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Researching Texas Law, 4th Edition

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Now in its fourth edition, Researching Texas Law has become an essential in the arsenal of the legal researcher in Texas. Authored by Baylor law professors Brandon D. Quarles and Matthew C. Cordon, Researching Texas Law covers both research strategy and topics and information specific to the Texas researcher.

Researching Texas Law is not geared solely to law students, but practitioners as well. The legal research process and case law research receive their own complete, yet brief explanations. The case law chapter also includes a concise explanation of finding writ and petition history for civil and criminal cases, a practice unique to Texas and it’s multi-level appeals process.  From there the book goes straight to some of an attorney’s most important tools: court rules, jury instructions, briefs and records, and jury verdicts and settlements. The jury instructions section is especially useful, with lots of resources for jury charges specific to certain areas of law.

One of the best parts of Researching Texas Law is its chapters for Statutory and Constitutional Research and Tracking Bills and Compiling Legislative Histories. The authors take care to walk the reader through the legislative processes of both the U.S. Congress and the Texas Legislature, and where the reader can find the materials created by these bodies. Especially helpful is a walk through the Texas Legislative procedure in Chapter 8, identifying documents created by legislative committees and describing their value. The chapter also highlights the availability of legislative history documents by the date of their consideration, helpfully noting where a researcher can find materials online for the 71st Texas Legislative Session to the present. These two chapters should be required reading for any student developing their research skills in Texas.

The remainder of the book is equally useful. In Chapter 9, on Administrative Regulations and Decisions, both the process of promulgating regulations and resources for agency decisions and related documents are described for both Texas and federal law. The later chapters discuss Texas Secondary Sources and their use, before continuing to a chapter on Texas Practice Materials. The Texas Practice Materials chapter is another standout in the book, with a robust listing of Texas-specific practice materials available for various areas of law. Any researcher who thinks she’s exhausted her research options should check this chapter before declaring defeat- it is very comprehensive.

In all, Researching Texas Law contains a wealth of practical research advice and a complete look at Texas legal research materials. The new 4th edition is highly recommended to both novice Texas researchers, and experts as well.

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