Richard Maseles practices bankruptcy and debtor-creditor law for the Missouri Department of Revenue. He will teach a course about “Real World” Legal Research at Solo Practice University®.
Richard Maseles specializes in collecting past-due taxes from multinational corporations and (formerly) high-net wealth individuals through the bankruptcy process. He has a broad background in debtor-creditor law, both in prior private practice and as editor for the State Bar of Texas’ Texas Collections Manual.
In twenty-plus years’ law practice, Richard has litigated real estate, probate, personal injury, and even admiralty cases. He also found time to spend half of his career (to date) practicing legal research, writing, and editing for the Texas Bar, National Legal Research Group, the Missouri Office of State Courts, and LexisNexis. He is admitted to the Texas and Missouri Bars as well as assorted (but never sordid) federal courts. He also has outdated certifications in pipeline welding and operation of cranes of up to 80 tons’ capacity.
Richard will teach a course called “Real World” Legal Research discussing how ‘real lawyers’ do (or should do) legal research, how to be a smart legal research consumer, and show you how sound legal research will shape your effective oral and written advocacy.
Syllabus – “Real World” Legal Research
This “real world legal research” course addresses the basic question– what does the new or transitioning lawyer do when Lexis or Westlaw aren’t free to her any more? What does she buy, and what should she pay for it? Which tools work in the real world, and which can (and should) she ignore? Do the approaches to research she learned in law school still work in practice, or does she need to learn new ones? Richard will regale you with war stories where good research won cases, scare you with horror stories where shoddy research damaged cases and the lawyers who tried them, and inspire you to become a better lawyer by honing that most basic of lawyerly skills– how to find the law– without selling your soul or mortgaging your future in the process.