysis 101G. Summary 101

IV. Preparing for and Taking Examinations 101A. Outlining 102B. Studying and Practicing with Hypothetical Problems 103C. Exam Strategy 103

1. Read the General Directions 1042. Budget Your Time for Each Question 1043. One-Third of the Allotted Time for Each Question Is for

Reading and Outlining 1044. Read Each Question Twice before Outlining and Answering 1045. Highlight and Note Key Concepts As You Read 1056. Outline Your Answer with One or More T-Bars 1057. Write Your Answer with An Eye on the Clock 106

D. Common Errors 1071. Taking Sides 1082. Failing to State Controlling Law Explicitly 1083. Failing to Show Understanding of the Relationship between

Legal Issues 1084. Mixing Legal Categories, IRARARAC, Brain-Dump 1085. Discussing Irrelevant Legal Principles 109

V. The Interoffice Memo 109A. The Assignment: Interviewing the Employer 109B. Interoffice Memo Form 110C. Discussion Section 112

1. Two-Issue Discussion Sections 113a. Rule Section (major premise) 113b. Application Section (minor premise) 114

2. Concluding Sentence 114

LRRW_2021_FM.indd 13 09-12-2020 12:46:03

Contentsxiv

D. Other Information about the Interoffice Memo 1151. Tone and Style 1152. Citations 1153. Plagiarism 1164. Revising 118

VI. Sample Interoffice Memo 118Exercise 120Checklist for Final Exams 123Checklist for Drafting Interoffice Memos 123Bibliography 124

Chapter 4 The Legal Process 125Introduction to Civil and Administrative Procedure 126 I. U.S. Civil Trial Procedure 127

A. Summary of Civil Trial Sequence 127B. Documents and Details of Civil Trials 128C. Pretrial Procedure and Documents 128

1. Preliminary Documents 1282. Discovery 131

a. Policy Reasons for Broad Powers of Discovery 132b. Types of Discovery 132

D. The Trial 134E. Levels of Proof and Standards of Review 136

1. Level of Proof at Trial 1362. Standards of Review 136

II. Administrative Process 137A. Rulemaking Processes 139B. Adjudication Processes 140C. Judicial Review of Agency Decisions and the Chevron Standard of

Review 141Discussion Questions 142

Chapter 5 The Research Process 145Introduction 145 I. Ethical and Practical Demands 146 II. The Research Process 146 III. Stage 1: The Research Log, Planning and Background Research 149

A. Facts: Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How 149B. Jurisdiction, Area of Law, and Issue or Search Terms 149C. Research Media Choice 150D. Initial Research Plan 151E. Research in Secondary Sources 151

1. Get an Overview of Area of Law and Underlying Policy Considerations 151

2. Identify Source or Sources of Law 1513. Revise List of Search Terms or Issue Statement 151

LRRW_2021_FM.indd 14 09-12-2020 12:46:03

Contents xv

4. Locate the Applicable Legal Principle 1525. Scavenge Secondary Sources for Citations to Mandatory

Authority 152F. Issue Statement Refinement 152G. Research Plan Refinement 152

IV. Staying Focused 152 V. Practical Skills 153

A. Preserving Research Results 153B. Reading for Research 153C. Planning Project Time 154D. Determining When Research Is Complete 154

VI. Secondary Sources 155A. Hard Copy or Online? 155B. Types of Secondary Sources 156

1. Restatements 156a. Media Choices 158b. How to Cite Restatements 158c. Updating Restatements and Scavenging for Primary

Authority 1582. Treatises and Hornbooks 158

a. Research Methods for Treatises 160b. Media Choices 160c. How to Cite Treatises 160d. Updating Treatises 160

3. Legal Periodicals 160a. Finding an Appropriate Article 161b. Citing Law Review Articles 162c. Updating Law Review Articles 162

4. American Law Reports 162a. How to Find A.L.R. Annotations 163b. Updating A.L.R. Annotations 163c. Citing A.L.R. Annotations 163

5. Legal Encyclopedias 1636. Digests 164

VII. CALR Choices 165A. Fee-Based CALR 165

1. Westlaw Edge and Lexis Advance 1652. Fastcase.com 1663. Bloomberglaw.com 1664. Pacer.gov 1665. Choosing the Best Database 167

B. “Free” Legal Research: Noncommercial, Non-Fee Computer Databases and Crawlers 167

Discussion Questions 168Sample Research Log and Exercise 168Stage 1 Checklist 169

LRRW_2021_FM.indd 15 09-12-2020 12:46:03

Contentsxvi

Chapter 6 Researching and Updating Case Law 171Introduction 171 I. Finding and Verifying Case Law 172

A. Scavenging from Secondary Sources 172B. Using Citators to Verify, Update, and Broaden Research 173

1. Scavenging Cases from Citations Given in a Case 1732. Citators 1733. Using Citators to Verify Case Law 1744. Using Citators to Locate Case Law and Secondary Authority 1765. The Importance of Citators 176

C. Locating Case Law Using Subject Indexes and Headnotes 177D. Term and ‘Natural Language’ Searches on Internet Databases 178

1. Choosing the Appropriate Database 1782. Choosing between Boolean and Full-Sentence Searches 1783. Avoid Boolean and Natural-Language Searches until

You Have Used Other Methods 1794. Tailoring Boolean Searches for Accuracy 179

II. Citing Cases 180A. The Case Name 180

1. Short-Form Case Names 181B. Reporter Information, Volume and Page Numbers 181

1. Parallel Citations 1812. Pinpoint Citations 182

a. Locating Page Numbers 182b. Citing Multiple Pages 182

C. Court and Year 182D. Subsequent History 183E. Short Citation Forms 183

Case Law Research Checklist 184Discussion Exercises: Finding and Citing Case Law 184

Chapter 7 Researching and Interpreting Constitutions, Statutes, Regulations, and International Law 187

I. Statute, Regulation, or Case Law: Which Is It? 188 II. Researching Constitutions 189 III. Researching Statutes 190

A. Locating Statutes 1901. Scavenge from Secondary Sources 1902. Use Subject Indexes to Locate Controlling Statute 1903. Context: Analyze Associated Statutes and Underlying Policy 1914. Locate and Analyze Noted Cases in Annotations 1925. Use Citators to Update and Broaden Case Research 1926. Use Term and Sentence-Form Searches 1927. Research Legislative History If Needed 192

LRRW_2021_FM.indd 16 09-12-2020 12:46:03

Contents xvii

B. Congressional Powers and the Legislative Process 1921. Structure and Functions of Congress 1922. How a Bill Becomes Law 1933. Researching New Statutes 195

IV. Researching and Updating Administrative Regulations 196 V. Interpreting Statutes 196

A. Plain Language 197B. Textualist Approach 201C. Purposive Interpretation 202

1. Documents Generated During the Legislative Process 2022. Weight of Authority in Legislative History 2033. How to Find Legislative History Documents 2034. Controversies Surrounding Legislative History 2045. Interpretations Based on Public Policy 205

VI. International Law and Treaties 206A. Researching International Law Online 206B. U.S. Interpretations of International Law 206

VII. Law and Business 207Exercises 208Checklist for Statutory Research 212Bibliography 212

Chapter 8 Rewriting and Style 213 I. United States Legal Writing Rhetoric 214

A. The Ideal 214B. The Reality 214

II. Rewriting 215 III. Reorganization 215

A. The Macro-Organization of an Objective Memo 216B. Reorganization of the Discussion 217C. Small-Scale Organization of the Rule Section 218

1. Use of Case Law and Avoidance of Laundry Lists 2192. More Than One Problematic Component 2203. Sequence of Cases 2204. Paragraphs Discussing Cases 2205. Incorporating Secondary Authority 220

D. Small-Scale Organization of an Application Section 2221. Structure of the Application Section 2222. Fact-to-Fact Analogy 223

E. Reorganization of the Facts 224F. Reorganization of the Conclusion 224G. Picturing How Sections of a Law Firm Memo Work Together 225

LRRW_2021_FM.indd 17 09-12-2020 12:46:03

Contentsxviii

IV. Editing 225A. Paragraphs 225

1. Paragraph Structure 2252. Topic Sentences 2253. Transitions 226

a. Transitional Sentences 227b. Word or Phrase Transitions 227c. Linking 229

4. Paragraph Length 229B. Editing Sentences 230

1. Sentence Length 2302. Sentence Structure 2313. Paraphrasing and Using Language Consistently 232

C. Editing Details 2331. Paragraph and Sentence Format 2332. Word Choice 2333. Grammar and Punctuation 234

a. Verb Tenses 234b. Articles 234c. Possessive Form 235d. Capitalization 235e. Collective Nouns 235f. Punctuation 236g. That and Which 239

D. Professional Tone 239a. Issues of Style 239b. Citations 240c. Gender-Neutrality and Pronouns 241

V. Proofreading 242Exercise 242Rewriting Checklist 245

Chapter 9 Technology in U.S. Law and Non-Fee CALR 247 I. Technology in the Courts 248

A. Digitized Court Documents 248B. Digitized Courtrooms 249

1. Creating Digitized Courtrooms 2502. Enabling Courtrooms for Those with Special Needs 250

Discussion Questions 250 II. Self-Serve Law 251 III. Virtual Law Practice 251

A. Characteristics of a Virtual Law Practice 2521. Unbundling 2532. Advantages for the Attorney 254

B. Changes to Traditional Law Firms and In-House Counsel 255Discussion Questions 256

LRRW_2021_FM.indd 18 09-12-2020 12:46:03

Contents xix

IV. Legal Drafting 256A. Document Assembly 256B. Analysis of Existing Documents 257C. Document Management Systems 258

Discussion Questions 258 V. “Free” or Non-Fee Internet Legal Research 259

A. Research Strategies 2591. Stage 1: Research 260

a. Legal Dictionaries 260b. Secondary Sources 262

2. Stage 2: Research 263a. Researching Statutes and Treaties 263b. Researching Regulations 263c. Researching and Updating Case Law 264d. Non-U.S. Legal Sources 264e. International Sources 265

3. Stage 3: Updating 265B. Research Methodology: Boolean Searches 265

1. The and Connector 2662. The or Connector 2663. Problems with the Meaning of a Space between Words 2664. Parentheses: Using and and or in the Same Search 2665. Proximity Connectors 2676. Quotations, Pluralization, and Wild Cards 2677. Getting the Most from a Search 268

Exercises: Locating Authorities Using Non-Fee CALR 268

Chapter 10 Advanced Objective Writing 271Introduction 272 I. The Open Research Memo 273

A. Definition of an Open Research Memo 273B. Similarities and Differences between Closed and Open Memos 273

II. Types of Scholarly Articles 274A. Seminar Papers and Master’s Thesis Papers 275B. Law Review Articles 275

III. Subject Choice and Development 277A. Identifying a Particular Issue or Narrow Area 277

1. Hot Topic Search 2772. Comparative Topics 2773. Preemption Check 2784. Avoid Merely Restating the Law or Identifying a Problem —

Propose a Solution 278B. Approaches to Articles 278C. Unanticipated Research Problems 281

LRRW_2021_FM.indd 19 09-12-2020 12:46:03

Contentsxx

IV. The Contents of a Scholarly Article 281A. Thesis Statement and Abstract 281

1. Thesis Statement 2812. Abstract 282

B. Basic Organization of a Scholarly Paper 283C. Footnotes 283

1. String Citations 2842. Discursive Citations 284

D. Plagiarism Warning 2861. Reusing Your Own Work 2872. Disclosing Adverse Sources 2873. Using Confidential Sources 287

V. Time Management and Research Strategies 288A. Avoiding Procrastination 288B. Research Strategy 288C. Storing and Organizing Research for Larger Projects 289D. Reorganizing Research: Pre-prewriting 290

VI. The Writing Process 290A. The Natural Writing Process 291B. Prewriting 293

1. Notecards and Preliminary Notes 2932. Outlining 293

a. Organizational Paradigms for Comparative Projects 294b. Case Charts and Informal Diagrams 296

3. Free-Form Outlining 2974. Dump Drafts 2975. Summary of the Optimal Prewriting Process 297

C. Writing 2981. Problematic Sections 2982. Translation Problems with Comparative Topics 2983. Keeping Track of Citations 299

D. Rewriting 2991. Organization 2992. Content and Scope 299

E. Editing 3001. Signposts and Transitions 3002. Paragraph and Sentence Structure 3003. Style and Tone 301

F. Introductions and Conclusions 301G. Polishing and Proofreading 302H. Final Thoughts 303

Exercise 304Open Memo Checklist 304Scholarly Article Prewriting Checklist 304Generic Scholarly Article Outline 305Bibliography 305

LRRW_2021_FM.indd 20 09-12-2020 12:46:03

Contents xxi

Chapter 11 Preventive Writing: Drafting Contracts 307 I. Concerns in Contract Drafting 308

A. Accurate Language and Avoiding Ambiguity 308B. Careful Punctuation and Word Order 309C. Balance between Provisions for Contingencies and Too Much

Complexity 310D. Consistent Language and Terms 310

II. Background and Preparation 311A. The Initial Client Interview and Legal Research 312B. The Outline 313C. The Term Sheet or Draft Contract 313

1. Term Sheet 3142. The Letter of Intent 314

D. The Contract 3151. Pattern or Formbooks and Other Resources 3152. The Form of a Contract 316

III. The Contract Itself: Content 317A. Title 317B. Date 317C. Introduction (“Caption”) 317D. Background or Recitals 319E. Definitions 321F. Terms (Substantive Provisions) 323

1. Operating Clauses — Parties’ Obligations and Rights 3242. Termination Clauses 3253. Contingency Clauses 3254. Damages and Remedies 3265. Miscellaneous 327

a. Housekeeping Provisions 327b. Provisions for Modification 328

G. Signatures and Dates 328H. Notarization and Witnesses 329

Exercise 329Checklist of Contract Provisions 332Bibliography 333

Appendix: Drafting Advisory Memoranda for Attorneys in the United States 335 I. Visually Approximate the Standard U.S. Office Memo Format 335 II. In Presenting the Legal Analysis, Approximate (as Much as Possible) the

IRAC Structure Used in the United States 336 III. In Addition to Approximating the Structure of a U.S. Advisory

Memorandum, Approximate Common Law Methodology (as Much as Possible) as Well 337

IV. Add an Explanation of Your Legal System’s Methodology as Needed to Help the U.S. Reader Understand the Differences 337

LRRW_2021_FM.indd 21 09-12-2020 12:46:03

Contentsxxii

V. Remember to Use Transitions and to Edit and Carefully Proofread Your Memo 337

VI. Providing Updates on a Number of Topics 338 VII. Sample Memorandum: The Bridesmaids Dresses in Chile 338

Index 343

LRRW_2021_FM.indd 22 10-12-2020 14:27:37