Practical Sources

1. Practical Sources Spring 2010

2. GOALS:Expose students to types of practical sources, purposes those serve, and the order in which to use them.

3. Practical Tip #1 Organize your research by keeping a log of the work you’ve done. That way, you don’t go back to a source you’ve already used and you know where to find something that you remember coming across once before.

4. Practical Tip #2 You might want to begin by looking at some of the sources that really apply only at the very end of the case because those sources answer “what is the best or worst thing that can happen in the case?” and help you establish your goals.

5. For elements and leads to casesYou never have to worryJust find the books that have the court’sInstructions for the Jury.

6. Jury Instructionsclearly lay out the elements of your issues and have footnotes directing you to cases.

7. If inj'ries are significant--Your client's really hurtUse Pennsylvania DamagesOr else use What's It Worth?

8. When you need to know how badly your client could suffer if he loses or else how much to offer or accept in a settlement, use Pennsylvania Damages & What’s It Worth? . These two books the report how much money plaintiffs have won for particular injuries.

9. Practical Tip #3 Once you know whether you’re dealing with a state cause of action or a federal cause of action, find a good jurisdiction-specific encyclopedic type of source in which you can peruse your substantive law issues. (Remember ALR, Corpus Juris Secundum, American Jurisprudence.) At this point, you are beginning to craft your arguments. These sources will lead you to the main primary sources.

10. EncycloPEdia ArticlesHave footnotes on their pagesFor every source of primary lawIn all your research stages.

11. Summary of Pennsylvania Jurisprudence • West’s Pennsylvania Law Encyclopedia • Corpus Juris Secundum • American Jurisprudence

12. Practical Tip #4 When you have your first filing done (complaint or answer) and have already planned your substantive theory, you need to start researching the strategic components of your case. You have to think about what evidence to collect and by what methods and from what kinds of witnesses to collect it.

13. There are two broad categories of sources from which to find the hands-on advice you need: • Litigation guides • CLE materials-continuing education course publications.

14. The litigation guides are organized by legal topic or else by stage of litigation. Litigation guides: see call # range KF 8900 and Proof of Facts Am Jur Trials Causes of Action

15. Proof of Facts and Am Jur Trialsand Causes of Action, tooAll have source leads, lists, and documents,And strategies for you.

16. The CLE materials are available by jurisdiction and then cataloged within subject areas. Handbook of Pennsylvania Evidence Litigating the Contemporary Product Liability Suit

17. NOTE: If you are not preparing for litigation, then instead of a litigation guide, you want to look for a transaction guide like Pennsylvania Keystone. A transaction guide will help you prepare documents and think about meetings regarding business deals, real estate transfers, certain estate arrangements...

18. If your work is all on paperAnd no one's taking sides,Get strategies and documentsFrom good transaction guides.

19. Practical Tip #5 As you make each strategic decision in your case (ie: deciding which issues to raise OR which procedure to apply) look for ALL applicable court rules. Look in the local rules, look in the state rules, and look in publications by the courts that are intended to help you use those rules.

20. The rules of court are tediousAnd need illuminationSee Goodrich Amram or Wright andMiller's Encyclopediation.

21. Goodrich Amram • Standard PA Practice • Allegheny County Ct. of Comm. Pleas Practice Manual • Western District Court- Attorney Handbook (online at http://www.pawd.uscourts.gov/) • Moore’s Federal Practice

22. Practical Tip #6 There is a category of resources called ‘form books.’ Typically, when you find a complete form in one of those books, it means that the items in the form are dictated by statute or regulation. Usually, you will find only sample paragraphs that you can mix and match or edit. Do not rely on a form book form without verifying its validity by researching the law in primary sources.

23. And if it's just a phrase you want,A bit of boilerplate,See books of forms for paragraphs Or sentences to state.

24. Dunlap Hanna Pennsylvania Forms • West’s Pennsylvania Forms • Am Jur Pleading and Practice Forms

25. Now for the whole poem…

26. For elements and leads to casesYou never have to worryJust find the books that have the court’sInstructions for the Jury

27. If inj'ries are significant--Your client's really hurtUse Pennsylvania DamagesOr else use What's It Worth?

28. EncycloPEdia ArticlesHave footnotes on their pagesFor every source of primary lawIn all your research stages.

29. Proof of Facts and Am Jur Trialsand Causes of Action, tooAll have source leads, lists, and documents,And strategies for you.

30. If your work is all on paperAnd no one's taking sides,Get strategies and documentsFrom good transaction guides.

31. The rules of court are tediousAnd need illuminationSee Goodrich Amram or Wright andMiller's Encyclopediation.

32. And if it's just a phrase you want,A bit of boilerplate,See books of forms for paragraphs Or sentences to state.