When you conduct legal research, it is essential that you follow a process. Many researchers simply throw words into Westlaw or Lexis+ and try their best to sift through the thousands of results, without first coming up with a research plan. They end up lost, confused, and frustrated. Taking the time to develop a research plan (and having the discipline to follow it) will make your research more efficient and less infuriating. The major steps of the research process are detailed below.
Credit: LexisNexis
Constructing a research strategy is an important first step in the legal research process. If you have developed a successful research strategy in the past, you may only need to adapt it to legal research.
Take a look at our Suggested Step by Step Strategy below for more information.
You may also find the Strategy Worksheet and Search Terms Worksheet helpful.
Before you begin research, take time to think about what you are being asked to do. Consider deadlines, time available, work product expected, as well as dollar, time, and resource limitations. Do you have all the information you need to get started? Try to clarify and break complex issues into manageable parts. Reevaluate the issues as needed.
There are acronyms such as TRAPP to help you think of concepts/keywords of legal or factual significance from your issue/fact pattern.
T - Things involved
R - Relief sought
A - Causes of Action or Defenses
P - Person or Parties involved
P - Places
The single most important aspect of successful legal research is the need for a PLAN. Before you begin, think about what you want to accomplish. Make yourself an outline describing what you know, and then make another outline describing how you will go about finding the information you do not know. This plan should follow the following steps:
As your research progresses, be sure to keep track of all the sources you have consulted in a research log.
Make sure you have all relevant citation information (full case and code citations, author, title, publisher, dates, library call numbers and web addresses) as you go along so you won't have to go back and check again for a cite you missed. Be aware of and write down all related terms and descriptors for your facts and issues as you proceed.
Items you might want to record in a research log include:
Recording this information serves several purposes:
Research Log (Sample Template)
Facts:
Preliminary Analysis from Step 1 of Legal Research Strategy:
Jurisdiction:
Key terms:
Legal concepts:
Question:
Source Title & author / Case name / Statute title / Website / Database name
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Date of case or law or article / Date website was accessed |
Location Call # /Web site address Citation to case or statute or regulation or article |
Best Search Terms |
Results and Next Steps |
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If you get stuck, take a break, or move on to something else. If you find yourself moving in circles, ask someone for their opinion of your strategy. You will not always be able to find an answer. Much of lawyering concerns cases of first impression, so sometimes what you are looking for simply does not exist.
One of the trickiest research tasks is knowing when your research is completed. Legal analysis is nuanced, and thorough research involves looking at a number of sources and types of materials. Finding one on-point authority does not mean your research is complete. However, it also is simply not possible to run every conceivable search in every conceivable resource and review every conceivable search result. Good legal researchers find the sweet-spot between one-and-done and scorched-earth type research.
The following may signal that you have found a good spot to conclude your research:
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