"Pennsylvania Legal Research, now in its third edition, was written to provide a practical introduction to legal research with a special focus on Pennsylvania. It is intended to be of use to students and novice attorneys in Pennsylvania; to practitioners who may need a concise description of research tools they have not used extensively; to attorneys from other jurisdictions who are experienced legal researchers, but who lack familiarity with basic Pennsylvania sources; and to anyone who needs a practical introduction to legal research, with a focus on Pennsylvania law. The third edition begins with an overview of the legal research process and a discussion of research methods, which has been updated to include guidelines for incorporating artificial intelligence tools into a research strategy. The next chapters describe the more specific steps involved in finding and analyzing judicial opinions, statutes, legislative history, constitutional law, administrative law, and rules of court. These chapters are followed by separate chapters on secondary sources and practice materials, a division intended to reinforce the distinction between more scholarly sources, which may be cited as persuasive authority, and more practice-oriented sources, which are useful research tools without being cited themselves. In a research course, depending on the preference of the professor, these chapters can easily be assigned before the chapters on primary sources. At the end of the book, an appendix highlights citation issues that frequently arise when citing Pennsylvania sources. Updating tools are discussed throughout the book rather than in a separate chapter.

This edition, like its predecessor, assumes that most legal research will be conducted online while acknowledging foundational print sources. The book focuses on choosing the most efficient research methods for different types of authority and on fulfilling the legal researchers ethical obligations"-- Provided by publisher.