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LAW-2049 Massachusetts Legal Research
Mr. Richard L. Buckingham, Ms. Susan Vaughn,
2 credits day; 2 credits evening.
WEB-Web course-Courses for which more than one-third of the information is online. Students
must have completed 28 credits to enroll in a web course. No more than 15 credits of web
courses may be counted toward the JD.
This is an advanced legal research class that will cover resources specific to Massachusetts
practice. Resources covered will include primary sources (cases, statutes, regulations,
administrative decisions, etc.), secondary sources (practice materials, treatises, law review
articles, etc.), and research tools like citators and West’s Key Number system. Large,
comprehensive databases like Westlaw Next, Lexis Advance, and Bloomberg Law will be
covered, as well as specialized databases like those from the Social Law Library, MCLE, and
Fastcase. The course will also cover research planning and strategy to promote cost-effective and
efficient research.
The class will be taught fully online and asynchronously, with no in-person or synchronous
online meetings. Students will have weekly deadlines to complete assigned readings and view
assigned presentations and will be required to interact regularly with each other and with the
instructors in the online discussion forum to show their understanding of concepts from the
readings/presentations.
The grade for the course will be based on assignments, quizzes, participation in discussion
forums, and research projects.
Elective Course
<<Course Updated: July 01, 2016>>