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The University of Alabama School of Law WordmarkThe University of Alabama School of Law

Prepare to Practice Resources

General

While at Alabama Law, you've learned about a variety of resources and techniques that will be helpful in approaching research and writing assignments. This guide will help serve as a quick reference tool for real-life research problems assigned to you this summer.

The law librarians at the Bounds Law Library are happy to help you with any questions you might have about the type of research you are likely to perform in your respective summer internship organizations. We can help identify research materials that may be useful for your particular area of focus, including jurisdiction-specific resources.

"Ideal Associate"

Below are some qualities of the “ideal associate” as published in white paper based on a survey of law firms conducted by Thomson-Reuters (Westlaw):

 

KNOW UNDERSTAND CONDUCT
  • How to identify legal issues
  • How to formulate a research plan
  • Value of secondary sources
  • When to stop
  • When to dig deeper
  • When to ask for help
  • What law firms expect
  • practice-specific sources
  • Finding tools & aids
  • How to survey several jurisdictions
  • Finding statutes by subject
  • Sample forms, templates, and clauses
  • Solid legal writing
  • Document preparation
  • Multi-format research
  • Efficient, cost-effective research
  • Verify 'currentness'
  • Effective use of primary authorities

 

Questions to Ask

Before you get started, it's best to learn as much about your new job as possible. There are several questions you're going to want to ask before you start in your new position. Some examples are:

  1. Does the organization have a law librarian or research attorney?
  2. Does the organization pay for their own subscription to commercial databases such as Westlaw and Lexis? If they do, do they have a preference for whether you use their subscription or the one you get through school?
  3. Does the job use databases that you haven't used in law school, such as Law360, Securities Mosaic, or LexMachina? If so, it's probably a good idea to learn a bit about them before you start.
  4. Does the job have any "go-to" resources?
  5. Are there sources you shouldn't use?
  6. How will the job want you to bill your time?

Summer Access to Bloomberg, Lexis, and Westlaw

The three major legal databases each have policies concerning summer access by law students. Please review the below information carefully and ensure you do not use any database outside the parameters as this can result in having your account suspended 

BLOOMBERG LEXISNEXIS WESTLAW

Students may use their academic account for any employment setting:

  • law firms
  • corporations
  • judicial clerkships

Make sure your employer approves of using a personal academic account for research.

If you have any questions about the policy, please contact your Bloomberg Law Client Service Partner Stefanie (Slavens) Schuette, Esq. at sslavens@bloombergindustry.com

Students may use their academic account for any employment setting:

  • law firms
  • corporations
  • judicial clerkship

Make sure your employer approves of using a personal academic account for research.

If you have any questions about the policy, please contact your LexisNexis Representative Kingsley Buitron at kingsley.buitron@lexisnexis.com

Students may use Westlaw for non-commercial research, including:

  • non-profit work
  • clinical work
  • externship sponsored by the school
  • work as a research assistant for a faculty member

If you have any questions about the policy, please contact your Thomson Reuters Academic Account Manager Anna Guerra at anna.guerra@tr.com

 

Other Databases

Don't forget that you will also have access to all of the other databases that are provided to you through school. Just check the Bounds Law Library or Gorgas website to see what is offered!