Program Overview
Penn Foster Career School’s Online LexisNexis® Legal Research Certificate program will help you learn the skills to perform legal research using the searchable archive called LexisNexis,® the world's largest collection of public records, unpublished opinions, forms, legal news, and business information. The ability to effectively use LexisNexis® is an important research skill for lawyers, legal assistants, law students, journalists, and academics. Complete this program in just two months!
Program Goal and Outcomes
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Program Goal
The LexisNexis® Legal Research Certificate program will help students learn the skills they need to perform computer-assisted legal research using the searchable archive called LexisNexis,® the world's largest collection of public records, unpublished opinions, forms, legal news, and business information. The ability to effectively use Lexis® is an important research skill for lawyers, legal assistants, law students, journalists, and academics.
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Program Outcomes
Upon completion of the program, students will be able to:
- Navigate through the Internet using search engines, Web URLs, and links; use e-mail; download and upload files to the Internet
- Create effective search statements
- Interpret call numbers and document classification schemes used in libraries
- Determine reliability of sources
- Look up court cases and statutes using the appropriate sources
- Use Lexis.com to search and retrieve primary and secondary legal sources and verify the accuracy of citations using Shepard's Citation Service and Auto-Cite
- Read and cite a case
- Locate, profile, and investigate people and companies
- Conduct financial and business research
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Course 1
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Starting Your Program
Succeed by learning how to use your Penn Foster program.
Objectives:
- Understand how to use your Student Portal.
- Access the Penn Foster Community and use it to find answers.
- Connect with Penn Foster on various social media sites.
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Course 2
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Information Literacy
Get better at finding and using information.
Objectives:
- Search the Internet more effectively.
- Get tips about search engines and reliable websites.
- Learn how to search libraries and other information centers for important, useful information.
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Course 3
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Lesson 1: Legal Research
As a paralegal, you’ll find yourself doing legal research for your supervising attorney . This lesson will introduce you to the great number of tools that can be used in legal research and will allow you to practice using these tools.
Objectives:
- Approach a research problem from different access points.
- Look up cases and statutes using the appropriate sources.
- Read and brief a case.
- Use basic procedures for citation.
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Lesson 2: Computer-Assisted Legal Research, Part 1
Legal databases are constantly changing, so paralegals must keep their research skills up-to-date. This lesson teaches you how to quickly and efficiently retrieve legal information using Lexis.com.®
Objectives:
- Formulate a search request and search for documents.
- Verify the accuracy of citations using Shepard’s Citation Service.
- Locate, profile, and investigate people and companies.
- Conduct financial and business research.
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Lesson 3: Computer-Assisted Legal Research, Part 2
This course explains how to integrate the Internet into a practice environment to improve access to information, move cases forward, and, most importantly, deliver better legal services to clients.
Objectives:
- Perform factual, business, and legal research on the Internet.
- Keep Internet research skills up-to-date.
- Use the Internet to find paralegal job positions.
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Lesson 3: Computer-Assisted Legal Research, Project
Project: Computer-Assisted Legal Research
Attorneys delegate legal research assignments to paralegals on a daily basis. Therefore, paralegals must be able to use CALR systems, such as Lexis.com,® to quickly and efficiently retrieve legal information. This project will give you the chance to practice the skills you’ve learned so far in your program.
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Additional Course Material
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Computer Specifications
As you know this is an online academic program. This means you will need high-speed internet access to begin your program. In addition, you will need access to a Microsoft® Windows® based computer running Windows 7® or later or an Apple® Mac® computer running OS X® or later, and an email account to participate in and complete your program.
Sample Lesson
To view a LexisNexis® Legal Research sample lesson, click here.
LexisNexis® Legal Research Program Details
Penn Foster Career School can help you gain the knowledge and skills to perform legal research effectively. You'll learn to evaluate the credibility of online information and find primary and secondary legal sources using LexisNexis.®
State Licensing Information
Licensing and/or certification requirements for jobs in this field are not the same in every state and may include educational, testing, and/or experiential requirements beyond those offered by your Penn Foster Program. You should contact the state professional licensing board or similar regulatory body in the state(s) where you plan to work to determine their requirements before enrolling in your Program. Please click here for contact information for state licensing/regulatory boards and certain industry licensing information.
