Go to the Harvard Law Review’s Website, located at http://harvardlawreview.org/, and read one (1) article of your choosing. Next, go to Cornell University Law School’s online legal dictionary and encyclopedia Wex, located at http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex, and explore the contents available on the Website. Be prepared to discuss.
Explain the significance of legal encyclopedias for legal research methods. Examine the major drawback of such tools. Provide a rationale for your response.
From the e-Activity, determine the value to a paralegal of both the Harvard Law Review and online legal dictionaries and encyclopedias, such as Wex. Next, provide at least one (1) example to illustrate the manner in which a paralegal could use the information that you explored as primary or secondary sources of law. Justify your response
RESPOND TO FOLLOWING STATEMENT:
This is how a legal researcher does when he or she uses the descriptive word approach: By selecting words and phrases that describe the issue you are researching and then looking these up in the general index, you will be directed to the appropriate topic and section. For instance, one has selected the phrase “job discrimination” that describes the issue he or she is researching. Afterwards, one looks it up in the general index of Am. Jur. 2d. He or she will be directed to the appropriate topic and section: Section 135-146 of topic Job Discrimination.
The drawback of descriptive word approach is that it is useless when the encyclopedia is replaced by another volume. Because volumes in Am. Jur. 2d and other national encyclopedia are replaced as needed, and because the replacement volumes may add new sections and discussions, it is possible that the General Index may send you to a section in an older volume that does not exist in a newer replacement volume. When the section is no longer existing, then descriptive word approach becomes not helpful for the legal researchers using that method.
