10. Know how administrative regulations relate to and differ from statutes and where to find state and federal regulations.

9. Understand how state and federal bills become law and recognize the importance of documents produced in the legislative process.

8. Learn about the business environment and culture of your organization. Pay attention on orientation tours. Get out of your office and meet people. Investigate your librarys resources and get to know your librarian. Learn what is considered proper business attire.

7. Be professional and courteous. Keep good research notes and update your sources. Proof-read and correctly cite your work product. Meet deadlines. Recognize the value of support staff and acknowledge their assistance. They can make your life easier!

6. Compare the strengths, weaknesses and costs of the information sources that you choose. Take advantage of free and low cost resources when appropriate but recognize that they may lack authority and comprehensiveness. Your librarian can help you select the resources best suited to your needs.

5. Realize that your organization may have different databases than you expect. Many firms no longer have both Lexis and Westlaw. Some dont have either. But they may have other databases that youll be expected to use. Take the time in law school to learn other databases, especially specialty databases in your anticipated practice areas. See your law school librarian for help identifying and using them.

4. Before jumping on a database, stop and consider how much it will cost. Understand your organizations billing plan and how your search will impact your clients bill. Ask for cost effective search assistance from your librarian or vendor representative. Most vendors offer free help by phone.

3. Understand the importance of context. See the big picture. Consider how your clients unique facts fit into the larger legal issue. When researching, analyze where your search results fit into the underlying structure of the law. Information is cheap, but meaning is expensive.*

2. Consult secondary sources to get the big picture. ALRs, loose-leaf services, treatises, practice guides, CLEs, journal articles and other secondary sources provide context by pulling together relevant legal authority and identifying surrounding issues. Consult tables of contents, where available, to get a sense of where your issue fits into the broader legal hierarchy.

1. Ask questions! Ask the attorney for whom youre working for enough information to confirm your understanding of the assignment. Ask your librarian for research help whether youre beginning or refining your research all questions are confidential. By asking questions, youll save time, get better results, and look smart!

Top Ten Things Law Librarians Wish Law Students Would Know or Do

Revised by Bonnie Shucha, UW Law Library, March 2013 with the assistance of members of the Law Librarians Association of Wisconsin Originally created by Betty Karweick, UW Law School

* Quote by George Dyson, science historian