Book Description

Iowa Legal Research is designed for teaching legal research to first-year law students. Others who will find it helpful include practitioners, paralegals, librarians, college students, and even laypeople. The goal is to make the complex process of legal research understandable and accessible. Outlines of the research process and examples from Iowa resources make the book easy to use. URLs point researchers to where they can find access to free or low-cost legal materials on the web. Screen shots and excerpts are used frequently to help in understanding a resource. In addition to covering Iowa-specific resources, the book discusses how to find applicable federal law. Thanks to that comprehensive coverage, Iowa Legal Research can be used as a stand-alone text or in conjunction with a research text covering U.S. law. The book begins with an overview of the research process and legal analysis so that the reader can better understand the nature of these complementary components in finding and reviewing the law. "Another strong point of the book is the chapter on legal ethics research......The second edition of Iowa Legal Research is a well-designed book [that] meets its goal of providing researchers with the "essential elements of legal research" to Iowa legal research...True to the goal of Carolina Academic Press's Legal Research Series, the book explains concisely the sources of Iowa law and the process for conducting Iowa legal research effectively. The authors start out with a brief review of the basic legal research process and legal analysis and end with the research strategies to become an effective and efficient researcher.......Iowa Legal Research contains reprints of sample pages and screenshots from mentioned sources to assist readers with understanding the concepts. Tables, charts and figures are used to supplement the discussion. The authors note the expansion of online resources and excellently intertwine the discussion of print and online format in each chapter." -Maria S. Templo-Capule, Law Library Journal