The Library of Congress Librarians blog recommended Chasing Paper for newbie lawyers:

 

We receive a wide array of questions here at the Law Library of Congress—from detailed foreign legal research to tracing U.S. federal legislation and everything in between—but one area of legal research on which we consistently receive requests for assistance is the U.S. legal process. Specifically, researchers (including pro se litigants or those who choose to act as their own legal counsel) have many questions regarding court procedure and the laws, rules, and conventions that dictate how litigants should proceed during a court case.

 

Today, we would like to focus on one area of court procedure—the discovery process. In short, the discovery process is a method by which opposing parties in a court proceeding learn more about certain witnesses and evidence that will be presented at an upcoming trial. While information learned during the discovery process can be extremely helpful for litigants while they prepare their cases, it can be difficult for those unfamiliar with the discovery process to not only prepare discovery motions but also to respond to opposing counsel’s discovery motions appropriately. Thus, we have prepared this Beginner’s Guide in order to help litigants from all walks of life become more comfortable with the discovery process.

Treatises are a great way to begin your research on the discovery process. Treatises synthesize court rules, statutes, and case law into a helpful overview that is supported by citations to primary authority. Below, please see the lists of treatises we have compiled on a variety of topics related to discovery to assist you with your research:

March 19, 2014 by Barbara Bavis. This post was co-authored by Barbara Bavis and Robert Brammer