6 Best Legal Research Courses For Beginners
Want to learn about Law, Court proceedings, or Legal Precedents? Start with these 5 Best Legal Research Courses and learn Legal Research from scratch.
Research can be a daunting prospect for experienced professionals - no denying it. Regardless of whether you are studying law or working in your own practice, Legal Research plays an essential role in making informed decisions, finding convincing arguments, and expanding your working knowledge.
Legal research is the process of identifying and obtaining the information needed to support legal decision-making. In the broadest sense, legal research encompasses all steps taken, from analyzing the facts of the problem to applying the findings of the investigation.
Keeping this in mind, here at Coursesity, we have curated some of the Best Online Legal Research Courses with certification. Hope that you will find the best course for you to learn how to find answers to legal questions by reviewing legal precedents, quoting briefs, and conducting court proceedings.
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Top Legal Research Courses List
1. Legal Research 101: Primary Authorities
Learn Legal Research step by step and use primary authority using print resources.
In this course, you will:
- Gain confidence by starting a legal research project
- Learn how to find state and federal primary authority using print resources
- Learn what makes law "primary" and the importance of using primary authority in legal documents
- Understand basic legal terminology relevant to this course.
With this Legal Research course, you will learn how to find state and federal statutes. You will learn how you can read a case citation and find case law using headnote topics and key numbers under the American Digest System.
Plus, the course will teach you how to find state & federal regulations and learn (and this one is particularly important) the steps to Shepardize any state or federal statute, case law, or regulation.
You can take Legal Research 101: Primary Authorities certificate course on Udemy.
Course rating: 4.3 out of 5.0 ( 66 Ratings total)
Duration: 1 h 30 m
Certificate: Certificate on completion
2. Think Like a Lawyer to Make Decisions and Solve Problems Online Class
Learn how to use the legal method to make decisions and solve problems in a world full of ambiguity and change.
The course includes:
- Establishing your Guiding Principles
- Defining your Goals
- Identifying Stakeholder Interests
- Gathering Facts
- Accepting Disagreement
With this Legal Research course, you will learn how to think like a lawyer and employ the legal method of decision-making. A process that will help you to eliminate emotional reactivity, confirmation bias, and other decision-making pitfalls in favor of evidentiary-based analysis.
It also highlights key aspects of decision-making and problem-solving, like identifying stakeholders affected in any decision, the importance of asking the right questions, identifying and prioritizing your goals, and exercising critical listening skills.
You can take the Think Like a Lawyer to Make Decisions and Solve Problems Online Class certification course on LinkedIn Learning.
Course rating: 61,521 total enrollments
Duration: 28 m
Certificate: Certificate on completion
3. Legal Research 101: Online Resources
Learn Legal Research step by step.
In this course, you will learn:
- How to use Westlaw, Lexis, and HeinOnline.
- Conducting more relevant searches using any Internet browser.
For the beginning legal researcher (and even for many seasoned litigants), legal research can be pretty scary. This course will walk you through "how to use" online resources that can help remove some of the scary-ness.
This Legal Research course teaches you how to use some of the more popular online legal databases like Westlaw, Lexis, and HeinOnline. Here, you will be exposed to both Natural Language and Boolean (aka Terms and Connectors) search techniques using both basic and advanced search options.
You can take the Legal Research 101: Online Resources certification course on Udemy.
Course rating: 4.7 out of 5.0 ( 29 Ratings total)
Duration: 1 h
Certificate: Certificate on completion
4. Introduction to Studying Law
Explore how the law impacts your everyday life, how to read critically, and consider the difference between legal, moral, and social duties with the University of Law.
In this course, you will:
- Understand how the law impacts elements of everyday life.
- Gain a critical awareness of the interplay between law and morality.
- Learn to critically read a text and make meaningful notes.
- Develop an argument in an academic context.
- Select an appropriate research methodology using a range of sampling and questionnaire techniques.
Learn Legal Research from scratch and prepare yourself to begin a degree in the field of law. Initially, you will understand how the law impacts elements of your everyday life and will gain a critical awareness of the relationship between legality and morality.
You’ll then learn how to critically read a text and make meaningful notes, and will learn how to develop an argument within an academic context, preparing you for studying at university or law school.
Moreover, you will learn how to select an appropriate research methodology for a specific research problem using a range of sampling, quantitative, and questionnaire techniques - a valuable and useful skill for your undergraduate law studies.
You can take Introduction to Studying Law certification course on Futurelearn.
Course rating: 4.3 out of 5.0 ( 23 Ratings total)
Duration: 6 h
Certificate: Certificate on completion
5. Legal Research 101: Secondary Authority
Providing context in a confusing world.
In this course, you will:
- Learn Legal Research from scratch.
- Understand Secondary authority and how to navigate around them.
- Distinguish between primary and secondary authorities.
The reason people even use secondary authorities is to help provide context for the law (i.e. cases, codes, regulations) they've found. They tell you how the law can be used in your case just by moving the facts around.
In this Legal Research course, you will be exposed to a variety of secondary authorities. You will also learn how to navigate these secondary authorities, and why they might be useful to you, and in what context they might be useful.
Designed as a beginning course, it also helps you if you are a seasoned litigant as a refresher course to help offer suggestions on other resources that can be useful.
You can take Legal Research 101: Secondary Authority certification course on Udemy.
Course rating: 4.4 out of 5.0 ( 25 Ratings total)
Duration: 1 h 30 m
Certificate: Certificate on completion
6. Legal Research 101: Free Legal Websites
Finding and Using Free (and, actually, useful) Legal Websites.
In this course, you will:
- Discover where to find free (and useful) websites to help with your Legal Research.
- Learn to locate local (Superior Court) forms.
- Discover where to find free (general) legal forms online.
- Learn how to locate an attorney or expert witnesses.
This Legal Research course will help you learn about free Legal websites that will offer you information relating to state and federal codes and regulations. Next, you will discover legal websites about local superior courts and websites to help you locate an attorney in whatever area of practice you need help with.
Plus, you will discover free legal websites to help you locate primary and secondary authorities as well as general legal and business forms.
You can take Legal Research 101: Free Legal Websites certification course on Udemy.
Course rating: 4.5 out of 5.0 ( 20 Ratings total)
Duration: 1 h 30 m
Certificate: Certificate on completion
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