Steps to Take In Legal Research
taken
from article Beatrice A. Tice, Foreign and Comparative Law Librarian
University of Michigan Law Library btice@umich.edu; (734) 764-6151
There are five essential steps in the legal research process,
which are laid out and discussed below. Although the discussion
of “steps” may make legal research appear to be a linear
process, in reality it is a spiral progression, with continual
loops back to earlier steps as new information is uncovered. With
practice (and you’ll get plenty of it, in your job!) you
will soon learn to navigate the process in an orderly, time-efficient,
cost-efficient, and effective manner. And they’re gonna love
you for it!
Step 1: Preparation for Research .. Take time to
think about your topic beore starting research. Even a few minutes
spent planning and strategizing before you dive in will save you
time and frustration in the long run. Consult research guides
to plan your research strategy, if necessary. Don’t forget
about these, as they can provide a useful list of sources on particular
topics. Look for them in print and especially online, through
sites such as Findlaw LLRX , and websites of various
academic law libraries. The Internet
Hot List of Legal Guides & Pathfinders provides a list
of links to legal research guides and pathfinders covering a wide
variety of basic and specialized topics. .. Set preliminary boundaries
for your topic. Remind yourself which issues you will not be looking
at, to avoid chasing red herrings in the process of research.
.. Note some important keywords and phrases. Although you will
be revising these as you proceed with research, making an initial
list will save you time. .. Promise yourself to keep a research
log. Somewhere, anywhere!, note down enough information for each
source consulted to be able to cite it completely. This will save
you the heartbreak of having to redo your research in order to
find a source.
Step 2: Consult Secondary Sources .. Secondary sources
contain commentary on the law; they do not constitute the law
itself. Secondary sources include legal encyclopedias, periodicals,
treatises, ALRs, restatements, and other sources. Anything that
describes, explains and/or analyzes the law is a secondary source.
.. Secondary sources introduce you to the law. This is particularly
important if you are researching an area of law that is unfamiliar
to you. It will also help you focus your research, as you discover
which issues are most significant. .. Why reinvent the wheel?
Secondary sources synthesize the law for you and place it in an
analytical framework, which would be difficult and time-consuming
to do on your own. The name of the research game in legal practice
is efficiency and accuracy; use any source you can to achieve
this! .. Secondary sources are finding tools for primary sources.
Since they discuss the law, secondary sources cannot help but
cite it for you. Use these citations to locate relevant primary
authority. .. “[I]t is easier to locate a pertinent portion
of a treatise…than it is to locate a pertinent case, if you
are starting from scratch.” Kunz, et al. The Process of Legal
Research Take this to heart. Engrave it in your memory. In practical
terms, it means that you DO NOT jump on Lexis or Westlaw at the
beginning of a research project and immediately start doing searches
to find cases. Such an approach is inefficient, frustrating, and
confusing, not to mention expensive, which your clients will not
appreciate. Don’t do it; start with secondary sources instead.
Step 3: Consult Primary
Sources ..
Primary sources are the law itself, including statutes, court
opinions, administrative decisions, treaties, etc. .. Start by
researching stautes, because they also lead to cases. If a statute
is relevant to your research, find it using an annotated source
if possible. This will lead you to relevant cases. In addition,
you can use the statute’s citation as a keyword when you
start doing your case research.
.. When researching case law, follow the citations. Each case
will include cites; look these up for further support. Then shepardize
your case (do it online…this is the easiest, quickest and
most current method) to find other cases that cite it. .. How
do you know when you’re done? You’ll know it’s
time to call it quits when you start seeing citations to the same
cases, statutes and other sources, over and over again, until
there are no new leads to follow up.
Step 4: Consult Specialized Sources .. Specialized
sources are non-legal and other sources that may be appropriate
to consult for your research issue. These could be medical journals,
scientific reports, non-legal books, or any of a myriad of published
information, in print or online. .. People can be specialized
sources. Don’t forget that people can be a specialized source,
too! Telephone calls or e-mails to knowledgeable people or experts
in a particular field can yield valuable information.
Step 5: Update Your Research .. Updating your reseach
means making sure that your conclusions regarding your research
problem are based on the most current, reliable law.
.. Updating doesn’t have to wait unil last, BUT NEVER FORGET
TO DO IT. This is a key principle of the practice of law. Malpractice
claims have been based on an attorney’s reliance on superseded
law! .. Always look at the pocket part! Don’t forget that
little paper pamphlet at the back of most statute books and some
other sources. If there isn’t a pocket part, find out why!
Don’t assume that there haven’t been any updates; it
is the exception, not the rule, that a volume is recent enough
to include all updates. .. Online updating services are the easiest,
most consisten, most accurate method of updating primary law.
Use LEXIS (Shepard’s) or WESTLAW (KeyCite); avoid paper shepardizing
if possible (it is confusing, not as current, and simply unnecessary
in the modern world of computer-assisted legal research). What
to Do If You’re Stumped? .. If you can’t find The Answer,
maybe there isn’t one. Sometimes, despite your best efforts
to implement the legal research process, issues remain unclear.
This happens very often, in fact, simply because the law doesn’t
lend itself to easy answers. Nobody will expect you to find The
Perfect Answer every time; frequently, there isn’t one. The
most you will be expected to do, in that situation, is articulate
intelligent arguments for and/or against possible answers.
Never hesitate to ask questions.
If you don’t understand the issues you are being asked to
research, ask. If you don’t understand how to use a source,
ask. If there is anything you don’t understand, ask. No one
will ever fault you for seeking clarification. (They may well
fault you for spending time and billing a client for a project
that wasn’t what they intended in the first place.) .. DO
NOT FORGET TO ASK A LIBRARIAN!! Librarianship is a service profession;
since we live to serve, allow us to fulfill that mission by asking
us questions. If you are working for a firm or other legal employer
that retains one or more librarians on staff, helping you is part
of those librarians’ job…it is part of your job to take
advantage of their assistance! If your firm or legal employer
does not have its own librarians, don’t hesitate to call
or visit the local county law library’s reference desk. Likewise,
don’t hesitate to call or visit any nearby academic law school
library (like us!) for assistance with reference questions. Never
feel that you must struggle with legal research on your own…
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