Need help with Introduction to Law and the Legal System?
Make an appointment with a Paralegal Tutor in Tutor Match.
Tutors are available for all Rasmussen University students for free. Students can get tips and tricks from peers who have been there.
Wish you had the inside scoop on what to expect? Not sure what you need? Want to polish up your learning skills? Want to work smarter, not harder?
Make an appointment with a tutor!
Click here for directions and a video to help you make your first appointment: https://rasmussen.libanswers.com/faq/32816
Tip:
HEY! There's an app for Brainfuse (Tutoring Platform)! Click here
Occupational Outlook Handbook information on paralegal and legal assistant careers
O*Net Online information about paralegal and legal assistant careers
Articles from the Rasmussen University School of Justice Studies Blog
National Paralegal Associations:
Consult the document and video below.
The National Federation of Paralegal Association's (NFPL) Paralegal Regulation by State document can help you learn more about how your state regulates the profession:
Does your state regulate the paralegal profession?
View this video demonstration to learn how to search state regulations in the legal database, Fastcase.
Click here for additional information about how the U.S. Government is organized.
Federal Courts
Click on the links below to learn more about the Federal Court system.
State Courts
The structure of the court system varies from state to state. Click on the link below to view an interactive map providing information about a state's court structure.
Use the tabs in the left panel of this Guide to link to videos and other tools that will introduce basic search skills in Fastcase and Lexis+.
Demonstration of a search for a state statute in Lexis+
Selections from the Library Collection
Legal Research by
Legal Research: Take the law into your own hands Do you have legal questions at home, at work, or as part of law-related course work? Legal Research provides everything you need, laying out easy-to-follow research methods that will help you find the right answers. Find out how to: locate and understand statutes, regulations, and cases make sure your research is 100% up to date, and organize your research results into a memorandum of law for use at school, at work, or in court. Completely updated for the 18th edition, Legal Research shows you how to find statutes, cases, background information, and answers to specific legal questions online. Even more important, you'll be guided to the most reliable and user-friendly sites, so you won't drown in an information flood. Lots of examples and easy-to-understand instructions teach you how to master all the basic legal research tools, including: online search engines reliable free legal websites legal encyclopedias, periodicals, and treatises annotated legal codes and statutes published reports of state and federal court cases case digests and Shepard's Citations, and the best legal blogs.
Writing a Legal Memorandum
Click HERE to link to additional information about writing legal memorandums.
Books on Legal Writing from the Library Collection
How to create the section symbol (§)
Click HERE to download the directions to create the section symbol (§) in Word.
Click on the video below for information on how to draft a summons and complaint.
As a paralegal student, you have access to a premier legal database, Lexis+. Each student has a unique login to access the database. Students will receive an email directly from Lexis that provides their Lexis+ username and temporary password in the first term of the paralegal program. This email is sent to the Rasmussen student email account ("smail"). The subject line of the email is "LA Welcome Kit."
Paralegal Practice and Procedure by
The completely revised and updated fourth edition of the most trusted paralegal desk references on the market. Now fully revised and expanded: the bestselling desk reference for paralegals at any level. Each chapter has been completely updated to include the latest step-by-step instructions for every aspect of a paralegal's job, with new procedures, checklists, and resources throughout. Topics covered include: ? Paralegal ethics ? Training programs ? Court systems and court procedures ? Federal court practice and procedures ? Pretrial practice and procedure ? Legal research tools ? Electronic trial preparation procedures In addition to the general resources that will be of value to every paralegal, this guide also includes detailed information on practice and procedures for working in specialty law firms.
