Instructional Videos

General Tips and Information

  • Civics Overview (15:28): An overview of the sources of American Law, including common law and statutes (1L topic) (updated November 2014)
  • Docket Research (9:22): Provides an overview of online resources and techniques for accessing court dockets and filings (created for ALR) (updated July 2017)
  • Effective Database Research (11:20): Explores differences between searching the web and searching research databases, and describes some strategies for effective database research (created August 2018)
  • Finding Aids, Pocket Parts and Looseleafs (4:39) Discusses how to use tables of contents, indexes, pocket parts, and looseleafs, when conducting legal research using print materials (1L topic) (updated November 2014)
  • Information Literacy: Evaluating Free Internet Resources (5:05): (created for ALR) Assessing the quality of information on the web (updated November 2014)
  • An Introduction to the Bluebook (7:07): Proper legal citation style (1L topic) (updated August 2020)
  • Summer RA Orientation (11:04): See the RA Orientation research for video tutorial and additional information on resources and research strategies for research assistants (updated May 2014)
  • Terms and Connectors: Search Operators (7:00): Using Boolean operators to craft specific searches (1L topic) (updated November 2015)

First-Year Topics

  • Administrative Agency Regulations (10:42): Discusses resources and strategies for researching administrative agency regulations (1L topic) (updated December 2016)
  • Background Research Using Secondary Sources (13:26) : Doing basic background research on a legal issue (1L topic)  (updated December 2016)
  • Case Law Research (5:40): Part 1 of 3. Discusses case law authority, court jurisdictions, and the concept of the "the best case." (1L topic) (updated July 2015)
  • Case Law Research: How Cases Are Published (8:00): Part 2 of 3. Discusses how cases are published, cited, and the anatomy of a case (1L topic) (updated July 2015)
  • Case Law Research: How to Find Cases (9:30): Part 3 of 3. Discusses resources and strategies for finding cases (1L topic) (updated July 2015)
  • Federal Law Research (22:33): Discusses resources and strategies for researching a federal law problem (1L topic) (updated February 2015)
  • Introduction to Citators (9:20): Using Shepard's, KeyCite, and BCite (1L topic) (updated October 2014)
  • Researching Statutes (17:22): Provides overview on how to locate statutes on a topic, how amendments are incorporated into published statutes, and how to find cases that apply and interpret statutes (1L topic) (updated December 2016)
  • Understanding Statutes (6:11): Provides overview of statutes, the organization of statutory codes, and the relationship between statutes and case law (1L topic) (updated December 2016)

Secondary Sources

Case Law

  • Federal Law Research (22:33): Discusses resources and strategies for researching a federal law problem (1L topic) (updated February 2015)
  • Case Law Research (5:40): Part 1 of 3. Discusses case law authority, court jurisdictions, and the concept of the "the best case." (1L topic) (updated July 2015)
  • Case Law Research: How Cases Are Published (8:00): Part 2 of 3. Discusses how cases are published, cited, and the anatomy of a case (1L topic) (updated July 2015)
  • Case Law Research: How to Find Cases (9:30): Part 3 of 3. Discusses resources and strategies for finding cases (1L topic) (updated July 2015)

Statutory Law

  • Codes and Session Laws (15:22) Advanced techniques for statutory research (created for ALR) (updated August 2016)
  • Federal Law Research (22:33): Discusses resources and strategies for researching a federal law problem (1L topic) (updated February 2015)
  • Federal Legislative History Research  (20:20) Covers licensed and free resources for finding federal legislative documents  (created for ALR)  (updated August 2019)
  • Maryland Legislative History (7:00): Discusses resources and strategies for researching Maryland legislative history materials (created for ALR) (December 2015)
  • Researching Local Law: County and Municipal Law in Maryland (5:14): Discusses resources and strategies for researching local ordinances with an emphasis on Maryland materials (created for ALR) (updated December 2015)
  • Researching Statutes (17:22): Provides overview on how to locate statutes on a topic, how amendments are incorporated into published statutes, and how to find cases that apply and interpret statutes (1L topic) (updated December 2016)
  • Statutory Formats : A Brief Primer (2:00) : The differences between bills, statutes at large, and codes (created for ALR) (updated 2012)
  • Understanding Statutes (6:11): Provides overview of statutes, the organization of statutory codes, and the relationship between statutes and case law (1L topic) (updated December 2016)
  • Uniform and Model Laws (7:48): Discusses resources and strategies for researching uniform laws drafted by the Uniform Law Commission and model laws drafted by other organizations (created for ALR) (updated July 2019)

Administrative Law

Foreign and International Law

Student Interviews

  • Case Law (3:45) : Tips and advice (1L topic) (updated February 2012)
  • Practical Tips - Part 1 (3:06) : Student employee advice (1L topic) (updated December 2011)
  • Practical Tips - Part 2 (2:18) : Student employee advice (1L topic) (updated December 2011)
  • Secondary Sources (2:36) : The importance of doing background research (1L topic) (updated September 2011)
  • Statutory Research (2:02) : Student employee process (1L topic) (updated November 2011)

Vendor-Created Videos

All tutorials and documentation have been created or curated for the education of students at Maryland Carey Law.