The Library offers regular legal research training covering a range of skills and practice areas.
All training qualifies for CPD under the CPD rules’ learning objectives as Legal Knowledge and Skills.
As part of the Library’s teaching programme, we offer a series of Qualifying Sessions (QS) to assist members in their professional development.
Some training sessions are available for delivery to external organisations, either remotely or in-person. These are indicated below with an asterisk (*). To enquire, please contact the Library at library@middletemple.org.uk. Please note fees apply for external bookings.
Library staff are also happy to arrange one-to-one training support for Inns of Court members. To request a session, please email the Library at library@middletemple.org.uk and include details of your training needs.
Dates and details for upcoming legal research offerings are available on the Inn’s calendar and social media.
Current training sessions offered by the Library include:
CPD Session
Current Awareness*
- Highlights key resources to use to keep track of latest legal developments
- Points out freely available current awareness resources
- Demonstrates how to set up alerts on various current awareness resources
- Discusses how to utilise RSS feeds
Qualifying Sessions
AI in Legal Research*
- Examines how AI is used in the legal sector
- Explores ethical considerations, including how AI models learn and the risks of sharing legal documents
- Includes a practical group exercise using AI tools in a legal research scenario to discuss pros and cons
- Reviews current regulatory guidance on the use of AI in legal practice
Effective Legal Research*
- Discusses legal research strategies
- Looks at using Boolean logic
- Goes through searching for case law and legislation on subscription databases
- Examines free legal gateway websites
Employment Law Research
- Introduces legal issues connected with this practice area
- Identifies secondary resources for research
- Demonstrates searching practice databases and online resources for employment law material
- Includes a guided discussion of a mock employment injunction scenario
European Legal Research
- Outlines the basic structure of EU law
- Demonstrates where to locate EU legislation using a range of search techniques
- Demonstrates where to locate EU case law using a range of search techniques
- Focuses on how to navigate EUR-Lex and CURIA: the two main EU databases
- Outlines the main sources where to look for retained EU law
Human Rights Law
- Includes an overview of print and electronic resources available for researching human rights
- Reviews how to find commentary resources
- Looks at material from the European Court of Human Rights
- Shows United Nations documents relating to human rights
- Discusses human rights issues by examining a practical exercise
Parliamentary Papers Session
- Gives an overview of where to locate Parliamentary materials in print and online
- Reviews how to trace legislative changes
- Provides an introduction to Pepper v Hart research
- Goes into locating international legislation
Preparing for Court
- Covers court preparation for both civil and criminal cases
- Teaches best practices for preparing jury bundles to improve advocacy and trial management skills
- Addresses common issues in relation to Cloud Video Platform (CVP) applications in criminal trials
- Provides guidance on civil litigation procedures, including locating practice directions and assembling bundles for civil courts and tribunals
US Legal Research
- Reviews the key features of the US legal system at both Federal and State levels How to research the Constitution
- Outlines where and how to find Federal and State statutes, regulations and cases
- Highlights the usefulness of various secondary sources of US legal research
*Training can be adapted for external organisations