I would like to develop and improve my legal research in regard to Westlaw and other such research engines. After having gained the certification for Westlaw and LexisNexis at the University of Warwick, being able to fulfil this challenge would be important because it would show a greater knowledge of the research sites as well as help me in international scenarios.

Firstly, I started by making sure I had a firm and clear knowledge of general legal research in England, then I was able to learn the basics of legal research of various search engines in the United States starting off with simple functions at first such as searching for recent case law and then progressing to more difficult functions such as looking through various opinions and making sure that the case law was relevant and had not been overruled. Mainly, the actions that I took were based on practice and going through it over and over each day since legal research must start somewhere. Then, I found myself making progress which was important and that links were being made with other secondary sources which I could utilise for my project as well.

I know that I have achieved my goal because I was able to find out a lot of information from the legal research that I conducted. This included the myriad of case law which would help in writing my paper since I could find many in relation to the different sub sections including on issues like mitigation as well as opening and closing statements. It seems that also, I knew that I achieved my goal because I was finding many journal articles with specific authors in mind which would help me tailor my research and project in a specific direction. I found many important and useful articles on a variety of topics from the legal research that I carried out as well as from many unique sites which would demonstrate that I was looking outside of what was the norm and into more interesting and detailed areas of research. Furthermore, I knew earlier on that I had achieved this developmental goal because I was finding out more links and sources, not just from secondary but also primary sources, such as files and records online from a variety, including California which was significant from the point of view of the title of my project.

New skills that I have developed from achieving this objective include that I am able to use information technology effectively and efficiently. This means that I am more competent in using the internet and other technological resources in trying to deduce and understand the different kinds of research that can take place on more technological platforms. Furthermore, other skills that have been developed include flexibility and adaptability since there were times where I was trying to stay and ensure that I commit to my game plan in understanding how to complete and accomplish this goal, but, in the end, it seemed that sometimes, it is necessary to leave the comfort zone and rather try different approaches and strategies which is something that I did. Furthermore, I was able to be patient and to go beyond the surface in search for the necessary and appropriate case law that I was trying to find.

Being able to use legal research sites in the United States has shown me the importance of understanding international platforms and adapting oneself so that one can be as flexible as possible when researching and learning how to research effectively. This new skill will aid me in my research project in relation to the sources that I will be using and the authors that I came across helping me to link them to other research sites and other research resources, whether, they be primary or secondary choices. This will also help me in relation to my future studies, this means, that since this year I am studying French Law in Paris, I will need to have some working knowledge of how to effectively work and learn in another country. But also, in the future, were I to choose to study elsewhere in the world, then this skill would be extremely useful and necessary. This is because there are differenet ways of learning and communicating to understand where to find the case law and black letter law which is important for any research paper. In addition, this skill could prove to be pivotal in my future career since lawyers and attorneys must know how to use WestLaw be it domestic or international in searching for the necessary cases.

I would state that I would be focusing on legal research in general, rather than just WestLaw since there are many different research sites and many ways in conducting legal research in the United States. This can be something that one manages to find by doing other research since sometimes I didn't quite realise that I was on my path to finding a particular website with particular case law and black letter law that I couldn't find elsewhere, thus it is important to be as flexible and adaptable as possible.