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Field Guide to Legal Research

2nd Edition
Paul D. Callister
ISBN: 9781685611477
Subject: Legal Research
Format: Print & Electronic - Softbound
Page Count: 292
Copyright: 2026 | Status: Accepting Pre-Orders

New book purchase includes complimentary digital access to the eBook.

Field Guide to Legal Research is a conceptual roadmap—not another data heavy treatise—for upper level law students, law clerks, and practicing attorneys. Grounded in a construct based pedagogy, it teaches readers to “work the problem,” classify a research task, and then align that problem type with the most effective sources and strategies. Like a true field guide, the book opens with a clear-eyed primer on generative AI, moves through a concise refresher of core research skills, and then systematically maps problem types to the resources that solve them. Later chapters dive deeply into representative challenges—ranging from agency practice and statistical questions to patent law hypotheticals—so readers can see the constructs in action. Throughout, abundant screenshots and visuals break down complex workflows, while end of chapter exercises invite deliberate practice in real world contexts. Instructors will appreciate the companion Teacher’s Manual, which layers on additional insights, sample assessments, and classroom activities to support competency based learning. Whether you are revisiting fundamentals or navigating today’s AI shaped information landscape, Field Guide to Legal Research equips you with a transferable mental map—one that turns legal research from a checklist of platforms into an adaptive, strategic discipline.


Imprint: West Academic Publishing
Series: American Casebook Series
Publication Date: 11/14/2025

Paul D. Callister, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law

CasebookPlus™

This title is available in our CasebookPlus format. CasebookPlus provides support beyond your classroom lectures and materials by offering additional digital resources to you and your students. Anchored by faculty-authored formative self-assessments keyed to our most popular casebooks, CasebookPlus allows students to test their understanding of core concepts as they are learning them in class – on their own, outside of the classroom, with no extra work on your part. CasebookPlus combines three important elements:

  • A new print or digital casebook
  • Access to a downloadable eBook with the ability to highlight and add notes
  • 12-month access to a digital Learning Library complete with:
Multiple-choice self-assessment questions, including:
  • Chapter questions keyed to the casebook
  • Black Letter Law questions (available in select subjects)
  • Subject area review questions for end of semester use
Essay and short answer questions with sample answers and expert commentary, in 1L and select upper-level subjects

Leading digital study aids, an outline starter, and audio lectures in select subjects

Students can still utilize CasebookPlus digital resources if they’ve purchased a used book or are renting their text by purchasing the Learning Library at westacademic.com.

With CasebookPlus, you can customize your students’ learning experience and monitor their performance. The quiz editor allows you to create your own custom quiz set, suppress specific quiz questions or quiz sets, and time-release quiz questions. Additionally, the flexible, customized reporting capability helps you evaluate your students’ understanding of the material and can also help your school demonstrate compliance with the new ABA Assessment and Learning Outcomes standards.

The new edition not only updates techniques and resources the book originally addressed, it treats generative AI in the beginning, both AI on platforms peculiar to Lexis+ and Westlaw Precision and AI available on the web. The Field Guide also offers a refresher chapter near the beginning of the book to help law students remember skills they have already been taught so that they may dive more quickly into research in their courses. Finally, the “Deeper Dive into Resources” addresses skills at a level not found in the original edition of the guide. As a whole, it is a better teaching tool.

Learn more about this series.