Steps to Legal Research

For example, although no two legal research projects are the same, the order in which you want to search for different types of sources might look like this: In most cases, the purpose of legal research is to find support for a specific legal question or decision. For example, lawyers must conduct legal research when they need judicial advice (i.e., case law) to support a legal argument they submit to the court in a motion or factum. The research question provides some guidelines for methods. Designing a well-formulated research question requires collecting and reading basic information. Before researching any aspect of the legal discipline, the researcher should consider the rationale and relevance of the research topic. The first step in legal research is to write a statement of facts. Do this to gain a complete understanding of everything that has happened or is happening in your case. Sit down and write down everything that has happened so far and everything that is happening. Add facts that you don`t think are important. Sometimes seemingly unimportant facts can make a big difference in the court process. Review it to make sure it is accurate and reflects the facts of your case. A researcher must clearly state the purpose of the research.

A Memorandum of Understanding sets out the direction and direction of the research and provides criteria for evaluating the results of the research. Bloomberg Law subscribers can access our expert guide to writing a research note written by Aaron Goodman, an attorney at Baker McKenzie. Sharon Miki writes for Clio about legal technology and legal affairs. As an experienced freelance writer, she is passionate about creating fascinating, useful and well-researched articles. Google Scholar: Search online for case law and law journals. For more information, see the Google Scholar Guide from the Tarlton Law Library at the University of Texas School of Law. When it comes to practising law, we often think of legal experience. But even the most successful legal argument will eventually fail without solid legal research. Each of the three types of legal sources you work with has a purpose in the legal research process. Here`s a quick overview: The legal problem you face will determine the type of law you`re looking for.

For example, if you are currently a non-custodial parent under a court order, but you want to become the custodial parent, this means that you may be trying to change the previous court order. This is a family law issue that involves change. Therefore, your legal research would focus on family law and amendment. Bloomberg Law`s AI-based tools significantly reduce the time spent on legal research. Whether you`re looking for quick answers to legal research definitions or general advice on the legal research process, Bloomberg Law`s Core Litigation Skills toolkit is here for you. By familiarizing the researcher with existing research and theory in a field, a researcher can revise the research project to investigate some newly identified questions. However, the choice of a topic requires careful consideration of various factors, including the social relevance of the topic and the time and resource constraints to achieve the objectives of a particular research project. However, many researchers struggle to find and refine a suitable topic.

The choice of the appropriate topic should be influenced by the researcher`s interest, skills and level of knowledge in a particular field. When legal research aims to generate new theories, the analysis of existing theories is essential to create a framework for new knowledge. Research questions should be specific and responsible for conducting successful research. If you are looking for experts, you can use logs to determine if the expert has recently been excluded from a case or if their opinion has been limited. If so, it will help you determine if the expert is right for you. The project may be extended, modified and revised during the course of the research. For even more information on competitive research, dive into Bloomberg Law`s Litigation Analytics – available in the Litigation tab of the homepage. Data helps lawyers develop litigation strategy, predict possible outcomes and better advise clients. But they provide fundamental information about the problem or question addressed in the research, and a theoretical framework is a logical analysis of the fundamental theories that arise in law. A researcher must demonstrate that the research meets the needs of society and addresses current legal issues, policies and practices. Therefore, legal research may be motivated by the desire to address certain practical legal problems, rather than being specifically motivated by the needs of theoretical development. “Stenographers” are compilations of cases that determine the law in a particular jurisdiction.

Case law records how judges have interpreted laws and applied them to the facts of other people`s claims. Jurisprudence research depends on understanding concepts such as jurisdiction and judicial structure. In any jurisdiction, some courts will have more authority than others. The Office of Court Administration provides a diagram of the Texas court system. As laws change from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, it can be difficult to keep up with every legal evolution. Equally intimidating is the ability to track and obtain information on stakeholder strategies and legal responses. Without quick and easy access to the right tools, the legal research on which the case strategy is based can be confronted with costs, staffing and litigation outcomes. When it comes to online search, some people start with free legal search options, including search engines like Google or Bing. However, if you want to make sure your legal research is complete, consider using an online search service designed specifically for the law, such as Westlaw. Online solutions like Westlaw not only have all the legal sources you need, but they also include artificial intelligence (AI) and other tools to help you do your legal research quickly. Theoretical analysis is often necessary to postulate the relationship between variables or conditions in research. It also helps to describe, explain and predict phenomena in research.

How can you check if you are applying a “good” law? Use a Citator. Citators allows you to verify the authority of a case by obtaining a cataloged list of cases, statuses, and legal sources, as well as a history and precedent value for those sources, so you can verify that they have not been outvoted, challenged, or rendered irrelevant. Now that you`ve gathered the facts and know your legal problem, the next step is to know what to look for. After all, you need legislation to support your legal argument, whether you`re giving advice to a client or writing an internal memo, brief, or other legal document. TexasLawHelp`s mission is to provide low-income Texans with free and reliable legal information. The information on TexasLawHelp can give you a general idea of the law before you begin further legal research. This information can also help you determine where to start your legal research. The legal research process takes place in three stages. We explain them to you in detail. A pause to collect and record critical details (such as who, what, when, where and how of your case) lays the groundwork for a more focused and streamlined legal research process.

However, the literature review is not just a summary of the relevant literature. It is the synthesis and critical approach of relevant literature. A researcher should not try to put everything in a literature review. Here are some tools you can use to streamline your legal research process: After reviewing the relevant secondary resources, review the case law, by-laws, and other resources mentioned by the secondary resources to conduct further legal research. To find a topic, it`s always best to start with a consultation with secondary sources such as books or legal journals. Reading books and journals can provide insight into the research topic and reference important cases and laws relevant to the chosen research field. [Read our article: Six ways legal technology supports your workflow.] A research question usually refers to a problem or problem that has not yet been solved.