LexisNexis



Researching State Case Law

& Managing Research Results

SOURCE: Lexis Advance™

AGENDA:

1. Review Research Process

2. Sample Memo Assignment

3. Research Plan and Lexis Advance landing page

4. Secondary Source Research

5. Case Law Research

6. Shepard’s®

7. Managing Your Research Results

1. Review Research Process:

LEGAL RESEARCH COMPONENTS

2. Sample Research Assignment:

TO: SUMMER ASSOCIATE

FROM: Senior Partner

I need your help on the Johnson v. Salinas Rodeo case. Mr. Johnson, Ms. Morris, and Ms. Morris’s son, Brandon, have filed a complaint as a result of an accident that occurred during the 2011 Salinas Rodeo. Brandon was seriously injured while participating in a “mutton busting” competition during the rodeo. Mr. Johnson is Ms. Morris’s fiancé and both he and Ms. Morris were present at the time of the accident. I anticipate that the Defendants will want to challenge the validity of Mr. Johnson’s negligent infliction of emotional distress claim on the basis that Mr. Johnson was not “closely related” to Brandon Morris. Please prepare a memo addressing this NIED elements and close relationship requirement of Mr. Johnson’s claim under CA. law.

3. Lexis Advance Landing Page:

TIP: DISCUSS DEVELOPING A RESEARCH PLAN (SEE LESSON PLAN OVERVIEW)

• Log into advance.

• Review My Workspace: The My Workspace area provides easy access to prior work and support information. The History panel enables you to view and access the last 15 searches you conducted. My Folders panel includes any folders you’ve created to electronically store documents, The Support panel gives you access to Customer Service and the Help guide.

• Pre-Search Filters: If you want to refine your results prior to entering a search, use the pre-search filter tabs below the red search box. Your options include Content Types, Jurisdiction, and Practice Areas & Topics. Let’s select California as our Jurisdiction

• Red Search Box: Options to discuss Natural language vs. Terms & Connectors searching.

TIP: For detailed Terms & Connectors information, click on Search Tips > Connectors (all connectors work on Lexis Advance). Lexis Advance will interpret the search as Natural Language or terms & connectors depending on how the search is entered. For example, if the user enters an “and” between key words, Lexis Advance will read it as a connector. Regardless of the search entered, results are organized by relevancy.

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TIP: How is Relevancy determined?

“Relevance” means that the document a user would expect to be in their results surfaces towards the top of the result set. Lexis Advance provides customized search algorithms built by a team of technologists and editorial experts that are customized based on the content type being searched. It is not a popularity algorithm so you may retrieve nuance cases as well as frequently cited cases. Lexis Advance search algorithm includes, but is not limited to the following:

• Automatic phrase and case name recognition

• Proximity search between the terms- space between the terms you entered. If terms are entered more closely together, those clustered terms will be closer to the top

• Activity score boosting in the ranking algorithm (i.e. “landmarkness” of the case)- prominence of the case based on editorial staff expertise. Seminal cases.

• Shepard’s technologies

• Other proprietary factors

• Enter search terms in quotes for terms of art i.e. “negligent infliction of emotional distress”

• Results: We didn’t restrict content so we will retrieve search results across all content areas ranked by relevancy. The Snapshot tab provides the top three sources across all content types. Following the research process, we are going to begin with the results in your Secondary Materials tab.

4. Secondary Source Research:

BEFORE YOU START TO ANALYZE CASE LAW, TAKE A LOOK AT HOW YOUR ISSUES HAVE BEEN DISCUSSED IN PRACTICE GUIDES, TREATISES, LAW REVIEWS, ETC… TO GAIN A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF YOUR TOPIC, THE ISSUES INVOLVED, RELATED TERMINOLOGY, AND LINKS TO RELEVANT AUTHORITY. CLICK ON SECONDARY MATERIALS TAB.

TIP: This is a good opportunity to review the Narrow By Options to more efficiently refine your results. Also, it would be helpful to discuss the different California secondary sources listed. How do you decide which one to review first? i.e. we have a Tort issue and we are in California so “California Torts” is a logical start.

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a. Practice Guides & Treatises: Provide a summary of how the courts have ruled on your issue along with links to primary authority.

• Select “California Torts” treatise under Narrow By > Sources

• Click “Table of Contents” under I-5 California Torts Scope > Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress. Click on this section to open the document, scroll down to section 3 which discusses how the Thing v. La Chusa case sets the criteria for a bystander claim. Scroll further and part (c ) addresses the close relationship requirement.

b. Law Reviews and ALRs: Once you understand the background of your issue and how the courts have ruled, examine law reviews and ALR’s for an in-depth and analytical discussion of your issue.

• Return to your Secondary Sources search and clear California Torts in the Narrow By options. Under Narrow By > Content Type > select Law Reviews & Journals

• Add additional key words as needed i.e. bystander and close relationship

5. Primary Source Research:

CASE LAW

• Select the Cases Tab

• Narrow By (post search filters) are customized to each content type. In particular, note the Search within Results, Courts, Published and Unpublished options among others. In Search within Results, enter the term close relationship. You will retrieve approximately 50 cases.

• Cases are organized by relevancy, but you can select different sorting options in the Sort By drop down menu in the upper right hand corner of the screen.

a. When you find an On-Point case: Let’s open Thing v. La Chusa, 48 Cal 3d 644. Assume we’ve read the decision and determined it to be relevant for outlining the broader requirements of an NIED claim (Thing v. La Chusa sets the criteria for a bystander claim). We’re going to review the navigation features and additional tools that allow you to expand your research from a relevant case.

-The top navigation bar provides delivery options, reporter selection/page options, search term navigation options and the ability to jump to a portion of the document.

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TIP: Depending on class time and students’ research knowledge to date, you may want to review some or all of the features below.

• Notice the “About This Document” on the right. This provides information related to this document including pdfs, Topic Summaries and the Legal Issue Trail.

o Topic Summary – defines legal topics in the case and lists seminal cases and related content for those topics. You can also refine the topics by jurisdiction. Let’s select the topic Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress and the jurisdiction California.

o Legal Issue Trail - The Legal Issue Trail lists cases that cite to the case you are viewing as well as cases your case has cited - for a specific legal issue or point of law

TIP: Topic Summaries are an excellent way for a student to bring themselves up to speed on a specific area of law.  These reports will not only define and specific legal topic for you, but they will also point you in the direction of seminal cases on that topic.  However, as a student or as an attorney in an unfamiliar area of law, you need a bit more.  What are the elements of the legal topic you are arguing, who has the burden of proof and what are the standards of review for decisions.  For example, the Elements of section will inform users who must establish what in order to support/win their argument; the Burden of Proof section clearly lays out who must prove what by a preponderance of evidence to win their argument; and like many things on Lexis, we are also going to point you in the direction of other content related resources, like Seminal Statutes and Secondary Sources.  At this time we have over 4,000 Topic Summary reports available and the ability to refine by a select group of states at this time.

• Use the LexisNexis Headnotes to find relevant materials which discuss or cite to the on-point rule of law/headnote.

TIP: LexisNexis® case briefs are prepared by LexisNexis editors. They create a Case Summary that includes the Procedural Posture (where the case has been), Overview (summary of the key facts and legal issues), and Outcome (where the case stands today). The next section includes a list of LexisNexis Headnotes. The editors then extract all the points of law (or legal issues) in the case the judge addresses and lists and numbers them. LexisNexis Headnotes are the language of the court. Case Briefs can be very helpful as they provide a nice overview of the case. The headnotes are useful for research purposes. You can more easily determine if the case is relevant and use the headnotes to find more authority.

• Shepardize® Narrow By this Headnote - to find only the cases that have cited to your case on the issue contained in a specific headnote.

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b. When you can’t find an On-Point case in your Jurisdiction

• Clear your jurisdictional filter and rerun your search. Narrow your results with additional key words as needed. View cases in relevancy order.

• Search Using Selected Text under Tools in upper navigation bar

• Searching By Topic via Browse Topics above the red search box

6. Shepard’s

SHEPARD’S ® CITATION SERVICE HAS BEEN THE INDUSTRY STANDARD IN LEGAL RESEARCH FOR 135 YEARS. AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY ON LEXISNEXIS, SHEPARD’S SERVES TWO IMPORTANT PURPOSES: (1) AS A CASE VALIDATION TOOL TO ENSURE YOUR CASE IS STILL GOOD LAW; AND (2) AS A COMPREHENSIVE RESEARCH TOOL TO FIND ADDITIONAL RELEVANT AUTHORITIES. TODAY, WE ARE GOING TO USE SHEPARD’S TO ENSURE OUR RELEVANT CASES ARE STILL GOOD LAW, BUT LET’S REVIEW THE TREATMENT SIGNALS FIRST.

The Treatment Signals: The Shepard’s® Signals™ provide you with a high level indication as to the nature of the type of information you will find in the Shepard’s report. Think of it as the cover of a book. The signal will give you an idea of what the “book” is about, but you cannot intelligently discuss the book without probing further. Here’s how to interpret the meaning of each symbol.

|Indicator |Description |

|[pic] |Warning: Negative treatment is indicated |

| |The red Shepard’s Signal indicates that citing references in the Shepard’s ® Citations Service contain strong negative history |

| |or treatment of your case (for example, overruled by or reversed). |

|[pic] |Questioned: Validity questioned by citing refs. |

| |The orange Shepard’s Signal indicates that the citing references in the Shepard’s Citations Service contain treatment that |

| |questions the continuing validity or precedential value of your case because of intervening circumstances, including judicial or|

| |legislative overruling. |

|[pic] |Caution: Possible negative treatment indicated |

| |The yellow Shepard’s Signal indicates that citing references in the Shepard’s Citations Service contain history or treatment |

| |that may have a significant negative impact on your case (for example, limited or criticized by). |

|[pic] |Positive treatment indicated |

| |The green Shepard’s Signal indicates that citing references in the Shepard’s Citations Service contain history or treatment |

| |that has a positive impact on your case (for example, affirmed or followed by). |

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Shepard’s Signals (continued)

|[pic] |Citing refs. with analysis available |

| |The blue "A" Shepard’s Signal indicates that citing references in the Shepard’s Citations Service contain treatment of your case that|

| |is neither positive nor negative (for example, explained). |

|[pic] |Citation information available |

| |The blue "I" Shepard’s Signal indicates that citing references are available in the Shepard’s Citations Service for your case, but |

| |the references do not have history or treatment analysis (for example, the references are law review citations). |

|[pic] |Warning: Negative treatment is indicated for statute |

| |The red exclamation point Shepard's Signal indicates that citing references in the Shepard's Citations Service contain strong negative |

| |treatment of the section (for example, the section may have been found to be unconstitutional or void). |

a. Validation Tool:

• Click on Shepardize for the Thing v. La Chusa case. View the Appellate History which gives you a linear or Map view option showing how the case has progressed through the court system. If this case was reversed by a higher court, you would see this in the Appellate History.

• Click on the Citing Decision tab to view how other cases cited your case positively or negatively. In Citing Decisions, select the narrow by filtering options “Caution” and discuss what this means.

TIP: Depending on class time and students’ research knowledge to date, you may want to review using Shepard’s to find more authority using the Citing Decisions tab, and Citing Law Reviews,…tab.

7. Managing Your Research Results:

ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF LEGAL RESEARCH IS BEING ABLE TO ORGANIZE AND USE YOUR SEARCH RESULTS. IN OTHER WORDS, IT IS NOT ENOUGH TO JUST FIND THE RIGHT INFORMATION, YOU ALSO HAVE TO BE ABLE TO UTILIZE THAT INFORMATION TO CREATE AN EXCELLENT WORK PRODUCT. BY EFFECTIVELY AND EFFICIENTLY MANAGING YOUR SEARCH RESULTS, YOU CAN ACCOMPLISH THIS GOAL. WE ARE GOING TO LOOK AT THREE OPTIONS ON LEXIS ADVANCE THAT WILL ASSIST YOU WITH ORGANIZING AND USING YOUR SEARCH RESULTS. 1. SETTING A CLIENT, 2. USING FOLDERS TO ORGANIZE MATERIALS AND 3. MANAGING YOUR RESULTS THROUGH YOUR HISTORY FEATURE.

• To set a client: At the landing page, in the top navigation bar, click Client and enter an identifier for your research. For example, it could be your party’s name or assignment name)

• Create Folders: Create folders using the folder icon in the delivery options on the left hand side of your screen. You can create any number of folders and sub-folders to manage your research. Think about how you want to organize your research. i.e. By main issue, then sub issues or by types of authority. It’s largely a personal preference.

o Save a Document to a Folder: Let’s go back to the Thing v. LaChusa case (or any document). In the top left corner of your screen, click on the Folder icon, here you will name your folder and enter notes related to the document for future reference and click okay.

o Save Text to a Folder: Go back to a document in your results. Scroll down and highlight some text. After highlighting important text, a green + sign will appear that shows options for selected text. From here you can “select copy text to clipboard”, “save clip to folder”, or “search using selected text”. You can also find these options under Tools in the navigation bar at the top right hand side of screen.

• History: History is accessible in the My Workspace drop down at the top right hand side of the screen. It provides you a list of all searches conducted in the last 90 days including specific documents you’ve opened. Notice the many filtering options on the left. The History Map provides a graphical view of the research you’ve conducted to date on an issue.

• Work Folders: access documents saved in your Work Folders via the My Workspace drop down or in the Folder’s panel on the landing page. Under tools, you can highlight and annotate saved documents as well to efficiently extract the most important information later.

-Open the folder you created a few minutes ago. Click on Tools to see the highlighting and annotation options.

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8. Summary

REVIEW THE RESEARCH PROCESS AS IT RELATES TO THIS STATE LAW ISSUE AND HOW THE STEPS TAKEN ABOVE FOLLOW THE PATH OF FINDING RELEVANT SECONDARY SOURCES, SEARCHING CASE LAW, AND SHEPARDIZING™ RESULTS.

9. Customer Support

LEXISNEXIS CUSTOMER SERVICE – 800-45-LEXIS

Live Chat

LexisNexis Account Executive

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