Legal Research Certification Program (Prepare to Practice): Home

Welcome to Prepare to Practice: Legal Research. This is a certification program that will be added to your transcript and can be added to your resume and LinkedIn accounts. It is developed to make legal research part of your law school experience. By completing the program, or any part of the program, you will be a better researcher which will save you time and effort in law school and in the practice of law. The tips learned here, by professional law librarians, will expand your understanding of the law and help you get to the heart of a problem as efficiently as possible.

Students may begin the certification program after completing Lawyering 1 and Lawyering 2, or upon approval by the library director.

The P2P program is a legal research certification program. It is made up of a series of online modules, in person lectures, and computer tutorials that will help you become proficient at legal research.

There are 6 mandatory classes or modules required for the completion of the program. You must also choose at least 6 of the Elective classes or workshops to complete the program. There will be approximately 8 to 10 elective classes taught each year. Upon completion of the modules and elective classes a legal research certification note will be added to your official transcript. All classes must be completed before graduation.

Mandatory classes/modules are designed to be taken in order, so after the completion of the first module, you may then move on to the second module. Modules are cumulative, so it is not advised to go out of order.

Please fill out the following form to indicate your intention to begin the Prepare to Practice Legal Research Certification Program.

The following workshops are planned for the '23- '24 school year. There will be additional opportunities for workshop credit throughout the semester. If you are signed up for the certification program you will receive an email letting you know about all upcoming workshops. They will also be announced in the school announcements emails and on the Boley website. All workshops will be presented twice, at 12:10 and 4:30pm. Fall '23 workshops are all scheduled for Wood Hall Room 8. Spring workshop rooms will be announced closer to January.

Wednesday, September 20, ChatGPT and Your Legal Research- Meredith Kostek

Wednesday, October 19, Business and Industry- Jim Kite

Wednesday, November 1, Agency Tracking- Meredith Kostek

Wednesday, November 15, Washington State Legal Research- Jim Kite

Tuesday, January 16, Finding Environmental Law Secondary Sources- Rob Truman

Tuesday, February 20, EU Research- Kian Pakdel

Tuesday, March 5, Advanced Terms and Connectors- Kian Pakdel

Tuesday, March 19, Getting ready for your summer legal job or new associate position- TBA

We're here to help. Contact a research librarian for help with an assignment, project, or resource. 

Hours:
Mon-Fri, 10am-4pm
503-768-6688
lawlib@lclark.edu

Reference Hours
Reserve a Virtual Study Room