Specialized Legal Research Courses: The Next Generation of Advanced Legal Research

Gary Lui

Dubay, C. (2014). Specialized legal research courses: The next generation of advanced legal research. Legal Reference Services Quarterly, 33(3), 203-225. doi:10.1080/0270319X.2014.922390

Summary
The Dubay (2014) article goes further into how law librarians can have a role in law school instruction. Law students must have a strong foundation in legal research in order to be successful in their practice of law. Advanced Legal Research courses are typically taught in Law Schools by law librarians or law library staff. The Advanced Legal Research course is a more advanced legal research course from the typical first-year Legal Research course taught in the first-year of law school. "As already noted, [Advanced Legal Research] courses have been the historic response by law librarians to legal educators’ demand for more skills-focused courses" (Dubay, 208). Since more of legal research is becoming digital, more Law schools are including a course such as Specialized Legal Research (SLR) courses, which is the way Law schools are now trying to provide experimental learning so that law school graduates are ready for real practice of law (214). How does this relate to law librarians involvement in legal instruction? Accounting the time and financial cost needed to create these experimental learning courses, Specialized Legal Research courses taught by law librarians is a way for law schools to better prepare their law students for practice of law instead of offering legal clinics. "Therefore, as lawyers become increasingly specialized and students continue to find interest in highly specialized practice areas, law librarians and curriculum committees alike may find opportunity in SLR courses" (218).

Evaluation
The Dubay (2014) article is a great article concerning curriculum and assessment theory of the current law school curriculum. Advanced Legal Research (ALR) courses and Specialized Legal Research (SLR) courses are ways Dubay believes law librarians can be involved in teaching of law students the concept of legal research. I think first-year legal research course typically offered in most first-year law school programs do not allow law students to investigate a variety of legal research methods. This article also does a good job of advocating for Specialized Legal Research courses in Law schools and the role that law librarians can play in teaching Specialized Legal Research courses.