2025 Chapters (Layout Features)

Foreword to Field Guide to Legal Research (2d ed)

Neacsu, Dana

The "Foreword" endorses Field Guide to Legal Research (2d ed.) by detailing the philosophy and individual chapters of the work. While I firmly believe legal research instruction requires a makeover, my approach favors a different paradigm than that of the Field Guide. Whereas I advocate for teaching legal research as an integrated component of doctrinal writing classes, co-authors Callister and Klovning champion a shift toward a process-oriented method of 'legal thinking' essential for the age of artificial intelligence. Utilizing a construct-based pedagogy, the co-authors present legal research as a process of orientation, discovery, and judgment. This approach serves as a wake-up call for instructors, equipping them with the tools to master their craft as the profession seeks human excellence in a landscape increasingly shaped by the reality—and the myth—of GenAI.