Abstract

Much recent scholarship has posited that computer-assisted legal research will fundamentally alter the manner in which practicing attorneys conduct legal research, resulting in an overall change to the legal system itself. Ms. Lihosit argues that, while we have been undergoing a major transformation in the format of legal materials, and the influence of the West digest system is waning, there will not be a resultant restructuring of the legal system. After a brief overview of American legal history, provided to show that apprenticeship training has always been present in the American legal system in some form, the article uses the author’s study of practicing attorneys and law firm librarians to provide an alternative model of how attorneys conduct research.