Tuesday, 6:00 P.M. Professor Quinn

Room 581

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 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 the work 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 12 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. I am available on E-Mail, or, alternatively, you may leave a message at my office and I will be happy to return your call.

The following are your class assignments:

CLASS 1

January 18                       Quinn

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 25                        Quinn

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 FEBRUARY 29th 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 37-38.

 

CLASS 3

February 1                        Library Staff

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

 

CLASS 4

February 8                        Westlaw Representative

Advanced Westlaw training in Computer Lab 760 for the first hour. Review the fundamentals of computerized legal research in conjunction with statutory and administrative materials. Using the environmental law libraries in Westlaw. Introduction to Keycite 

Quinn

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

 

CLASS 5

February 15                    Quinn

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

LEXIS Representative

LEXIS training in Computer Lab 760 for the second hour. Review of the fundamentals of LEXIS research on the Web. Using environmental law databases.

For the next class, please read Kunz, Chapter 8, pp. 231-272. Also please do Kunz, Chapter 9, Problem Set 3 (p.501) using Research Situation C (p. 488).

 

CLASS 6

February 22                     On-Line Tutorial

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

Quinn

Answer questions on the first assignment. The importance of legislative history in environmental practice.

For the next class, please do Kunz, Chapter 8, problem (p. 481), using research situation C (p. 469). Also for the next class, please read Kunz, Chapter 11, pp. 377-385.

CLASS 7

February 29             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.

March 6^th through 10^th - No Class - Spring Break

CLASS 8

March 14                          Quinn

Second Memorandum assignment DISTRIBUTED.

Discuss issues, format, style, page limits, percentage of course grade, and possible research strategies. Due APRIL 25 at the beginning of class.

Westlaw Representative

Advanced Westlaw training in Computer Lab 760 for the second hour. Honing research strategies. Using the special libraries effectively. Finding empirical and factual data using Westlaw.

CLASS 9

March 21                         LEXIS Representative

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

 

CLASS 10

March 28                         Library Staff

International legal materials: treaties; Executive Agreements; IGO and NGO materials; the effect oof international law on today’s environmental practice.

Quinn

Answer questions on the second assignment. Discuss research strategies and organization.

CLASS 11

April 4                            Quinn

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

 

CLASS 12

April 11                           Quinn

No class. Conferences on the second assignment.

CLASS 13

April 18                           Quinn

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

CLASS 14

April 25                            Quinn

SECOND MEMORANDUM ASSIGNMENT DUE AT THE BEGINNING OF CLASS.

 

HAVE A WONDERFUL SUMMER VACATION!!