Volume II, Chapter §2.7
The Foundations of Legal Research

Layouts: Going on a Scavenger Hunt

§2.7
		Introduction
		Finding a Law Library
		Lecture Notes
		Examples of Law Books
		Commonly Asked Questions

Introduction
This exercise is primarily designed to help you become familiar with the layout of the online legal research sources and your local law library. Don't feel like you need to take notes from the cases or research within them at this time. Just find them, look through a few pages, and move on. Altogether, this exercise should take 15 or 20 minutes for each.

Click to Zoom!
Image Magnifier: When you see images on pages related to legal research, try clicking on them. In most browsers they will magnify for a closer look. The above picture may be the most beautiful law library in the world. It is the law library at the Iowa State Capital.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Time Sheets

Click on the examples of Time Sheets below to zoom in and compare. Yours should look like the Good example.


The Good	The Bad	The Ugly

Time Sheet Download

Click here to download a Time Sheet that automatically adds up your billable hours. You should keep track of any research or writing you do on behalf of your client, including the Audio Companion research assignments below as well as other assignments in this chapter.

Finding a Law Library . . .

Need help locating a law library? Select the link below. These Facebook pages provide information about dozens of law libraries, including hours, location, availability to the public, and links to the library's Website . Simply click on the Info link on the left column of the Facebook page when it opens.

Lecture Notes . . .

Your First Law Books
The books you will be researching in depth later in this chapter are Am. Jur. 2d, C.J.S., and American Law Reports. Click on the links below to get a preview. As you view them, though, notice the structure of the pages.

Can you tell which of the two are encyclopedias just from their structure? (The two that have almost identical layouts are the encyclopedias.)

In legal research, form follows function. If you understand the form, you will soon understand the function.