A Practical Guide to Legal Research and Analysis for Paralegal and Legal Studies Students

Book excerpt: Phillips's A Practical Guide to Legal Research and Analysis for Paralegal and Legal Studies Students distills legal analysis and research to a series of concrete skills that can be acquired chapter-by-chapter. The approachable writing style invites students to engage in active thinking and questioning. The text introduces skills and patterns of legal analysis in small pieces so students can master them bit by bit, with ample opportunity to practice using the creative end-of-chapter exercises. Students are guided step-by-step through an analysis exercise so that they can replicate the process. Students then practice the process in an end-of-chapter exercise, and later use the skill in drafting a memo or a motion as explained in the last two chapters. The book's conversational style makes it easy to read and makes legal analysis easy to grasp.