Monday, 4:00 P.M. Professor Maher

Room 547

Welcome to Advanced Research and Writing! The goals for our class will be:

(1) to refine your skills in researching environmental law and other areas subject to a complex regulatory structure;

(2) to give you a practitioner's perspective on the process of researching environmental issues;

(3) to develop your knowledge of the statutory and administrative processes;

(4) to provide training in specialized environmental research sources, including specialty reporters, loose-leaf services, computer databases, and information available on the Internet and World Wide Web;

(5) to refine your understanding of research as a process that requires planning and strategy;

(6) to understand the economics of research, including how to make cost effective decisions about when to use print and on-line sources;

(7) to understand how to research non-legal sources, recalling that in the end most cases will turn on your command of the facts as well as the law; and,

(8) to continue working on the process of writing. Lawyers are wordsmiths, and a high quality work product of necessity depends on the ability to present the results of research in a clear, well organized format.

Materials

The text for the course will be C. Kunz, D. Schmedemann, M. Downs, and A. Bateson, The Process of Legal Research (4th ed. 1996) (hereafter "Kunz"). Because excellence in research and writing has so many aspects, we will also have the benefit of instruction from a member of the library staff who is both a librarian and a lawyer. Further, representatives from LEXIS and WestLaw will help to familiarize us with the range of libraries dealing with environmental law in their databases.

Attendance

Your success as lawyers will depend on knowing how and when to utilize every tool available to give your clients thorough and efficient answers to their legal problems. Accordingly, your attendance at all class sessions, including library and computer training sessions, is mandatory.

Assignments

During the course of the year, you will have several research exercises. Those from the Kunz text are generally designed to ensure that you are skilled at using particular sources. You will also have two memorandum assignments. The first assignment is limited to ten pages of discussion and will count as 35% of your grade. The second is limited to twelve pages and will count as 50% of your grade. In order to duplicate the lawyering experience, please keep time sheets documenting the hours worked on the second assignment, and prepare a bill for the client. To the extent you do not believe the client should be billed for all the time expended, please prepare a short memo for the firm's management committee, explaining why you are writing off your time. The remainder of your grade will depend on satisfactory completion of the research exercises, and on class attendance and participation.

In doing the research exercises, you may work in groups. In practice, lawyers usually work together and the ability to collaborate effectively is a skill you will need. With respect to the written assignments, please adhere to the policies in the attached "Chicago-Kent Ethics Guidelines for Legal Writing Courses."

I will be happy to answer any questions you may have. You may leave a message at my office (312-558-8348), and I will be happy to return your call.

The following are your class assignments:

CLASS 1

Monday, January 24         Maher

Introduction to environmental law. Explanation of the format of the course. General overview of environmental law and research of environmental issues. Sources of law, including statutes, regulations, administrative rulings and the CFR.

For the next class, please read Kunz, Chapter 7, pp. 175-217. Do Kunz, Chapter 7, Problem Set 3 (p. 473), using Research Situation C (p. 469).

CLASS 2

January 31                       Maher

Discussion of the Chapter 7 research exercise.

Introduction to the specialized tools of research in environmental law and how to use them. Loose leaf services, specialized Shepard's, specialized treatises, etc.

First memorandum assignment DISTRIBUTED. Explanation of required format, page limitations, style considerations, percentage of class grade. DUE MARCH 13th at the beginning of class.

Please begin researching and analyzing the first memorandum assignment, so that we can discuss your questions for the next class. Also for the next class, please read Kunz, Chapter 9, pp. 273-325 and pp. 37-38.

 

CLASS 3

February 7                       Library Staff

Finding and using administrative materials: the Code of Federal Regulations, the Federal Register, and on-line sources for administrative materials.

Maher

Questions on first assignment.

CLASS 4

February 14                     Westlaw Representative

Westlaw training in Computer Lab 760 for the first hour. Review of the fundamentals of Westlaw research. Using environmental law databases.

Maher

Further discussion of the tools and methods of research in environmental law. Discuss first memorandum assignment. Answer questions.

For the next class, please do Kunz, Chapter 9, Problem Set 3 (p. 501) using Research Situation C (p. 488).

CLASS 5

February 21                      Maher

Answer questions on the first assignment. Discussion of research exercises. The role of the EPA in an environmental practice.

LEXIS Representative

Advanced LEXIS training in Computer Lab 760 for the second hour. Review the fundamentals of computerized legal research in conjunction with statutory and administrative materials. Using the environmental law libraries in LEXIS.

For the next class, please read Kunz, Chapter 8, pp. 231-272.

 

CLASS 6

February 28                     On-line Tutorial

Please do the on-line tutorial on legislative histories before class. It is at Simply click on the jump link to "Legislative History." The tutorial covers: compiling a legislative history; the legislative process; committee hearings, reports, and other steps in the legislative process; the significance of legislative histories in interpretation of statutes; how to find the relevant legislative materials; state legislative histories.

Maher

The use of legislative histories in environmental practice.

Answer questions on first assignment.

For the next class, please do Kunz, Chapter 8, Problem Set (pp. 481), using Research Situation C (p. 469). Also, please read Kunz, Chapter 11, pp. 377-385.

 

Spring Break - March 6^th - 10th

CLASS 7

March 13

FIRST MEMORANDUM ASSIGNMENT DUE  AT THE  BEGINNING  OF CLASS.

 

Library Staff

The Economics of Legal Research: Coordinating conventional and on-line research strategies.

Empirical research. Other information sources for factual data and statistics. Using Dow Jones.

For the next class, please do the Chapter 11 problem set beginning on page 515, using research situation C (p. 512).

 

CLASS 8

March 20                         Maher

Second Memorandum assignment DISTRIBUTED.

Discuss issues, format, style, page limits, percentage of course grade, and possible research strategies. Due May 1st at the beginning of class.

                                        Westlaw Representative

Advanced WestLaw training in Computer Lab 760 for the second hour. Research strategies and using the environmental law libraries effectively. Finding empirical and factual data.

CLASS 9

March 27                         LEXIS Representative

Advanced LEXIS training in Computer Lab 760 for the first hour. Honing research strategies. Using the special libraries effectively. Finding empirical and factual data using NEXIS. Tips for efficient and quick searches.

 

CLASS 10

April 3                              Library Staff

International Legal Materials: Treaties; Executive Agreements; IGO and NGO materials; the effect of international law on today’s environmental practice.

 

CLASS 11

April 10                             Maher

First memorandum returned. Discussion of research, analysis, organization, and style. Common problems. Answer questions about the second memorandum assignment.

Discuss research exercise.

 

CLASS 12

April 17                            Maher

No class. Conferences on the second assignment.

CLASS 13

April 24                            Maher

The practitioner's perspective: Responding to client problems in an environmental law practice.

 

CLASS 14

May 1                              Maher

SECOND MEMORANDUM ASSIGNMENT DUE AT THE BEGINNING OF CLASS.

 

HAVE A WONDERFUL SUMMER!!