LexisNexis® Legal Research Program Curriculum | Penn Foster Career School
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LexisNexis® Legal Research Certificate Program Details

Penn Foster’s online LexisNexis® Certificate program consists of courses geared toward helping you gain new skills in legal research or refresh current knowledge. You’ll cover foundational knowledge in Legal Research, Computer-Assisted Research, and more. Students learn how to use LexisNexis® and are given access to Lexis Advance.

Curriculum Expand All Collapse All

Program Goal and Outcomes

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legal research using the searchable archive called LexisNexis,® the world's largest collection of public records, unpublished opinions, forms, legal news, and business information.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.

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

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.

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.

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.
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.

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.
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.

Additional Course Material
 
  • Access to Lexis Advance

Additional Details

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 in the Penn Foster Program. Prospective students should contact the state professional licensing board or similar regulatory body in the state(s) where they plan to work to determine their requirements before enrolling in this Program. Click here for contact information for state licensing/regulatory boards and certain industry licensing information.
Please review your state board requirements that are applicable to your field of study. State boards may impose a variety of different requirements.

Penn Foster Career School Accreditation & Licensing Details

Penn Foster has been accredited for over 50 years. Penn Foster Career School has been thoroughly reviewed and has earned several important accreditations, certifications, and licensing. Most importantly, Penn Foster Career School is both regionally and nationally accredited.

Accreditation
DEAC
MSA
Short Lessons
Easy-to-Access Lessons
Each lesson is broken into short chapters that allow you to fit learning into whatever time you have available. Don’t have time to finish a lesson? Not a problem - pick up where you left off next time!
Digital Flashcards
Digital Flashcards
A fun and interactive way to test your knowledge before your exams. Find out what information you've mastered, and what material needs additional review.
Discussion Boards
Discussion Boards
With Penn Foster Career School, you are never alone! Our learning platform includes discussion boards so you can connect with instructors and other students in the LexisNexis® Legal Research program.

Sample LexisNexis® Legal Research Lesson

Penn Foster courses are written in a way that is easy to understand, and materials are broken down into manageable lessons. Take a look at what a LexisNexis® Legal Research course would look like.
View Sample Lesson
Sample LexisNexis Legal Research Lesson
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.
We reserve the right to change program content and materials when it becomes necessary.
Microsoft and Windows are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation registered in the United States of America and/or other jurisdictions.
Apple, Mac, and OS X are trademarks of Apple, Inc. registered in the United States of America and/or other jurisdictions.
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