Primary vs. Secondary Sources

In legal research, there are essentially 2 types of sources:  Primary and Secondary.

Primary sources are law generated by a governmental body, e.g. statutes (generated by legislature) or cases (generated by judiciary).

Secondary sources are other resources which may be written by lawyers or judges or other legal professionals which comment on the law, categorize the law or otherwise interpret the primary sources.

Secondary sources are always persuasive authority.

Primary sources can be either mandatory (binding) or persuasive depending on several factors including the jurisdiction of the sources and  the jurisdiction of the the pending case, the facts of sources and the facts of the pending case, the hierarchy of authority, and the currency of the source.

The researcher is always looking for primary sources which are mandatory.  The researcher, however, may use secondary sources to locate the primary sources.

What’s a FIRAC?

If you have never briefed a case, you have missed the “fun” and frustration of trying to map out a court’s answer to a legal question.  In order to sort out case law, the case brief is used as an outlining tool.  It is an outlining method specific to the legal field.

In the legal field, there are many new vocabulary words, but FIRAC?  Really?

FIRAC actually stands for FACTS, ISSUE, RULE, APPLICATION and CONCLUSION.  It is a method of briefing cases, which is something every student of the law must attempt on some level.

The method that I have found easiest to remember and to use is F-I-R-A-C.  The “F” stands for “Facts.”  You need to outline both the procedural and legally significant facts (those necessary to the court’s reasoning and holding).  The procedural facts are things like prior hearings, prior order, prior history on appeal.  Legally significant facts are the facts the court looked to in making its decision.

The “I” stands for “Issue.”  The issue is the legal question presented.  It is the question being asked of the court.  A case may have (usually does have) more than one issue.

The “R” stands for “Rule.”  This is one of the areas where the novice case briefer can get confused.  The rule is the precedent – the judicial opinions that have come before which are binding on the court making this decision.  The rule is typically a quotation from a prior case which is usually given away by the quotation marks and the citation.  There may be more than one rule per issue, so don’t write down only the first one that you come across; keep looking.

The “A” stands for “Analysis” or Application.”  This is the section that outlines the court’s reasoning, how the court reached its decision in the pending case.  It should be quoted in the brief but will probably not be in quotations in the case itself.  Often policy discussions, economic balancing and discussions of the intent of the legislature will be included in this section.  It will also include an application of the rule (precedent) to the facts of the pending case.

The “C” stands for “Conclusion.”  The conclusion is what the court did with the lower court decision (e.g. affirmed, remanded, reversed) as well as the real life result.  I like to make sure that I understood the case result by stating in clear and concise terms what happened to the people involved in the case.

Briefing is core to the training of any legal professional’s mind.  It is a skill involving higher reasoning and analysis, so it is not acquired without some effort and practice.  Keep on briefing!  It will get easier.

Paralegal Job – Downtown L.A.

Here’s a posting for a paralegal job (it appears to have originated on Craig’s List)

Reply to: job-x3pgw-2803412865@craigslist.org

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The Position

The hired candidate will primarily support the firm’s business immigration caseload, including a highly successful EB-5 immigration practice – headed by a nationally known EB-5 expert. The Legal Assistant will be involved in complex immigration cases, including the following duties:
• Assisting attorneys with preparing petitions and applications
• Reviewing, analyzing and organizing supporting documents
• Interacting with clients and attorneys and support staff
• Working extensively with case management software
• Involvement in large-scale document productionCandidate Profile
For this position we are seeking a college graduate (or equivalent) with a minimum of 5 years’ experience in business immigration. The successful candidate will possess the following competencies:
• detail oriented
• excellent writer
• client management system, preferably Law Logix
• foreign language fluency desirable but not required

The Firm
Located in Downtown Los Angeles, Stone & Grzegorek was founded in 2005 by Lincoln Stone and Kathleen Grzegorek, certified as specialists in immigration law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. Dedicated to the needs of immigration clients, Stone & Grzegorek’s focus on client service and excellent track record in successful case management has driven the firm’s growth. In six years the law firm has grown to 15 immigration attorneys and a like number of support staff. Currently the firm is comprised of 4 partners and 11 associates who provide creative, thoughtful and deeply experienced counsel in a broad range of matters, including:  • Investor, • Employment, • Family-based immigration, • Removal proceedings, • Federal court appeals, • Asylum
• Naturalization

A competitive compensation package, including base salary and quarterly bonus, 401K, paid vacation, 37.5 hour work week and appropriate long-term incentives.

To submit your resume for consideration:
Please email cover letter and work history to the Craigslist email address listed above.
Include the words Legal Assistant in SUBJECT LINE

• Location: Downtown Los Angeles
• Compensation: A competitive compensation package, including base salary and quarterly bonus
• Principals only. Recruiters, please don’t contact this job poster.
• Please, no phone calls about this job!
• Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests.

PostingID: 2803412865

Where do Paralegals work?

Paralegals, who work alongside (“para”) lawyers, are employed in a variety of different places doing a variety of different things.

The following is a short (non-exhaustive list) of the places where paralegals are employed:

•  Law Offices (sole proprietorships, partnerships, larger firms)
• Governmental Entities (city, county, state, and federal government)
• Non-profit Organizations (Community Legal Services, Fair Housing, Bet Tzedek, Lawyer’s Referral Service, Bar Associations)
• Corporations

The type of law practiced varies from one entity to another as do the types of tasks that a paralegal might perform.  It is important to understand as much as possible about the type of legal environment before going in for an interview.  It is also important to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of different types of legal environments before deciding which career path to pursue.

If you are currently a paralegal working in the field, post a comment letting us know what type of legal environment you are working in as well as the type of law being practiced.

Independent Contractor vs. Employee: New Penalties

The following is a link to an article from the CEB blog regarding the issue of the classification of workers as either independent contractors or employees.  It includes some important information regarding the penalties which will be instituted in 2012.  This is an important issue both for those hiring others as well as those who find themselves working for people who want to classify them as an independent contractor rather than an employee.

Employee Versus Independent Contractor

What are the daily tasks of a paralegal?

This is a question without a simple answer.  Perhaps the better question is “What doesn’t a paralegal do?”

The reason it is hard to pin down the job description of a paralegal is because paralegals are asked to do many varied tasks ranging from those of an administrative assistant or receptionist, to those of a legal secretary and even to those of an attorney or law clerk.

It is, therefore, reasonable to expect that if you are doing tasks much like those of a receptionist or administrative assistant, your pay will be commensurate with that type of position.  If you are doing the work of a legal secretary or even an associate, your pay should be higher.

With the wide range of skills which might be required, the paralegal is best served by acquiring as much technical knowledge of the laws and procedures as well as the skills common among those working in offices and handling office equipment.  The paralegal should also begin to consider what skills might he or she acquire that could move them closer to the “associate” range where the compensation may be better.

If you are currently working as a paralegal, post a comment telling us some of the daily tasks you are engaged in.

Estate Planning Documents are not all treated equally

The following is a good post on where to store your different estate planning documents:

Who’s Got the Power (of attorney)?

Pre-Trial Deadlines

See the following CEB (Continuing Education of the Bar) post which lays out the pre-trial timelines:

Timeline to Trial

Federal Rules of Civil Procedure?

Check your FRCP Readiness with this article from Paralegal Gateway, a great Paralegal Resource:

FRCP Readiness:  10 Practical Tips for Paralegals

Paralegals: What do they do in litigation firms?

The legal profession is broad and deep.  Some lawyers are in court every day, and others have never set foot in a courtroom other than for jury duty or that occasional traffic infraction.  The same is true of those who work for lawyers, including paralegals.  The paralegal field offers great diversity.  In this series of posts, we will consider some of the tasks of the paralegal in different areas of the law.  If you have worked in any of these areas, please post a comment letting us know your impressions, likes, dislikes or other things you were asked to do on a regular basis.

Litigation Paralegals may do any, all or a combination of the following tasks under the direct supervision of the attorney:

• attend initial client meeting with attorney and take notes
• draft Summons and Complaint
• draft Answer or other responsive pleading
• review client files and gather information about case, issues, client and opposing parties
• prepare discovery (Form Interrogatories, Special Interrogatories, Demands for Production of Documents, Demands for Inspection of property, Request for Admissions, Subpoenas for Business Records, Notices of Deposition)
• meet with client to go through discovery received
• respond to discovery
• draft discovery motions
• draft Summary Judgment motions
• draft response to Summary Judgment motions
• interview witnesses and prepare witness statements
• prepare client for deposition/trial testimony
• prepare witness for depositions/trial
• review and assemble documents to be used in deposition/trial
• draft Case Management Statement
• draft mediation brief
• prepare trial subpoenas for witnesses and documents
• prepare exhibits for trial
• assist at trial

and the list goes on . . .