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Excellence in Legal Research Program

About ELR Courses

Are you ready to become a research pro? Our fully online, self-paced program is here to prepare you for the rigorous, analytical research you'll tackle as a practicing attorney.

With newly licensed attorneys spending 40% to 60% of their time on legal research and the NextGen Bar Exam (starting in 2026) putting legal research skills front and center, now’s the time to master this essential craft!

Here’s the breakdown:

  • Required Courses: Dive into advanced skills like legal research analysis, ethics & integrity, and practical resources that go beyond the 1L basics. These courses build on foundational knowledge to ensure you're ahead of the game.
  • Elective Courses: Customize your learning! Explore refreshers, advanced training, and specialized legal resources you’ve never encountered before. Complete at least 4 electives, but feel free to take as many as you like.

The full list of required and elective courses is below—start building your expertise today!

Required Courses (6 total)

⚖️ RE 1: Legal Research Ethics & Integrity

Become the guardian of ethical legal research!
By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

  • Identify the professional ethical rules associated with legal research, including the lawyer's duty of tech competence.
  • Explain why it’s critical for lawyers to conduct ethical research.
  • Apply ethical standards when conducting legal research.
  • Analyze the information found during legal research to ensure its accuracy, relevancy, and currency.

🔍 RE 2: Legal Research Analysis

Crack complex legal problems with expert research strategies.
By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

  • Conduct an issue analysis of complex legal research problems and build a research plan based on it.
  • Explain the factors that determine the utility of primary and secondary sources for legal issues.
  • Analyze the value of sources to ensure they meet your research needs.
  • Evaluate and refine your research plan during the process to meet your objectives effectively.

🤖 RE 3: AI & Emerging Tech in Legal Research

Master cutting-edge tools for the modern legal landscape.
By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

  • Identify the latest AI tools and emerging technologies used in legal research.
  • Explain the benefits and limitations of using AI in legal research.
  • Address the ethical issues and potential biases associated with AI tools.
  • Understand the lawyer's duty of tech competence related to AI.
  • Use modern AI tools to conduct various legal research tasks with confidence.

🔎 RE 4: Advanced Searching

Take your search skills to the next level!
By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

  • Explain the benefits and limitations of Boolean vs. natural language searching and choose the best method for your needs.
  • Design search queries using terms and connectors syntax to pinpoint relevant resources.
  • Conduct proximity searches to refine your results further.
  • Analyze your search results and effectively revise queries for precision.

🏛️ RE 5: Court Practice

Navigate court research with confidence.
By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

  • Identify where to file court documents in your needed jurisdiction.
  • Find court rules specific to your jurisdiction.
  • Locate and ethically tailor court forms to meet client needs.
  • Use key research tools to streamline your court practice tasks.

📂 RE 6: Dockets

Unlock the power of docket research.
By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

  • Explain the importance of docket research in legal practice.
  • Find dockets using platforms like PACER, Bloomberg Law, and TAMES.
  • Read dockets to locate relevant documents efficiently.
  • Set up alerts to receive updates and stay informed on docket changes.

Elective Courses (choose 4+)

🔎 EL 1: Advanced Case Law Research

Master the art of finding and analyzing case law like a pro!
By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

  • Use annotations and indexing tools to uncover key federal and state cases.
  • Craft advanced search strategies to dig deeper into case law.
  • Select the best cases to cite for any legal issue.
  • Track case history and treatment using citators like an expert.

📜 EL 2: Advanced Statutory Research

Crack the code on statutes with advanced research tools.
By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

  • Navigate indexes, tables of contents, and popular name tables to locate statutes.
  • Use advanced search techniques to find federal and state codes.
  • Analyze annotations to statutes, including notes of decisions and history.
  • Find superseded code versions and use citators to track changes and updates.

⚖️ EL 3: Advanced Regulatory Research

Unravel the relationship between statutes and regulations.
By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

  • Use annotations and indexes to find the right regulations tied to statutes.
  • Leverage advanced searches to pinpoint federal and state regulations.
  • Analyze annotations to regulations, including their authority and source notes.
  • Use citators to monitor amendments and updates to regulations.

🏛️ EL 4: Advanced Legislative History Research

Go behind the scenes of legislative processes to uncover intent.
By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

  • Identify the stages of the legislative process and key documents from each.
  • Use legislative history for legal analysis and statutory interpretation.
  • Find federal and state legislative history using bill numbers and various tools.
  • Use both free and paid resources to unlock valuable legislative insights.

📊 EL 5: Legal Analytics

Turn data into actionable insights for better legal decisions.
By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

  • Identify the types of information suited for legal analytics tools.
  • Interpret data trends to uncover actionable knowledge.
  • Use analytics tools to analyze judges, cases, and more.
  • Extract meaningful insights that inform legal strategies.

🌵 EL 6: Texas Legal Research

Everything you need to tackle Texas law like a local expert.
By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

  • Use tools like Texas Legislature Online and the Texas Legislative Reference Library.
  • Find Texas laws using both free and paid resources.
  • Resolve Texas-specific research issues with primary and secondary sources.
  • Track legislative updates and changes using citators.

🎓 EL 7: Legal Research on the NextGen Bar Exam

Ace the research portion of the NextGen Bar Exam!
By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

  • Understand the content and skills tested on the exam.
  • Explain how legal research impacts overall performance.
  • Navigate the exam’s formats and question types with confidence.
  • Align your research process with exam expectations.

🕵️ EL 8: Factual & Public Records Research

Uncover critical facts and records for any legal case.
By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

  • Conduct research on judges, experts, and individuals.
  • Find company financials, vital records, and scientific information.
  • Address ethical considerations when conducting public records research.

📰 EL 9: Legal News & Current Awareness

Stay informed and ahead of the curve in your legal practice.
By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

  • Understand the importance of tracking legal news and trends.
  • Use tools to follow cases, legislation, and rulemaking developments.
  • Create a personalized strategy for staying current, including setting alerts.

💵 EL 10: Free & Low-Cost Resources

Maximize your budget without compromising your research quality.
By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

  • Weigh the benefits, limitations, and ethics of free legal resources.
  • Find legal briefs, pleadings, motions, and orders without spending a fortune.
  • Evaluate the credibility of free and low-cost platforms.

✅ EL 11: Evaluating Your Research

Fine-tune your research by separating the good from the questionable.
By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

  • Identify biases in legal information creation and dissemination.
  • Apply criteria to assess reliability of legal resources.
  • Ensure the sources you rely on are accurate and trustworthy.

📜 EL 12: Constitutional Research

Dive into constitutional law with advanced tools and strategies.
By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

  • Understand the place of constitutions in the legal hierarchy.
  • Use indexes and tables of contents to locate provisions in federal and state constitutions.
  • Analyze annotations like history and notes of decisions.
  • Use paid and free resources to explore constitutional provisions.