Students in all grade levels may have to write a legal research paper in order to provide information about a legal case or as part of a law class. Many students take law classes in high school or undergraduate programs. However, most legal research papers will be written as part of a law school curriculum by students that are studying the law.
A legal research paper can come in many forms. However, the key ingredient for every legal research paper is that the topic has to do with something about the legal system. Some legal research papers may focus on one particular court case. Other legal research papers may focus on specific Supreme Court Justices, events in history, or situations in which the legal system failed. Therefore, when a student is assigned a legal research paper topic, the student may have to write about a wide variety of sub-topics.
In some cases, a legal research paper will reflect on information that a student is studying in class. For example, if an undergraduate communications student is studying about intellectual property rights, then the student may have to write his or her legal research paper in response to a particular intellectual property case. The student may also have to write about the fact that technology is much faster than the legal system, making it necessary for the law to change on a regular basis in order to keep up with technology.
Students writing legal research papers should always consult direct sources. Some students may benefit by reading commentaries on legal decisions. However, most students need to read the actual court case itself in order to ensure that the information they find is accurate. In order to find accurate information about any legal case, students may refer to Lexus Nexus, which is a database that makes legal research possible. The database is used by students and professional attorneys.
Students should also keep detailed notes about the cases as they review each court case. The detailed notes will make it easier for the student to create the actual legal research paper without missing any important fact or idea.
Writing a legal research paper is very similar to writing any other type of research paper. However, unlike many other topics, students writing legal research papers have one database where they can access their primary sources for any case that they need to research: Lexus Nexus. Having this primary resource helps to ensure reliability and accuracy of the information that they find. It also helps to ensure that students are able to gain access to information fast and efficiently, which is not always possible with other topics.
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