Lawyering Toolkit: Starter Skills Pack
Starter Skills Pack
Prepare yourself to find legal information if you are embarking on the study of Law.
Orientation
Learning Inspiration
“A lawyer without books would be like a workman without tools.”
Thomas Jefferson
Library Tour
Go on a tour of your library.
The library is where you can access, authoritative sources.
- legal dictionaries
- law reports
- books
- journals
- specialist databases containing articles, case law and legislation
Legal System in Ireland
- The Legal System in IrelandA powerpoint slide graphic of the legal system in Ireland
Legal Elements
Use our quick What is guide below to find out what these legal elements are;
- Bill
- Act
- Statutory Instrument
- Judgment
- Precedent
Glossaries of Legal Terms
Legal Reading
Recommended Reading
Find a print or eBook
Use your library discovery service/ catalogue to find books on your reading list.
- Library Catalogue / Discovery Service (OneSearch)
- EBooks Portal
- Databases e.g. Westlaw.ie contains full-text of books that your library subscribes to.
The process of finding out if the library has access to a particular textbook is not easy but see below for steps to take.
Use this checklist to be sure.
- Library Catalogue
- OneSearch
- Who publishes it? Check whether the library has a database from that publisher e.g. Bloomsbury Professional. It may be included here.
- Is it freely available online?
Study Skills
Study skills help you improve elements of your study such as writing essays, time keeping, studying for exams, essay writing, dissertation preparation and report writing and more. Check if your library has a skills centre or academic writing support service and if they have a collection of books on different study skills to help you.
Legal Searching
Abbreviations
Legal Abbreviations - Cardiff Index
Abbreviations are common practice in law. Use the Cardiff Index to identify titles or abbreviations.
Finding a Case
Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co [1893] 1 QB 256
A citation enables you to find the case.
The citation is compiled as follows
Case Name/[Year]/Volume/Report Series/Page Number
Case Law - Searching Tools
What is a database?
A database is an organised collection of online information. Information on particular topics are gathered together so that you can search for what you need easily and rapidly e.g. cases, journal articles. Information is dynamic and updated frequently. Databases usually have a search interface and provide ranked results including journal articles books case law legislation and practice notes, precedence and commentary. Collections are often subject-based, curated by a publisher and provide subscription content. For example Westlaw.ie is a resources covering legal material related to Ireland.
There are different databases for Law such as Westlaw.ie Vlex Justis
If you are in a university setting you will have access to legal databases your library subscribes to.
If you have graduated, take a look at some tutorials about these databases online and see if your organisation has a subscription.
More Citation Examples
Case citation examples;
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Riordan v Ireland [2009] IESC 44, [2009] 3 IR 745.
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Doran v Delaney [1998] 2 IR 61 (SC).
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Friends of the Curragh Environment Ltd v An Bord Pleanála (No 2) [2006] IEHC 390, [2007] 1 ILRM 386.
Bibliography of Resources on legal Citation
How to Find Legislation
Irish Legislation
- Irish Constitution
- Irish Statute Book - Acts
- FAQ's how to track amendments to Legislation
- Irish Statutory instruments
- Irish Statute Book Glossary of terms
UK Legislation
Freely Available Resources
If you do not have access to one of these databases, you could try some freely available resources.
BAILII
The British and Irish Legal Information Institute is a really useful site that provides access to freely available British and Irish public legal information where you can find British and Irish case law & legislation, European Union case law, Law Commission reports, and other law-related British and Irish material.
IRLII
IRLII was established to contribute to the British and Irish Legal Information Institute (BAILII). IRLII is intended to complement, rather than compete with BAILII, providing BAILLI with Irish content. It ensures even greater accessibility to Irish Case Law and journal articles published in Ireland.
WorldLII
WorldLII has details of case law resources for other commonwealth jurisdictions e.g. Northern Ireland and countries in the Commonwealth. It also includes United Nations materials, national, international and transnational law.
Learning Check
Legal Triage - What are you stuck on?
Use our quick Legal Triage guide at the points when you need tips on where to go next for legal information.
Learning Tip
Read the brief or assignment you are given carefully and make sure you answer the question you are given rather than the question you hoped for.
Some discovery services in libraries do not search legal databases, you will need to directly search the legal databases in your library or in your organisation.
Ethics & Academic Integrity
Ethics concerns your behaviour when you are gathering and using information both in study and practice.
Further Information for Professional Conduct
Legal Career Pathways
Grad Ireland - Law page
Use this site to see where you can go and what you can do with a law degree. Contains comprehensive tips on building your legal career and jobs for the legal sector.
Law Careers Plus
A Law degree can also lead you into other non-legal careers such as Accounting, Tax, Journalism, and Dispute Resolution.
There are career opportunities within the EU -
Lawyer - EU - an EU careers portal
The Green Book - graduate jobs in Europe
Other Useful Supports
University Supports
Writing centers at universities can help you acquire good legal writing skills
Legal Databases have useful help sections
Law Firm Supports
AccessToLaw is a gateway site, providing annotated links to selected UK, Commonwealth and worldwide free legal web sites.
Open and Free Resources
There are also a range of online legal courses and lectures that can compliment your qualifications edX, Ted talks, Coursera, Alison, OpenLearn, FutureLearn, MIT OpenCourseWare.
Creators
This guide has been created by Susan Boyle, Virginia Conrick, Ann O'Sullivan and Pattie Punch as a collaborative initiative through the British and Irish Association of Law Librarians (BIALL) Irish Group.