This document provides instructions and questions for a legal research competition. It includes 12 multi-part questions testing skills in using legal research tools like Westlaw, Lexis Advance, and print sources. The questions cover topics such as citing cases, finding statutes and regulations, researching international environmental law, and identifying risks disclosed in SEC filings. Competitors are asked to provide citations, summarize sources, and answer factual questions that require researching US and foreign legal authorities.

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HARVARD
LAW SCHOOL
LIBRARY
LEGAL RESEARCH COMPETITION
Put Your Research Skills to the Test
January 12th - 26th
1. You are Bluebooking ajournal article onthe impactof the swelteringheatonthe foundingfathersin
draftingthe declarationof independence andare havingtrouble finding sourcesfromthe American
colonial period.
a. List three waysyoucan gethelpfroman HLS research librarian(forsome
ideas: http://asklib.law.harvard.edu/).[3points]
b. Identifyadatabase where youcouldfindhistorical newspapersfromthe colonial period.
[2 points]
2. As part of preparationfora class-actionlawsuitaboutlampsthatpreventseasonal affective
disorder,yourmanagingattorney mentionsa1916 decisionfromthe FirstDistrictAppellateCourtof
Illinois,whichwill be helpfulinyourresearchbecause itprovidesadefinitivedefinitionforthe
durationof winter.
a. Provide acitationto thiscase. [2 points]
b. What monthsdoesthe court state constitute wintermonths?[2points]
c. The court usestwo basesof reasoningforthisdefinition. Name them. [2points]
d. Usingthe WestKeyNumberassignedtothe relevantHeadnoteinthiscase,findanother
relevantcase froma differentstate. Provide the keynumberandthe citationtothe second
case. [2 points]
3. In orderto ward off the winterchill inNew England,youdecidetotake a tripto Australia!Use
WestlawNexttofindaJanuary5, 2015 newsarticle from the CairnsPostor an article fromthe Daily
Telegraph. Whatisthe scorchinghightemperature expectedinSydneybyJanuary9th? Provide the
WestlawNextcitationforthe article youfound( [year] WLNR[documentnumber]). [2points]

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4. You're workingwithaprofessoronan environmental law historyproject.She hasaskedyoutofind
the earliestmentionsof the termsglobal warmingandclimate change (inthe environmental
context) inlawreviewarticles.
a. What source(s) mightyouuse tosearch? [2 points]
b. Please give 1-2citationstoearlyarticleswitheachterm. [2 points]
c. Your professoralsowantstolookfor local resourcesonthe topic. What Massachusettsspecific
sourcesare available onLexisAdvance forEnvironmental Law? [2points]
5. Overthe break,you’ve beenworkingonyourhobbies.You’ve beenspendingyourspare time
developingamethodtodiverthurricanesawayfrompopulatedareas.Youstartwonderingwhether
your ideamightbe patentable. Youhaven’ttakenanyintellectual propertyclasses,soyou’ll needto
do some backgroundresearch.
a. You decide thatyouwant to start witha quicksummaryof patentlaw.You usedthe book
Understanding CivilProcedure tostudyfor exams. DoesHLSL have anythingfromthe
Understanding…seriesonpatentlaw?If yes,where canyoufindit? [2 points]
b. A fellowweathercontrol enthusiastremembersseeingabrief article fromearly2014 abouta
decisiondenyingapatentfora methodof controllinghurricanes. Yourfrienddoesn’tremember
where she sawthe article,butdoesrememberthatitwas ina legal currentawareness/news
source.Identifythe article andthe decision. [2points]
Bonus:What movie isreferencedinthe article?DoesHLSLowna copy? [2 points]
c. The patentin the case wasdeniedfor“lackof enablement.”You’dlike toreada more in-depth
discussionof enablement. Identifyamajoronline treatise onPatentLaw.Copyandpaste the
definitionof enablementfromthe source. [2points]
d. Searchfor patents.Identifythe earliestissuedUSpatentthatyou can findfora processor
device tocontrol stormssuch as typhoonsorhurricanes. [2 points]
6. You’ve beenaskedtofinda pair of 19th centuryEnglishcases: 1 F & F 162 and1 F & F 165.
a. What do these citations standfor?Whatresource didyouuse to findthisinformation?
[2 points]
b. Have these casesbeenreprinted?Where? [2points]
c. Findthe cases. Name the partiesandbrieflydescribe the factsof the cases.[2 points]
d. Finda contemporarynewspaperaccountof the underlyingincident. [2points]

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7. You are a legal internworkingforthe Global Defense Council (GDC) inWashington,DC. Yourboss,
SydneyEllenWade,hasjuststrucka bargain withthe Presidenttohelppassan energybill requiring
a 20 percentreductionof the emissionof greenhousegasoverthe nexttenyears.If the GDC can
secure 24 Senate votesforthe bill,the White House willdeliverthe remainingvotesneededtopass
the bill. Althoughyourbossisgoodat thinkingonherfeet,she needssome backgroundinformation
aboutlegislative andregulatoryattemptstocurb greenhousegasemissionsbefore she meetswith
Senate leadership.
a. FindtwoHLS LibraryResearchGuidesthatwouldbe helpful onthistopic. [2points]
b. Ms. Wade mentionsthatthe EPA recentlypublishedareportabout greenhouse gasemissions.
Provide acitationto thisreportincludinganinternetlink. [2points]
c. Your colleaguesare workingonseveral proposedregulationscurrentlyopenforpubliccomment
that deal withgreenhousegasemissions. Provide acitationtoone suchregulation. [2points]
d. You knowthat the Senate CommitteeonEnvironment&PublicWorkshas a Subcommittee for
CleanAirand NuclearSafety. Provideacitationtoa relevanthearingbythatcommittee (recent
or historical). [2points]
e. Since thisisa heavily-researchedtopic,Ms.Wade wouldalsolike toreview anycompiled
legislative histories. Findalegislative historyforthe CleanAirAct(or anysubsequent
amendments) andprovideacitation. [2 points]
f. Many stateshave enactedstatutestohelpreduce orlimitgreenhousegasemissions. Use the
50 State StatutorySurveysonWestlawNexttofinda surveythataddressesthese issues. How
manystatescurrentlyhave suchlaws? [2 points]
g. Ms. Wade wantsto make sure she alsohas her federal basescovered. WhatFederal Statute
addressesaGlobal Climate Change Program? [2points]
8. You are lookingforinformationabouthow moderngovernmentsactinresponse toissuesrelatedto
climate and energy. Whenyoustartedthisresearch,youcame across thisNY Timesarticle:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/19/world/europe/germanys-effort-at-clean-energy-proves-
complex.html. Nowyouwanttofindoutmore about whatis happeningwiththisissueinGermany.
Assume,forthisexercise,thatyoudon’treadGerman(evenif youdo).
a. Is there a special Germanname forthe ideaof changingenergysourcesfromcoal andnuclearto
renewable? If so,whatis it,and whatit itsapproximate English translation. [2points]
b. Nowthat youknowthe German name for this,findtwoEnglish-languagearticles,publishedin
2012 or later,that discussanyaspectof thisissue. One article shouldcome fromareputable
newspublicationandthe otherfromanacademicjournal that isnot relatedtolaw. Write a
one- to two-sentence summaryof the mainpointof eacharticle youfind. [2points]

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c. Now,use Westlawtofinda lawreview article onthistopic. Provide asummaryof thisarticle in
3-4 sentences (copyingandpastinganabstractis fine if there isone). [2points]
d. Searchin HOLLIS+ for anyEnglish-languagebooksorbookchaptersonthistopic inany of the
Harvard Libraries. Listone of thembelow – include the title,the call numberand locationof the
book,and a linktothe HOLLIS+ record. [2 points]
e. What isthe English-languagename of Germany’sfederal agencythatdealswithenvironmental
issues? Provide the linktoitsEnglish-language website. WhoisGermany’sfederal environment
minister?[2points]
Go to the English-languagewebsiteof the agencyreferredtoin part(e) above. Usingthe
informationthere,answerthe questionsbelow.
f. Are any legal provisionslistedinthe sectionthatdiscussesnuclearsafety? Whatisthe English-
language name of the German federal statute thatregulatesnuclearenergy? Whenwasit
promulgated,and,accordingtothe site,whenwasitlast amended? Whatdoesitregulate,and
how? What is the effectof the mostrecentamendment?
[3 points]
g. In the area of the site thatprovidesaccesstolegislation,isthere astatute relatedtorenewable
energysources? Whenwasit promulgatedand,accordingtothissite,whenwasitlast
amended? Accordingtothe language of the act, what are “renewable energysources”?
[3 points]
9. UsingBloombergBNA Law Reports,identifythe countrythatisconsideringprovidingcreditsto
businessandhomeownersforsurpluspowergeneratedbyrooftopsolarpanels.How muchmoney
will the governmentraise forthisventure? [2points]
10. Is there a statutoryprovisioninCaliforniathatallowsthe state toborrow moneytopurchase
electricity? If so,whatisthe statutorycitation,whenwasthe statute enacted,andwhatisthe
maximumamountof debtindollarsthatis allowed? [3points]
11. In 2009 an earthquake inthe Abruzzo regionof Italycausedover300 deathsandover1,000 injuries.
In the aftermath,six scientistsandagovernmentofficial were triedformakingstatementsthat
reassuredthe populace and,manyargued,causedgreatercasualtieswhenthose whotrustedthese
predictionsdidnotevacuate. [Note:forthese questionsyoumayneedtocite a combinationof
governmentandnewssources].
a. What was the initial outcome of thiscase? [2points]
b. Where wasthe case appealed?Whatisthe website of the courtthat heard the appeals?
[2 points]
c. Can the case be furtherappealed? [2points]

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12. Weatherand othernatural disasterscanpose risksto companiesinawide varietyof industries.As
such,these companiesmustinclude riskfactorswarningtheirinvestorsaboutthese risksincertain
of theirfilingswiththe SEC.
a. What are tworesourcesthatcan be usedto findsuchfilings? [2points]
b. What isan example of acompanythathas includedsucha riskfactor inone of theirfilings?
Provide alinkto the filing. [2points]
13. You owna two-familyhome inCambridge. Asyoushovel yoursidewalkandwalkways,youstart
chattingwithyourneighbors,who’ve ownedthe buildingnextdoorforfortyyears. Yourmention
your concernaboutkeepingupwithsnow removal andmakingsure thatno one slipsonthe snow
and ice on yourproperty.Your neighborstellyounottoworry. Underthe “Massachusettsrule”you
can’t be liable forsomeone slippingandfallingif it’sthe resultof anatural accumulationof snow.
You’re not sure that this iscorrect, so youdecide tolookintoit.
a. In Massachusetts,forpurposesof determiningthe landlord’sliabilitywhensomeone slipsand
fallsonice or snow,is itimportantto determinewhetherornotthe accumulationwasnatural?
Has thisalwaysbeenthe rule? [2 points]
b. What isthe leadingmoderncase onthistopic? [2 points]
c. Keycite /Shepardize/BCitethe case andlistall Massachusettscitingcaseswithnegative
treatmentof the case (yellow orredflags) [2points]