Advanced Legal Research

book & mouse

Marquette University Law School offers a program of advanced legal research that is unique among law schools throughout the country.  It is one of only a few law schools that, in addition to an intensive first year research & writing program, offers a required, one-credit Advanced Legal Research (“ALR”) course for 2Ls and 3Ls.  The principal purpose of the ALR courses is to help students achieve the knowledge and skills necessary to conduct effective and efficient legal research and to do so in a professionally responsible manner.

ALR courses promote critical thinking about research strategies necessary to identify, analyze, research, and solve legal research problems at a competency level expected of an entry-level practitioner.   The ALR courses are designed to be practical, “hands on” experiences in which students work with the kinds of research problems likely to be encountered in practice, whether, for instance, in trial preparation, document drafting, or appellate practice.

One-credit ALR courses are taught in the first 7 to 9 weeks of each semester.  These one-credit ALR courses are limited to twenty students so that adequate feedback may be given to each student throughout the semester as they work on research problems each week. In addition to the topical and general ALR courses, the Law School offers a semester long two-credit Advanced Legal Research in Sports Law course.

Faculty

The ALR faculty has extensive research-teaching experience and their practice backgrounds represent a variety of settings and areas of law.

Professor Paul Anderson, J.D.
Professor Leslie Behroozi, MLIS, J.D.
Professor Deborah Darin, MLIS, J.D.
Professor Megan A. O’Brien, MLIS, J.D.
Professor Elana Olson, MLIS, J.D.
Professor Wendy Smith, MSLS, J.D.

Curriculum & Courses

Advanced Legal Research courses are offered in the following general research areas:  Federal, Wisconsin, and State legal research.

Advanced Legal Research courses are offered in the following specialized research areas: Administrative Law, Business Law, Criminal Law, Family Law, Health & Medical Law, Intellectual Property Law, International Law, Labor & Employment Law, Taxation, and Wisconsin Litigation.

Advanced Legal Research in Sports Law - This 2 credit course is specially designed for students interested in earning the National Sports Law Institute’s Sports Law Certificate and is required for all Certificate candidates. 

Course descriptions can be found in the online Law School Bulletin

Please note that not every course is taught each year.