Assignment 3: Overview of Legal Research

It is widely known that paralegals serve many functions, which include but are not limited to performing investigation, handling pleadings, and conducting discovery. Imagine that a senior partner has assigned your supervising attorney to litigate a personal injury case, and your supervising attorney has asked you to help her prepare. In preparation for trial, complete the following tasks.

Write a five to six (5-6) page paper in which you:

1. Outline a detailed three (3) step system for interviewing a client. Explain the purpose of each step within your system.
2. Draft five (5) questions that, as a paralegal, you would ask prior to beginning an interview with a client. Identify the primary purpose of each question.
3. Develop ten (10) interrogatories, and describe the primary information that you are attempting to elicit from the opposing counsel’s client.
4. Explain the importance of using interrogatories for a personal injury case. Identify two (2) ways in which your supervising attorney could use the opposing party’s responses to further her case. Provide a rationale for your response.
5. Use at least three (3) quality references. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not qualify as academic resources.
6. No plagiarism.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

• Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
• Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

• Research information using primary and secondary sources.
• Use technology and information resources to research issues in legal research and writing.
• Write clearly and concisely about legal research and writing using proper writing mechanics