Description

One of the most exclusive paralegal skills, highly valued by law firms, is the ability to conduct legal research. Legal Nurse Consultants should therefore have a background in this legal skill. Legal Nurse Consultants also should possess an understanding of the formal structure of the law and legal authorities. This course provides a solid foundation in these areas while focusing on cases involving personal injury and medical malpractice.

The Legal Nurse Consultant who finishes this course will understand the role of statutes, regulations, case law, primary authority, and secondary authority. She will also possess fundamental skills in legal research which will come in very handy throughout her career. A Legal Nurse Consultant who can conduct basic legal research is a prized asset in any personal injury or medical malpractice law firm.

This course is a comprehensive hands-on module in which you will receive personal step-by-step instruction on how to conduct legal research in a traditional law library and on Westlaw, the premier online legal research database, used by the majority of law firms. Every WOLI Legal Nurse Consultant student receives a personal password and unlimited usage of Westlaw.

You will learn where to find law libraries, and how to utilize legal authority in support of your client's case. You will have extensive experience researching primary authority, such as statutes and cases, and secondary authority, such as legal periodicals and encyclopedias. You will learn the difference between mandatory authority, which a court must accept, and persuasive authority, for which a court has discretion to accept or not. Other topics include how to cite cases, cite-checking, Shepard's and Key-citing

You will have writing assignments, in which you will organize the results of your research and give your opinion about the case.

During this course, you will develop a basic legal vocabulary and knowledge of the major principles of the law of the cases studied. Other topics covered include: statutes, legislative histories, constitutions, administrative law, local law, rules of court, international law, card and computer catalogs, case digests, annotations, loose-leaf services, legal periodical literature, legal encyclopedias, legal treatises, and phone and mail research.

Legal writing is an extremely valued skill, and critical in many law department applications. Legal Nurse Consultants should be prepared to draft basic documents involving both legal and medical information. At a minimum, the Legal Nurse Consultant should be familiar with basic legal research and writing theory and skills. Therefore, a major part of this course is devoted to developing knowledge and skills about drafting the basic forms of legal writing: Demand Letters, Status Letters, and Opinion letters, and Memoranda of Law. You will learn about drafting trial and appellate briefs. Your professor will critique your legal writing and offer valuable pointers as needed.