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51 Law Libr. Lights 1 (2007-2008)

handle is hein.journals/lll51 and id is 1 raw text is: Ellen Callinan, Adjunct Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center; Principal, Callinan the Librarian From the classroom to the reference desk, librarians are in constant search of the elusive teachable moment. Lawyers and law students are highly motivated to learn how to research when they need information, but that moti- vation is usually trumped by a pressing deadline. Tempting treats and even CLE credit often cannot lure practicing lawyers away from their pursuit of billable hour minimums and into training programs. First-year law students have the chance to master research skills, but lack the context and substantive knowledge to make these skills their own. The incentive to learn and the opportunity to do so seem hopelessly out of sync. I struggled with this phenomenon as a firm librarian, and tested many techniques to simulate the incentive of an actual research assignment within a solid pedagogical construct. Thanks to Bob Oakley and Carol O'Neil, I have been lucky enough to find some synchronization of desire and opportunity at Georgetown Law. My three-credit course, Law Firm Research, is one of several advanced legal research courses from which Georgetown students may choose. The expanded offerings are the result of pressure from the students and the willingness of the administration to support a broad course selection to meet the needs of Georgetown's large student body. I taught this course alone for many years, but was thrilled to add Susan Ryan, currently of Seyfarth Shaw and formerly of Georgetown, as the co-professor two years ago. Together we offer third year law students the chance to master high level practice skills through a unique, albeit labor-intensive, teach- ing model. The course is structured around the life cycle of a client matter in a law firm; see Figure 1 on page 5 of this issue. The life cycle is further divid- ed into three units: planning, implementation and evaluation. Our students observe the interplay of research and activity by completing a series of research milestones using a current federal decision of their own choosing. Students select an administrative practice area by the first class, at which time we provide guidelines for identifying an appropriate case that will serve as the focus of their research assignments. We work closely with the students in the first two weeks to find decisions that work with the assignments, and thus begins the research simulation, both for us as librarians and for them as students. For the rest of the semester, the students work on their own matters, following the assignment requirements, and we support and guide them as we would attorneys in a firm. The lectures examine research-based func- tions, such as business development and conflict avoidance, and outline practices and sources that facilitate effective research management. In addition, certain lectures review generic research concepts, such as controlled vocabularies and Boolean searching, and explain their relevance to research strategies. Most lectures include case studies or in-class exercises to reinforce student understanding and encourage participation. continued on page 3

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