All Chapters Included
Legal Research, Analysis, and
Writing
Sixth Edition
Joanne B. Hames
De Anza College
Yvonne Ekern
Santa Clara University Law School
1
, ISBN-13: 978-0-13-455984-1
Table of
Contents
To the Instructor iv
Chapter 1: Introduction to Legal Research, Writing and Analysis 1
Chapter 2: The Starting Point: Analyzing Facts and Identifying Legal Issues 7
Chapter 3: Finding and Analyzing Case Law 12
Chapter 4: How to Read and Summarize a Case Law Decision 20
Chapter 5: Constitutions, Statutes, and Administrative Regulations 27
Chapter 6: Statutory and Constitutional Analysis 40
Chapter 7: Secondary Sources 48
Chapter 8: Digests 58
Chapter 9: Validating Your Research: Using Shepards, Keycite and other Citators 65
Chapter 10: Introduction to Lexis Advance, Westlaw, & Bloomberg Law 75
Chapter 11: Computer-Assisted Legal Research (CALR): The Freely Accessible
Internet 81 Chapter 12: Basic Legal Writing Tools 8
Chapter 13: The Memorandum of Law: Predictive Legal Writing 90
Chapter 14: Writing to the Court: Persuasive Writing 95
Chapter 15: Motion Practice: Research and Writing Issues 100
Chapter 16: Legal Correspondence 104
Testbank 123
2
,ORGANIZATION OF LEGAL RESEARCH, ANALYSIS AND WRITING, 6/E
Chapter 1 presents an introduction to legal research and writing as well as an overview of
the legal system, with an emphasis on the way that laws originate. The distinction between
federal and state laws is explained. This material provides even beginning students with the
basic information and concepts needed to successfully undertake legal research.
Chapter 2 introduces students to the beginning steps of legal research—analyzing the facts
and issues to be researched.
3
, Chapters 3 through 6 explore the primary sources of law, cases, statutes, and
constitutions. These chapters explain the publication and organization of these materials
as well as how the laws should be read and analyzed. Case briefing, statutory analysis, and
the IRAC method of analysis are covered.
Chapters 7 and 8 explore numerous secondary sources.
Chapter 9 explains Shepard’s, KeyCite, and other citators.
Chapters 10 and 11 explore Computer-Assisted Legal Research, including Westlaw and
Lexis Advance although the use of the Internet as a research tool is included in all chapters.
Chapters 12 through 14 and chapter 16 cover basic legal writing tools and the
different types of predictive and persuasive legal writing, including memorandum of law,
memorandum of points and authorities, trial briefs and appellate briefs, and legal
correspondence. These chapters also review the basic analysis methods (e.g. IRAC)
introduced in earlier chapters and show how these methods are incorporated into more
formal legal writing.
Chapter 15 covers research and writing issues specifically related to motion
practice. Chapter 16 covers legal correspondence.
The chapter titles and general subject matter remain the same as in the fifth edition
For courses covering only legal writing the following chapters are appropriate:
Chapters 1 and 2 Introductory Material (These chapters may be quickly reviewed
depending on students‘ educational background.)
Chapter 4 How to Brief a Case
Chapter 6 Statutory and Constitutional Analysis
Chapter 12 Basic Legal Writing Tools
Chapter 13 Predictive Legal Writing: The Memorandum of
Law Chapter 14 Persuasive Writing: Writing to the Court
Chapter 15 Motion Practice: Research and Writing
Issues Chapter 16 Legal Correspondence
Appendix C Basic Citation Reference
Guide Appendix E Case Briefing Practice
4