Paralegals must abide by ethical standards in all areas of their participation, including research practices, as per ABA module 1.1. Paralegals must abide by codes of ethics that have been created by associations that offer membership to them. For paralegals to be competent and diligent, they must be knowledgeable about and adept at gathering accurate electronic information. (Cohen & Olson, 2016). Additionally, paralegals are expected to keep their skills in electronic legal investigation sharp and to let their superiors know when they are lacking in certain areas.
Lawyers who use information acquired by paralegals that was not thoroughly researched have suffered as a result of paralegals' failure to conduct adequate and extensive research. An example of such a case is that of Deters versus Davis. Deters was a Kentucky lawyer faced with several suits most of which were granted formal hearings in the year 2010 (Cohen & Olson, 2016). Deters believed that the courts were not fair and had not accorded him with sufficient due process. Also, he thought that the commissioners who were tasked with hearing his cases had conflicting interests. He presented this motion to a court, but it was denied. However, he went ahead to file a legal action. During the hearing, the judge raised his concerns as to the depth of research that Deters had undertaken.
Deters responded that his research had been extensive and that he had obtained help from others as well. After the hearing, the case was thrown out, and the court argued that Deters had not presented sufficient research in support of the claims he had presented (Cohen & Olson, 2016). In addition, the court found that his allegations and example cases he had submitted in support of his case had nothing in common with te case at hand.
A significant number of researchers and paralegals usually overlook traditional sources, for instance, law reviews and the encyclopedia. Well, detailed law articles often point paralegals to relevant terms and issues. The same applies to publications such as phrases, words or the Nutshell book series (Cohen & Olson, 2016). Such materials are commonly a starting point during research. Where a researcher is not entirely cognizant of the proper search criteria, the electronic search is not usually fruitful. However, research does not always discount online sources completely. These are typically the best option for a researcher who wants to derive information from up to date sources. Online sources are updated much faster compared to those that are in print form.
However, there is the question of whether traditional sources are superior compared to electronic sources.Traditional sources offer the quality of content compared to electronic sources. Traditional sources are inherently tangible; opting for a traditional copy provides prolonged tangibility and existence (Cohen & Olson, 2016). Traditional prints can be seen for a long time on book shelves. Print books and other sources provide better readability in prints that are comfortable to hold. Devoted readers find such copies easy to read compared to those that are submitted electronically. Print books are easy to find, particularly by those who have little computer knowledge.
Therefore, paralegals who prefer to search for information the traditional way will not find it difficult to conduct in-depth research. In addition, traditional copies offer better understandability. It is easy to read and comprehend the information provided within print copies. Most readers usually make notes on what has been read which makes it easy to know what the writer intended to communicate.
Unfortunately, traditional sources come with their advantages as well. It is not possible to access traditional sources while mobile. In addition, traditional sources require one to access them manually, and usually one has to memorize their location (Cohen & Olson, 2016). It is easy to access digitized sources by just typing in the keyword, and the file will be made available irrespective of where it is in the world. With current advancements in technology, it is possible to access information on mobile devices or desktop computers.
Crucial legal or financial documents ought to be stored in places that are secure, without external access. Unlike electronic records, print materials are not readily available from outside by hackers (Schaub, 2017). In additional, in contrast to electronic sources, print sources do not need to be backed up since there are numerous copies of the same book in different parts of the world. There have been instances in which people have lost electronic financial and legal information to computer crashes or online hacking.
There is a limitation regarding space for storage of books. Traditional sources of information such as print books usually occupy a significant amount of space. Presently, it the norm to find offices where there is shared space, especially law firms. As a result, there is no space reserved for print documents (Schaub, 2017). In this case, electronic sources are the only option as it saves legal organization on the need to acquire additional office space to store print law books and records.
References
Cohen, M. L., & Olson, K. C. (2016). Legal research in a nutshell: Morris L. Cohen, Late Librarian and Emeritus Professor of Law, Yale Law School; Kent C. Olson, Head of Research Services, University of Virginia Law Library. St. Paul, MN: West Academic Publishing.
Schaub, M. (2017). 92% of college students prefer print books to e-books, study finds. latimes.com. Retrieved 22 February 2017, from http://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-92-percent-college-students-prefer-paper-over-pixels-20160208-story.html
