First Year Law Guide

This book seeks to explain the practical skills needed for print and online legal research and writing. It provides a current and comprehensive look at the topic, consolidating information on legal research and writing into one handy, easy-to-use resource. Written for both seasoned practitioners seeking to add the latest sources and techniques to their research arsenal, and for beginner law students who face a bewildering array of information, this book includes chapters on legal research and writing malpractice, the acquisition of research resources, international and foreign legal research, and knowledge management. In addition, it covers legal citation, the recovery of online legal research expenses, searching the new platforms of the major proprietary online legal databases, the increasing digitization of legal materials, and free legal research resources on the Internet, while also providing a list of over 1,300 leading Canadian legal treatises organized into forty-eight topics. Legal Research and Writing is the most up-to-date book of its kind available in Canada today.

This bestseller has been widely adopted by Canadian colleges and universities, and used by Canadian law schools for more than 20 years. The author provides readers with practical commentary on effective legal research in the context of the complete legal problem solving process, and offers a structured framework to efficiently navigate paper-based resources and online databases. This text introduced the well-recognized FILAC structure to legal writing adopted by professors and lawyers across Canada.

The Practical Guide to Canadian Legal Research, Fourth Edition is an essential guidebook to legal research that introduces users to the various legal research materials available to lawyers, law students, law clerks, and legal academics. It teaches readers efficient legal research skills, and acts as a reference source by providing some of the essential background required to research specific areas of the law. Along with detailed research strategies, a comprehensive checklist is included. This edition provides in-depth information on such key secondary sources as Canadian legal encyclopedias and the Canadian Abridgment, in addition to books and periodicals. Case law along with statutes and the Constitution are also discussed in detail. Electronic tools are covered throughout the book. Expanded chapters on American and U.K. Legal research as well as new information on Quebec, Australia, and New Zealand provide additional information to the researcher. A chapter on writing guidelines and a selective bibliography round out and complete this key research tool.

The need for comprehensive research and clear, effective writing spans all areas of legal practice, from civil litigation and constitutional law to family law and criminal appeals. In many situations, proper representation of a client's interests depends on the lawyer's ability to identify and research the relevant issues, and then persuasively communicate the points that support the client's case. However, navigating the world of case law and legislation can be overwhelming – especially for law students and new lawyers. That's what makes this latest edition of Legal Writing and Research Manual required reading, and a necessary addition to law libraries across Canada.

Now in its tenth edition, the Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation provides a straightforward, uniform approach to citation of government documents, case law, legislation, periodicals, monographs, online sources, and other secondary materials across all jurisdictions. This guide has been officially adopted by various courts and major law reviews across the country, establishing itself as an important tool for legal research and writing. The McGill Guide is a bilingual and bijuridical guide to citation of legal materials. Also available online via Westlaw Edge (law students only).