One strategy suggested by Volokh directs law students to look for U.S. Supreme Court cases with recent opinions or remaining issues. Since the Supreme Court is the highest court in the land, its cases often involve current legal questions or cutting-edge legal disputes. Students can search for paper topics on its website, which includes a list of recent opinions as well as a searchable docket list of past and current cases. Students who write about Supreme Court cases may wish to identify legal issues left open by recent opinions, voice disagreement with recent opinions or propose alternate solutions.
Law students also find paper topics by identifying circuit splits and other jurisdictional conflicts. Circuit splits occur when courts of the same level, such as the federal circuit courts, issue conflicting opinions regarding the same legal question or contested issue. Students can write papers that identify circuit splits and present arguments in support of one circuit court's approach over another's. Alternatively, students can structure research papers to propose alternate or combined solutions that would resolve circuit splits.
Law students can also research paper topics that allow them to propose novel solutions to legal problems or questions. This type of research paper allows students to more creatively develop solutions that no legal writer has previously published. Students may decide to research methods of statutory interpretation or approaches from other areas of law that they can then apply to solve their identified legal questions. They can also choose to propose hypothetical solutions that would enjoy greater political acceptance, which would more likely lead to increased acceptance and implementation under state or federal law.
Law students can select paper topics to reflect their personal or professional interests. For example, students may seek to enhance their resumes by writing papers related to the area of law in which they'd like to work. Students can also write papers on topics of personal interest, even if those topics remain separate from their professional interests. As long as the selected topic allows for the development of a novel thesis, a new approach or method of analysis, or a new solution to an established legal issue, students can choose from a broad variety of potential topics to create quality research papers.