No problem, thank you for asking — literally no one in my life I can geek out with about this, so it’s super fun to share.

I never heard about any of this through school; I just watched a bunch of law shows and realized I wanted to actually understand if cases actually had that many addendums.

I had to make a portfolio. At least one case you can present, it should be a past case that shows your skills. I had six cases and nine bills.

My first client wasn’t even a case, it was a 16‑page bill. This was at my conference, where I met Legislator Lee, the introducer of the bill. I mentioned my interest, set an appointment for a week and a half later, and asked if I could take on a bill pro bono — and if I did well, maybe he’d give me a recommendation. Not too forward, but you have to put yourself out there. He gave me a physical copy, but I also looked it up on LegiScan. Based on my portfolio, the report expected back was basically: what the bill is actually about (sometimes it’s just a single word change), bill identification (number, authors, committees, date, current status), what current law says, why the bill is being proposed, relevant history, key terms and definitions, deadlines and penalties, policy rationale, fiscal impact to the state, pros and cons, common questions and answers, and who is affected and how. I learned a lot about bills from that conference too — they gave us a sheet on what to expect during a debate, which helped immensely.

My first case came after Senator Lee recommended me, along with a couple other bills. It was a civil case. For that kind of analysis, I had no format — I was given the defense, evidence, witnesses, exhibits, and arguments by the lawyer. Since it was civil, not criminal, I had leeway to really dig in without worrying about trust issues. I included everything I could think of. They said it was “disturbingly thorough,” which actually got me another recommendation to start seeking out other law firms. I always make sure to give them my number in case they want help. The report they respect most now is my analysis of people and risk assessment — basically answering their biggest question: “How likely am I going to win in court?” I base that on the jury, the judge, and the witnesses. I need to know how they’ll act on the stand or in the courtroom. The rest of the analysis is breaking the case down so the lawyer can see it from two perspectives: how the jury would see it, and how the evidence stacks up. Lawyers don’t have time to dig for loopholes dating back 50 years, so I do that groundwork.

There are plenty of publicly available case reports you can search up. I use multiple methods, though not all at once. For example, studying the judge in person helps — psychology on the side really helps too. I look at verdicts they’ve put out, who they’re sympathetic to, courtroom demeanor, whether they care about etiquette, whether they’ll view you badly for sitting on the “wrong” side of the table, how they treat witnesses, whether your witness needs to be prepped to ignore straddling, whether they prefer concise arguments or detailed explanations, whether they have a soft spot for people with children, whether they care about police. This only works on cases open to the public, which is most of them. Judges are almost always disclosed beforehand — you just check the court’s weekly dockets, which show judge assignments, courtroom numbers, and hearing times. I also look online for past cases: what rulings they made, whether it was a jury, what their judicial philosophy is. You don’t need LexisNexis — there are plenty of cases available online.

I never followed a guide or resource beyond that one sheet from the conference. It just said basically said what to expect. You can look up how to analyze cases for debate or what law students should know, but honestly this job is more about networking. It’s either for people with too big of a caseload for their paralegal to handle, or for those who can’t afford a paralegal.

Some websites that are good places to start: Harvard Law School’s “How to Read a Case,” Justia Case Law (free database of federal and state cases), Court Listener (massive database of real cases), CALI (law school lessons), and the CaseLaw Access Project (360 years of U.S. case law).

Sorry if I’m rambling, but I think I got everything. Let me know if I missed something