Law Firm Legal Research and Writing

Question 1

What is 'primary authority' in legal research?

Accepted Answer

The law itself, including constitutions, statutes, regulations, and case law

Answer

Primary authority consists of the actual law — constitutions, statutes, regulations, and judicial opinions — which courts are bound to follow.

Question 2

What is the purpose of a 'case brief' in legal practice?

Accepted Answer

A concise summary of a court opinion including facts, issues, holding, and reasoning

Answer

A case brief is a structured summary of a judicial opinion used to quickly understand the case's key facts, legal questions, holding, and the court's reasoning.

Question 3

What does it mean to 'Shepardize' a case?

Accepted Answer

To check whether a case is still good law using Shepard's Citations on Lexis

Answer

Shepardizing a case means using Shepard's Citations (available on LexisNexis) to verify whether the case is still valid law and hasn't been overruled or limited.

Question 4

What is the Westlaw equivalent of Shepardizing a case?

Accepted Answer

KeyCite

Answer

KeyCite is Westlaw's citator service that serves the same function as Shepard's, allowing attorneys to verify whether a case remains good law.

Question 5

What is a 'memorandum of law' used for internally at a law firm?

Accepted Answer

To objectively analyze a legal issue and provide an attorney with a thorough assessment of the law

Answer

An internal legal memorandum presents a balanced, objective analysis of a legal question, helping attorneys understand the strengths and weaknesses of a position.

Law Firm Practice Test

Law Firm Practice Test

Law Firm Legal Research and Writing