SUMMER RESOURCES

Legal Research Podcasts

The Suffolk University Law School Library teamed up with the Legal Practice Skills Program to create podcasts on conducting legal research. The first two podcasts, on finding primary and secondary authority, are now available on iTunesU.

These legal research refreshers will remind you about the different types of primary and secondary legal authority and offer tips on how best to find them. Each podcast is under 10 minutes long and is accompanied by a downloadable PDF guide.

Westlaw & LexisNexis Summer Access

Westlaw: Westlaw summer access begins on June 1st and ends on August 1st.  Students who don't qualify for an extension will have 2 hours of access per month in June and July and will receive a warning when they've used 90% of their monthly access.

To file for an extension, go to Westlaw and enter your password.  The extension link is on the main Westlaw page - look on the lower left margin of the screen for the blue vertical banner with the beach scene on it.

You are eligible to register for an extension if you are:

• taking summer law school classes
• doing law review or journal work
• working as a research assistant for a professor
• involved with Moot Court
• working at an unpaid/non-profit public interest internship/externship
• doing pro-bono work required for graduation 

LexisNexis:   If you do not register for a summer extension, your Lexis law school ID will be limited to only career materials as of June 1, 2008.  Graduating students must register for summer access to extend their IDs to August 1, 2008.

You may be eligible to extend your full access privileges during the summer to August 1, 2008.  In order to do so, log on to LexisNexis and register for summer full access through the summer access registration link.  The registration process requires you to certify a legitimate use over the summer to be granted full access.

Legitimate Uses:

• summer law school classes
• school-related research assignment
• moot court research
• law review or journal research
• working as a research assistant for a professor
• non-profit externship
• unpaid internship/externship
• bar review

Other Electronic Resources

Don’t forget about all the other electronic resources you can use over the summer, while your Westlaw & Lexis access may be limited.  Take a look at the law library’s list of research databases. Students registered to return for the fall semester can access many of these databases from off campus during the summer by simply typing in their name and ID number as they appear on their Suffolk Law School IDs.  For a more comprehensive, annotated guide to doing Legal Research on the Web, including free legal research sites, take a look at this guide. 

Land the Job of your Dreams

Network: Use the West Legal Directory via Westlaw or Martindale Hubbell via LexisNexis or Martindale.com to find Suffolk grads, or graduates of your undergraduate school who are practicing law in your area of interest, in the city where you’d like to practice. Contact the Career Development Office to access the Alumni Career Network database and contact Suffolk Law grads who are practicing in your area of interest and have volunteered to talk to Suffolk law students and recent graduates.

Gather background Info: In a competitive job market doing your homework before you interview is vital. Check to see if the attorney you’re interviewing with wrote any law review or bar journal articles, was mentioned in general and legal newspapers or was the attorney of note in any cases; find opinions written by a judge you want to land a clerkship with; and check SEC filings and company profiles on Westlaw & Lexis.  For more detailed tips on landing the job of your dreams, see this guide and check out the display case outside the fifth floor reading room.

Ask For Help

Whether you’re doing research for a professor or getting settled into your new job, don’t hesitate to ask a Suffolk University Law School Reference Librarian for help.  Stop by the reference desk on the sixth floor of the library, straight ahead as you walk through the main doors, give us a call (617-573-8516), or send us an email (lawref@suffolk.edu).