First Year Law School Guide - Pepperdine University School of Law

First Year Law School GuideWelcome to law school. We look forward to seeing you in the Law Library. The Law Library is located onall three floors of the law school, with the main entrance located on the second floor (see map athttp://law.pepperdine.edu/library/content/library‐map.pdf). The Public Services Desk, Smart Bar andReference Offices, along with most of the materials you will need as a first year student are located on thesecond floor. You can check out books, request reserve materials and request study rooms at the PublicServices Desk, and you can seek IT assistance at the Smart Bar. Reference librarians, who can help answeryour legal research questions, are on duty in the Reference Office at the following times during the schoolyear:Monday ‐Thursday 8:00 AM ‐ 9:00 PMFriday 8:00 AM ‐ 5:00 PMSaturday 10:00 AM ‐ 4:00 PMSunday 12:00 PM ‐ 6:00 PMThis library guide provides an overview of the basic legal research skills you will need to master during yourfirst year in law school (Section One). In addition, it includes useful law school survival resources (SectionTwo) as well as tips for places to study (Section Three) and places to take a break from studying (SectionFour).SECTION ONE: BASIC LEGAL RESEARCHThis section contains an overview of the key legal resources you will be learning about and using as a firstyear law student. You will learn more about each of these resources, along with research methods, in yourFirst Year Legal Research & Writing Class. If you would like additional assistance in learning how tosuccessfully utilize any of these resources, the reference librarians are available to help you.Secondary SourcesSecondary sources provide background information on different areas of the law and are one of the bestways to identify relevant primary authority (statutes, regulations, and case law). Popular types ofsecondary sources include legal periodicals, legal encyclopedias and practice guides. When approaching alegal encyclopedia or practice guide, use the following steps:1) Identify keywords related to your legal research questions. Don’t limit yourself to legalterminology; brainstorm keywords relating to factual elements of your legal issue as well.2) Search for the keywords in the index. If you do not find any promising results, continuebrainstorming keywords, and try different synonyms for keywords you have already identified.Conversely, do not stop searching after you find one promising result – keep looking to see ifyour secondary source has additional sections of relevant information.

3) Scan the table of contents. Pay particular attention to the sections that contain informationyou have already identified as useful.4) Read the relevant sections of your secondary source. If you are using a print resource, makesure to check the pocket part.Some of the most popular secondary sources are listed below. If you are interested in finding a secondarysource that discusses a particular area of law you are interested in, ask a professor or reference librarian forrecommendations.Resource Coverage Print Location Online LocationAmerican Jurisprudence2d (AmJur)Corpus Juris SecundumCalifornia Jurisprudence3d (CalJur)Witkin’s Summary ofCalifornia LawMultistate and federallegal encyclopedia.Multistate and federallegal encyclopedia.California legalencyclopediaCalifornia legalencyclopedia2 nd Floor, KF154.A452 Available on bothWestlaw and LexisNexisin database “AMJUR”2 nd Floor, KF154.C62 Available on Westlaw indatabase “CJS”2 nd Floor, KFC80.C24 Available on bothWestlaw and LexisNexisin database “CAJUR”2 nd Floor, KFC81 .W5 Available on bothWestlaw and LexisNexisin database “WITSUM”There are different types of legal periodicals, but the type most commonly used by law students are lawreviews. Law reviews are typically student‐edited journals published by law schools. They are located inthe compact shelving on the first floor of the Law Library and are arranged alphabetically by the title of thejournal. Research in law reviews can be done by using a legal periodical index, such as the Index to LegalPeriodicals and Books (ILP). ILP is available through the Law Library’s Online Databases page:http://law.pepperdine.edu/library/research/online‐databases.htm#I. The full text of law reviews can alsobe searched and accessed through the online databases Westlaw, LexisNexis and Hein Online, which arealso included on the Law Library’s Online Databases page.Annotated CodesAnnotated Codes are publications that include the full text of statutes, along with legislative history notes(such as when a statute was enacted and amended), research references (such as law review and otherarticles about the statute) and references to court opinions interpreting the statute. Only the text of thestatute is considered primary authority; all the annotations are secondary authority.If you are looking for a specific statute, you can look it up directly by citation, or you can use the PopularName Table to locate the specific citation. If you do not have a specific statute in mind, then approach theannotated codes in the same way you approach a secondary source, by brainstorming keywords and usingthe index (see instructions in “Secondary Sources” section, above).

The federal and California annotated codes are listed below. For both the federal and California codes,there are two annotated codes. These are codes published by different companies. Each version shouldinclude much of the same information; they should include all the same statutes, and the language of thestatutes should be the same. However, there will be some differences in the annotations (i.e. theadditional detail beyond the language of the statute). For the most thorough research possible, consultboth versions of the relevant annotated codes.Resource Coverage Print Location Online LocationUnited States CodeAnnotated (USCA)United States CodeService (USCS)Annotated U.S. Code 2 nd Floor, KF62.A32 Available on Westlaw(USCA)Annotated U.S. Code 2 nd Floor, KF62.A34 Available on Lexis (USCS)West’s AnnotatedCalifornia CodesDeering’s CaliforniaCodes AnnotatedAnnotated CaliforniaCodeAnnotated CaliforniaCode2 nd Floor, KFC30.A48 Available on Westlaw(Cal‐St‐Ann)2 nd Floor, KFC30.A46 Available on Lexis(CACODE)SECTION TWO: RESOURCES FOR A SUCCESSFUL LAW SCHOOL CAREERLaw School Survival BooksThese books have been temporarily placed on a special display stand in front of the Smart Bar on the 2 ndfloor of the law library. Learning Outside the Box: A Handbook for Law Students Who Learn Differently, by Leah M.Christensen2 nd Floor, KF 283.C48 2011 Hard‐Nosed Advice from a Cranky Law Professor: How to Succeed in Law School, by Austen L.Parrish & Cristina C. Knolton2 nd Floor, KF283 .P37 2010 Succeeding in Law School, 2 nd edition, by Herbert N. Ramy2 nd Floor, KF283.R36 2010 What the L?: 25 Things We Wish We’d Known Before Going to Law School, by Kelsey May et al.2 nd Floor, KF283 .M388 2010 Mastering the Law School Exam, by Suzanne Darrow‐Kleinhaus2 nd Floor, KF283.D37 2007 The Eight Secrets of Top Exam Performance in Law School, by Charles H. Whitebread2nd Floor, KF283.W48 2003 The Bramble Bush: On Our Law and Its Study, by Karl N. Llewellyn2 nd Floor, KF273.L54 1960

Law School and Legal Websites and Blogswww.jd2b.com: An “encyclopedia of information for law students” that includes legal articles, joblistings, blogs, discussion boards, law school rankings, and bar exam information.www.abovethelaw.com: This website “provides news and gossip about the profession’s mostcolorful personalities and powerful institutions, as well as original commentary on breaking legaldevelopments.”http://volokh.com: The Volokh Conspiracy is a group blog authored by law professors and covers awide range of current legal events.http://legalgeekery.com/: This is a group blog authored by law students around the country thatincludes both legal and non‐legal news and humor.http://www.americanbar.org/groups/law_students.html Law student division of the American BarAssociationCommercial TextsIn addition to the textbooks used in your first year courses, many commercial publishers also publish studyguides, outlines, and other supplementary study aids that correspond to each of the classes. These shouldnot be used in lieu of creating your own outlines. However, some students find them helpful as asupplemental resource. The Library has many useful guides, including the “Understanding” series byLexisNexis and the “Nutshell” series by West, which are generally well regarded. The Law Library andbookstore carry a wide selection of these and other guides.CALI TutorialsThe Center for Computer‐Assisted Legal Instruction (CALI) provides online legal tutorials and includes asection specifically targeting first year law school courses. To use CALI, obtain an authorization code fromthe Law Library’s Smart Bar, or the code will also be distributed in first year orientation materials. Then,access CALI through the “online databases” link on the law library website:http://lawmedia.pepperdine.edu/lcs/legal/index.php or directly at www.cali.org, and use the access codeto create a personal CALI username and password. You can also get CALI Lessons on disk from the SmartBar.

SECTION THREE: PLACES TO STUDYOn Campus Study SpotsLaw Library: The Law Library provides many study spots. For personal study, the 1 st and 3 rd floors ofthe library tend to be quiet space. For group study, you can reserve study rooms by asking at thePublic Service Desk.Drescher Graduate Campus Library: Located on the Malibu campus, the Drescher Library is anotherquiet space open to law students.Study Spots Outside of the Library Starbucks Coffee: Starbucks has two locations near campus:o 23755 Malibu Road # 900, Malibu, CA (310) 317‐1436o 3900 Cross Creek Road, Malibu, CA (310) 317‐4515 Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf: 3835 Cross Creek Road #12, Malibu, CA (310) 456‐5771 Annenberg Community Beach House, Santa Monica: The Annenberg Beach House has study spaces,free wifi access, and is open to the public. For more information, visit their website at:http://beachhouse.smgov.net/visit‐us/hours‐and‐admission.aspxSECTION FOUR: TAKING A BREAK FROM LAW SCHOOLPlaces to Eat Cholada Thai Beach Cuisine, 18763 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, CA 90265, 310.317.0025 Coogie’s Beach Café, 23755 W. Malibu Road, Malibu, CA 90265, 310.317.1444 Duke’s Malibu, 21150 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, CA 90265, 310.317.0777 Howdy’s Taqueria, 3835 Cross Creek Road, Suite A, Malibu, CA 90265, 310.317.4757 Lily's Café & Pastries (Mexican), 29211 Heathercliff Rd., Malibu, CA 90265, 310. 457.3745 Malibu Seafood Fresh Fish Market and Patio Café, 25653 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, CA 90265,310.456.3430 Malibu Yogurt, Ice Cream & Coffee House, 23755 Malibu Rd # 600, Malibu, CA 90265, 310.456.3522 Marmalade Café, 3894 Cross Creek Road, Malibu, CA 90265, 310.317.4242 Neptune's Net, 42505 Pacific Coast Hwy, Malibu, CA 90265, 310.457.3095Note: Many local restaurants offer discounts to Pepperdine students. Just show your Pepperdine studentI.D. card.Other Activities in and Around MalibuVisit the many beautiful state beaches and parks:http://www.ci.malibu.ca.us/index.cfm/fuseaction/nav/navid/12/The Malibu Pier: http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=24409

There is a farmer’s market every Sunday from 10am‐3pm on Civic Center way by the MalibuCourthouse: http://malibufarmersmarket.net/Malibu Horses has trails rides, romantic rides, and lessons http://www.malibuhorses.blogspot.com/Information on local hiking trails: http://www.trails.com/Utilize the popular DVD collection at the law libraryEnjoy the architecture, antiquities, and gardens at the Getty Villa: http://www.getty.edu/visit/Catch a movie at the Hollywood Malibu Cinemas: http://cinematreasures.org/theater/15705/Venture to Santa Monica and enjoy dining and shopping at the Third Street Promenade:http://thirdstreetpromenade.org/visitors/index.htmlSanta Monica Pier: http://www.santamonicapier.org/Take an architectural tour at the Adamson House: http://www.adamsonhouse.org/index.html