what is the importance of legal research

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Why is Legal Research important?

Legal Research is a process designed to help you check for legal precedents, and it can be used to find answers for various legal questions. It’s very important to do Legal Research if you want to figure out if a legal issue has any precedent or not. Legal Research is needed for just about any type of case, and it will help you move the legal process on most of the time.

What type of Legal information is there?

You will notice there are 2 main, general Legal information categories. First, there’s the primary law which is focused on caselaw, regulations and statuses. Then you have the secondary sources, which are not legally binding like the primary law. This information is mostly focused on explaining legal theory and the primary law. The second part focuses more on things like journals, treaties, digests and many others.

The entire US legal system is based on precedent, which means that you do need to use Legal Research in order to see how the court reacted previously to such a case. Of course, you need to see if there were any similar patterns and which is the right approach towards this type of topic. Once you do that, it will be easier than ever to obtain the desired results.

There’s no specific methodology regarding the way you conduct Legal Research. That’s why you can easily create your own method and approach the case at your own pace. It’s possible to use the old school method, reading through and checking legal journals and documents, or you can use legal software for lawyers that’s just as efficient, not to mention a whole lot faster.

There are lots of reasons why Legal Research is important, as you will notice below. First, Legal Research helps you focus on the facts of the case, not to mention you can identify the point of law in the disputed issue. Research will also help prepare arguments that you can use in court and you will also need to lay down the evidence in that case, which is also backed up by research.

On top of that, Legal Research supplements the area of practice, since it backs up everything with credible sources, evidence and even historical data. You get to have complete knowledge about the issue, and all of that information can be harnessed in a professional manner. Regardless of the complexity of the case, Legal Research will help you give complete answers, examine any statutes and even ensure that all legal matters are handled accordingly.

It’s very important to focus on Legal Research if you want to solve any type of legal problem. While the process can be long and tedious at times, the truth is that proper research can help turn the odds in your favor in many cases. All you have to do is to work with a team of legal experts which rely on delivering the best research and ensure that everything is handled at the highest level.

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Law 627: Legal Research: Unit 1: Overview

Unit 1: overview.

• Unit 2: Planning & Process
• Unit 3: Courts
• Unit 4: Cases
• Unit 5: Statutes
• Unit 6: Regulations
• Legal Encyclopedias
• Restatements, Uniform Laws & Model Acts
• Legal Periodicals
• American Law Reports
• Unit 8: Intermediation
• Unit 9: Searching
• Unit 10: Putting It All Together

This page will provide you with an overview of legal information and introduce you to the sources of American law.

At the end of this lesson you should be able to:

• List the four sources of American law
• Recognize and classify primary and secondary sources of law
• Summarize the uses of primary and secondary sources of law

Unit 1: Readings

Principles of Legal Research (3rd Ed.), Ch. 1, pp. 1-13 ( § 1.1)

Legal Research in a Nutshell (14th Ed.), Ch. 1, pp. 1-14  (through § 1-5)

What is Legal Research?

An initial step in developing legal research expertise is to develop an understanding of the types of materials that constitute "the law," and of the relationships between these materials. When researching a legal issue, it is often necessary to explore statutes (legislative enactments), cases (opinions of the judiciary), and/or regulatory materials (administrative agency regulations and decisions). All these types of materials are considered "primary sources." Additionally, most resources look at at least one supplementary resource, called "secondary sources," to aid their research process.

A common, and sometimes significant, challenge for a novice researcher is to gain a perspective on how such sources may apply to a particular subject matter and how they relate to each other. Typically a researcher will need to consult multiple sources and utilize different techniques for each type of resource. To further complicate the matter, a given problem may require a researcher to consult relevant materials may on any or all of the federal, state, or local levels.

With all this in mind it is easy to see why the structures, terminology, resources, and vocabulary are an essential starting point for anyone looking to learn about legal information.

**Quoted from J. Myron Jacobstein and Roy M. Mersky, Fundamentals of Legal Research, 8th ed. (Foundation Press, 2002) p. 1.

Video: Three Ring Government

Mandatory and Persuasive Authority: A diagram

Outline of American Law

When most people think of "the law," they think of those laws that are passed by the legislature. In reality, the American legal system is a complex interplay of different types of law coming together to create a complete legal framework. These types of law typically follow the structure of American government, with laws being created by the legislative, judicial, and executive branches. Understanding each of these branches, their respective roles, and how they work together, is essential for legal research.

In the United States, the four sources of law, in the chronological order  in which they are initially created, are:

• Constitutions :   establish the form of government and enumerate its powers, as well as the rights and liberties of its citizens. In the United States, constitutions are the highest legal authority at both the federal and state level.  
• Statutory Law (legislation) : laws passed by an elected legislative body, such as the United States Congress or the Illinois General Assembly. Legislation is generally prospective in nature, time-sensitive, and organized by topic into codes.  
• Administrative Law (regulations) : decisions, rules, and regulations made by the constitutional offices and administrative agencies of the executive branch. When authorized by enabling legislation, agencies promulgate rules that specify how they will carry out the law. These rules, or regulations, are collected into a topical code, similar to legislation.  
• Case Law / Cases (court opinions / court decisions / common law) : is created by the courts through the assembled, published appellate decisions of a jurisdiction, and is mandatory (or binding) law on the lower courts in that jurisdiction. Courts only make law on the cases brought before them. Thus, case law is reactive in nature, made in response to a dispute, and restricted to the boundaries of that dispute.

Primary and Secondary Sources: What are the differences?

When discussing legal sources, it is important to know the difference between primary and secondary  sources.

Primary sources are those resources which are the law itself . That means a primary source is one of the four sources listed above. Lawyers use primary authority to determine what the law says about a given matter. Identifying and aggregating these materials in order to solve legal problems is what legal research is all about.

Primary sources can be mandatory (or binding) or persuasive. Mandatory authority is the term used for constitutions, cases, statutes, or regulations the court must follow. A primary source is mandatory when it is binding in a given jurisdiction. For legislative and administrative materials, this is often easy to figure out: Illinois statutes are mandatory or binding in Illinois. Making a determination as to whether a case is mandatory takes a bit more skill. Stated as a simple rule, the concept is lower courts are required to follow decisions from higher courts in the same jurisdiction.

Primary sources can also be persuasive authority. The term persuasive authority refers to any material the court may choose to follow or consider, but which the court does not have to adhere to when making its determination. Thus, primary law from another jurisdiction or a lower court may be used as persuasive authority.

Secondary sources are those materials which analyze, editorialize, summarize, or comment on the law. These materials do not have the force of law, but can be very helpful to legal researchers. While these materials are not usually used to support arguments in the way primary materials are, they can be cited for persuasive value. More importantly, these sources can help legal researchers understand the area of law in which they are researching and even connect them to valuable primary sources.

Secondary sources are always persuasive and are rarely cited to the court, save a select few types of secondary sources.

When conducting legal research, it is important to be mindful of the differences between primary and secondary sources. This concept will be discussed further in other units.

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How to Conduct Legal Research

September 21, 2021

Conducting legal research can challenge even the most skilled law practitioners.

As laws evolve across jurisdictions, it can be a difficult to keep pace with every legal development. Equally daunting is the ability to track and glean insights into stakeholder strategies and legal responses. Without quick and easy access to the right tools, the legal research upon which case strategy hinges may face cost, personnel, and litigation outcome challenges.

Bloomberg Law’s artificial intelligence-driven tools drastically reduce the time to perform legal research. Whether you seek quick answers to legal research definitions, or general guidance on the legal research process, Bloomberg Law’s Core Litigation Skills Toolkit has you covered.

What is legal research?

Legal research is the process of uncovering and understanding all of the legal precedents, laws, regulations, and other legal authorities that apply in a case and inform an attorney’s course of action.

Legal research often involves case law research, which is the practice of identifying and interpreting the most relevant cases concerning the topic at issue. Legal research can also involve a deep dive into a judge’s past rulings or opposing counsel’s record of success.

Research is not a process that has a finite start and end, but remains ongoing throughout every phase of a legal matter. It is a cornerstone of a litigator’s skills.

[Learn how our integrated, time-saving litigation research tools allow litigators to streamline their work and get answers quickly.]

Where do I begin my legal research?

Beginning your legal research will look different for each assignment. At the outset, ensure that you understand your goal by asking questions and taking careful notes. Ask about background case information, logistical issues such as filing deadlines, the client/matter number, and billing instructions.

It’s also important to consider how your legal research will be used. Is the research to be used for a pending motion? If you are helping with a motion for summary judgment, for example, your goal is to find cases that are in the same procedural posture as yours and come out favorably for your side (i.e., if your client is the one filing the motion, try to find cases where a motion for summary judgment was granted, not denied). Keep in mind the burden of proof for different kinds of motions.

Finally, but no less important, assess the key facts of the case. Who are the relevant parties? Where is the jurisdiction? Who is the judge? Note all case details that come to mind.

What if I’m new to the practice area or specific legal issue?

While conducting legal research, it is easy to go down rabbit holes. Resist the urge to start by reviewing individual cases, which may prove irrelevant. Start instead with secondary sources, which often provide a prevailing statement of the law for a specific topic. These sources will save time and orient you to the area of the law and key issues.

Litigation Practical Guidance provides the essentials including step-by-step guidance, expert legal analysis, and a preview of next steps. Source citations are included in all Practical Guidance, and you can filter Points of Law, Smart Code®, and court opinions searches to get the jurisdiction-specific cases or statutes you need.

Searching across Points of Law will help to get your bearings on an issue before diving into reading the cases in full. Points of Law uses machine learning to identify key legal principles expressed in court opinions, which are easily searchable by keyword and jurisdiction. This tool helps you quickly find other cases that have expressed the same Point of Law, and directs you to related Points of Law that might be relevant to your research. It is automatically updated with the most recent opinions, saving you time and helping you quickly drill down to the relevant cases.

How do I respond to the opposing side’s brief?

Whether a brief is yours or that of the opposing party, Bloomberg Law’s Brief Analyzer is an essential component in the legal research process. It reduces the time spent analyzing a brief, identifying relevant authorities, and preparing a solid response.

To start, navigate to Brief Analyzer available from the Bloomberg Law homepage, within the Litigation Intelligence Center , or from Docket Key search results for briefs.

Simply upload the opposing side’s brief into the tool, and Brief Analyzer will generate a report of the cited authorities and arguments contained in the brief.

You can easily view a comparison with the brief and analysis side by side. It will also point you directly to relevant cases, Points of Law, and Practical Guidance to jump start your research.

[ How to Write a Legal Brief – Learn how to shorten the legal research cycle and give your legal brief a competitive advantage.]

How to optimize your search.

Crafting searches is a critical skill when it comes to legal research. Although many legal research platforms, including Bloomberg Law, offer natural language searching, terms and connectors (also called Boolean) searching is still a vital legal research skill and should be used when searching across court opinions, dockets, Points of Law, and other primary and secondary sources.

When you conduct a natural language search, the search engine applies algorithms to rank your results. Why a certain case is ranked as it is may not be obvious. This makes it harder to interpret whether the search is giving you everything you need. It is also harder to efficiently and effectively manipulate your search terms to zero in on the results you want. Using Boolean searching gives you better control over your search and greater confidence in your results.

The good news? Bloomberg Law does not charge by the search for court opinion searches. If your initial search was much too broad or much too narrow, you do not have to worry about immediately running a new and improved search.

Follow these tips when beginning a search to ensure that you do not miss relevant materials:

• Make sure you do not have typos in your search string.
• Search the appropriate source or section of the research platform. It is possible to search only within a practice area, jurisdiction, secondary resource, or other grouping of materials.
• Make sure you know which terms and connectors are utilized by the platform you are working on and what they mean – there is no uniform standard set of terms of connectors utilized by all platforms.
• Include in your search all possible terms the court might use, or alternate ways the court may address an issue. It is best to group the alternatives together within a parenthetical, connected by OR between each term.
• Consider including single and multiple character wildcards when relevant. Using a single character wildcard (an asterisk) and/or a multiple character wildcard (an exclamation point) helps you capture all word variations – even those you might not have envisioned.
• Try using a tool that helps you find additional relevant case law. When you find relevant authority, use BCITE on Bloomberg Law to find all other cases and/or sources that cite back to that case. When in BCITE, click on the Citing Documents tab, and search by keyword to narrow the results. Alternatively, you can use the court’s language or ruling to search Points of Law and find other cases that addressed the same issue or reached the same ruling.

[Bloomberg Law subscribers can access a complete checklist of search term best practices . Not a subscriber? Request a Demo .]

How can legal research help with drafting or strategy?

Before drafting a motion or brief, search for examples of what firm lawyers filed with the court in similar cases. You can likely find recent examples in your firm’s internal document system or search Bloomberg Law’s dockets. If possible, look for things filed before the same judge so you can get a quick check on rules/procedures to be followed (and by the same partner when possible so you can get an idea of their style preferences).

Careful docket search provides a wealth of information about relevant cases, jurisdictions, judges, and opposing counsel. On Bloomberg Law, type “Dockets Search” in the Go bar or find the dockets search box in the Litigation Intelligence Center .

If you do not know the specific docket number and/or court, use the docket search functionality Docket Key . Select from any of 20 categories, including motions, briefs, and orders, across all 94 federal district courts, to pinpoint the exact filing of choice.

Dockets can also help you access lots of information to guide your case strategy. For example, if you are considering filing a particular type of motion, such as a sanctions motion, you can use dockets to help determine how frequently your judge grants sanctions motions. You can also use dockets to see how similar cases before your judge proceeded through discovery.

If you are researching expert witnesses, you can use dockets to help determine if the expert has been recently excluded from a case, or whether their opinion has been limited. If so, this will help you determine whether the expert is a good fit for your case.

Dockets are a powerful research tool that allow you to search across filings to support your argument. Stay apprised of docket updates with the “Create Alert” option on Bloomberg Law.

Dive deeper into competitive research.

For even more competitive research insights, dive into Bloomberg Law’s Litigation Analytics – this is available in the Litigation tab on the homepage. Data here helps attorneys develop litigation strategy, predict possible outcomes, and better advise clients.

To start, under Litigation Analytics , leverage the Attorney tab to view case history and preview legal strategies the opposition may practice against you. Also, within Litigation Analytics, use the Court tab to get aggregate motion and appeal outcome rates across all federal courts, with the option to run comparisons across jurisdictions, and filter by company, law firm, and attorney.

Use the Judge tab to glean insights from cited opinions, and past and current decisions by motion and appeal outcomes. Also view litigation analytics in the right rail of court opinions.

Docket search can also offer intel on your opponent. Has your opponent filed similar lawsuits or made similar arguments before? How did those cases pan out? You can learn a lot about an opponent from past appearances in court.

How do I validate case law citations?

Checking the status of case law is essential in legal research. Rely on Bloomberg Law’s proprietary citator, BCITE. This time-saving tool lets you know if a case is still good law.

Under each court opinion, simply look to the right rail. There, you will see a thumbnail icon for “BCITE Analysis.” Click on the icon, and you will be provided quick links to direct history (opinions that affect or are affected by the outcome of the case at issue); case analysis (citing cases, with filter and search options), table of authorities, and citing documents.

How should I use technology to improve my legal research?

A significant benefit of digital research platforms and analytics is increased efficiency. Modern legal research technology helps attorneys sift through thousands of cases quickly and comprehensively. These products can also help aggregate or summarize data in a way that is more useful and make associations instantaneously.

For example, before litigation analytics were common, a partner may have asked a junior associate to find all summary judgment motions ruled on by a specific judge to determine how often that judge grants or denies them. The attorney could have done so by manually searching over PACER and/or by searching through court opinions, but that would take a long time. Now, Litigation Analytics can aggregate that data and provide an answer in seconds. Understanding that such products exist can be a game changer. Automating parts of the research process frees up time and effort for other activities that benefit the client and makes legal research and writing more efficient.

[Read our article: Six ways legal technology aids your litigation workflow .]

Tools like  Points of Law ,  dockets  and  Brief Analyzer  can also increase efficiency, especially when narrowing your research to confirm that you found everything on point. In the past, attorneys had to spend many hours (and lots of money) running multiple court opinion searches to ensure they did not miss a case on point. Now, there are tools that can dramatically speed up that process. For example, running a search over Points of Law can immediately direct you to other cases that discuss that same legal principle.

However, it’s important to remember that digital research and analytical tools should be seen as enhancing the legal research experience, not displacing the review, analysis, and judgment of an attorney. An attorney uses his or her knowledge of their client, the facts, the precedent, expert opinions, and his or her own experiences to predict the likely result in a given matter. Digital research products enhance this process by providing more data on a wider array of variables so that an attorney can take even more information into consideration.

[Get all your questions answered, request a Bloomberg Law demo , and more.]

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Legal Research Strategy

Preliminary analysis, organization, secondary sources, primary sources, updating research, identifying an end point, getting help, about this guide.

This guide will walk a beginning researcher though the legal research process step-by-step. These materials are created with the 1L Legal Research & Writing course in mind. However, these resources will also assist upper-level students engaged in any legal research project.

How to Strategize

Legal research must be comprehensive and precise.  One contrary source that you miss may invalidate other sources you plan to rely on.  Sticking to a strategy will save you time, ensure completeness, and improve your work product. 

Follow These Steps

Running Time: 3 minutes, 13 seconds.

Make sure that you don't miss any steps by using our:

• Legal Research Strategy Checklist

If you get stuck at any time during the process, check this out:

• Ten Tips for Moving Beyond the Brick Wall in the Legal Research Process, by Marsha L. Baum

Understanding the Legal Questions

A legal question often originates as a problem or story about a series of events. In law school, these stories are called fact patterns. In practice, facts may arise from a manager or an interview with a potential client. Start by doing the following:

• Read anything you have been given
• Analyze the facts and frame the legal issues
• Assess what you know and need to learn
• Note the jurisdiction and any primary law you have been given
• Generate potential search terms

Jurisdiction

Legal rules will vary depending on where geographically your legal question will be answered. You must determine the jurisdiction in which your claim will be heard. These resources can help you learn more about jurisdiction and how it is determined:

• Legal Treatises on Jurisdiction
• LII Wex Entry on Jurisdiction

This map indicates which states are in each federal appellate circuit:

Getting Started

Once you have begun your research, you will need to keep track of your work. Logging your research will help you to avoid missing sources and explain your research strategy. You will likely be asked to explain your research process when in practice. Researchers can keep paper logs, folders on Westlaw or Lexis, or online citation management platforms.

Organizational Methods

Tracking with paper or excel.

Many researchers create their own tracking charts.  Be sure to include:

• Search Date
• Topics/Keywords/Search Strategy
• Citation to Relevant Source Found
• Save Locations
• Follow Up Needed

Consider using the following research log as a starting place: 

• Sample Research Log

Tracking with Folders

Westlaw and Lexis offer options to create folders, then save and organize your materials there.

• Lexis Advance Folders
• Westlaw Edge Folders

Tracking with Citation Management Software

For long term projects, platforms such as Zotero, EndNote, Mendeley, or Refworks might be useful. These are good tools to keep your research well organized. Note, however, that none of these platforms substitute for doing your own proper Bluebook citations. Learn more about citation management software on our other research guides:

• Guide to Zotero for Harvard Law Students by Harvard Law School Library Research Services Last Updated Aug 9, 2024 387 views this year

Types of Sources

There are three different types of sources: Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary.  When doing legal research you will be using mostly primary and secondary sources.  We will explore these different types of sources in the sections below.

Secondary sources often explain legal principles more thoroughly than a single case or statute. Starting with them can help you save time.

Secondary sources are particularly useful for:

• Learning the basics of a particular area of law
• Understanding key terms of art in an area
• Identifying essential cases and statutes

Consider the following when deciding which type of secondary source is right for you:

• Scope/Breadth
• Depth of Treatment
• Currentness/Reliability

For a deep dive into secondary sources visit:

• Secondary Sources: ALRs, Encyclopedias, Law Reviews, Restatements, & Treatises by Catherine Biondo Last Updated Apr 12, 2024 6324 views this year

Legal Dictionaries & Encyclopedias

Legal dictionaries.

Legal dictionaries are similar to other dictionaries that you have likely used before.

• Black's Law Dictionary
• Ballentine's Law Dictionary

Legal Encyclopedias

Legal encyclopedias contain brief, broad summaries of legal topics, providing introductions and explaining terms of art. They also provide citations to primary law and relevant major law review articles.  

Here are the two major national encyclopedias:

• American Jurisprudence (AmJur) This resource is also available in Westlaw & Lexis .
• Corpus Juris Secundum (CJS)

Treatises are books on legal topics.  These books are a good place to begin your research.  They provide explanation, analysis, and citations to the most relevant primary sources. Treatises range from single subject overviews to deep treatments of broad subject areas.

It is important to check the date when the treatise was published. Many are either not updated, or are updated through the release of newer editions.

To find a relevant treatise explore:

• Legal Treatises by Subject by Catherine Biondo Last Updated Apr 12, 2024 5914 views this year

American Law Reports (ALR)

American Law Reports (ALR) contains in-depth articles on narrow topics of the law. ALR articles, are often called annotations. They provide background, analysis, and citations to relevant cases, statutes, articles, and other annotations. ALR annotations are invaluable tools to quickly find primary law on narrow legal questions.

This resource is available in both Westlaw and Lexis:

• American Law Reports on Westlaw (includes index)
• American Law Reports on Lexis

Law Reviews & Journals

Law reviews are scholarly publications, usually edited by law students in conjunction with faculty members. They contain both lengthy articles and shorter essays by professors and lawyers. They also contain comments, notes, or developments in the law written by law students. Articles often focus on new or emerging areas of law and may offer critical commentary. Some law reviews are dedicated to a particular topic while others are general. Occasionally, law reviews will include issues devoted to proceedings of panels and symposia.

Law review and journal articles are extremely narrow and deep with extensive references. 

To find law review articles visit:

• Law Journal Library on HeinOnline
• Law Reviews & Journals on LexisNexis
• Law Reviews & Journals on Westlaw

Restatements

Restatements are highly regarded distillations of common law, prepared by the American Law Institute (ALI). ALI is a prestigious organization comprised of judges, professors, and lawyers. They distill the "black letter law" from cases to indicate trends in common law. Resulting in a “restatement” of existing common law into a series of principles or rules. Occasionally, they make recommendations on what a rule of law should be.

Restatements are not primary law. However, they are considered persuasive authority by many courts.

Restatements are organized into chapters, titles, and sections.  Sections contain the following:

• a concisely stated rule of law,
• comments to clarify the rule,
• hypothetical examples,
• explanation of purpose, and
• exceptions to the rule  

To access restatements visit:

• American Law Institute Library on HeinOnline
• Restatements & Principles of the Law on LexisNexis
• Restatements & Principles of Law on Westlaw

Primary Authority

Primary authority is "authority that issues directly from a law-making body."   Authority , Black's Law Dictionary (11th ed. 2019).   Sources of primary authority include:

• Constitutions
• Statutes 

Regulations

Access to primary legal sources is available through:

• Bloomberg Law
• Free & Low Cost Alternatives

Statutes (also called legislation) are "laws enacted by legislative bodies", such as Congress and state legislatures.  Statute , Black's Law Dictionary (11th ed. 2019).

We typically start primary law research here. If there is a controlling statute, cases you look for later will interpret that law. There are two types of statutes, annotated and unannotated.

Annotated codes are a great place to start your research. They combine statutory language with citations to cases, regulations, secondary sources, and other relevant statutes. This can quickly connect you to the most relevant cases related to a particular law. Unannotated Codes provide only the text of the statute without editorial additions. Unannotated codes, however, are more often considered official and used for citation purposes.

For a deep dive on federal and state statutes, visit:

• Statutes: US and State Codes by Mindy Kent Last Updated Apr 12, 2024 4739 views this year
• 50 State Surveys

Want to learn more about the history or legislative intent of a law?  Learn how to get started here:

• Legislative History Get an introduction to legislative histories in less than 5 minutes.
• Federal Legislative History Research Guide

Regulations are rules made by executive departments and agencies. Not every legal question will require you to search regulations. However, many areas of law are affected by regulations. So make sure not to skip this step if they are relevant to your question.

To learn more about working with regulations, visit:

• Administrative Law Research by AJ Blechner Last Updated Apr 12, 2024 803 views this year

Case Basics

In many areas, finding relevant caselaw will comprise a significant part of your research. This Is particularly true in legal areas that rely heavily on common law principles.

Running Time: 3 minutes, 10 seconds.

Unpublished Cases

Up to  86% of federal case opinions are unpublished. You must determine whether your jurisdiction will consider these unpublished cases as persuasive authority. The Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure have an overarching rule, Rule 32.1  Each circuit also has local rules regarding citations to unpublished opinions. You must understand both the Federal Rule and the rule in your jurisdiction.

• Federal and Local Rules of Appellate Procedure 32.1 (Dec. 2021).
• Type of Opinion or Order Filed in Cases Terminated on the Merits, by Circuit (Sept. 2021).

Each state also has its own local rules which can often be accessed through:

• State Bar Associations
• State Courts Websites

First Circuit

• First Circuit Court Rule 32.1.0

Second Circuit

• Second Circuit Court Rule 32.1.1

Third Circuit

• Third Circuit Court Rule 5.7

Fourth Circuit

• Fourth Circuit Court Rule 32.1

Fifth Circuit

• Fifth Circuit Court Rule 47.5

Sixth Circuit

• Sixth Circuit Court Rule 32.1

Seventh Circuit

• Seventh Circuit Court Rule 32.1

Eighth Circuit

• Eighth Circuit Court Rule 32.1A

Ninth Circuit

• Ninth Circuit Court Rule 36-3

Tenth Circuit

• Tenth Circuit Court Rule 32.1

Eleventh Circuit

• Eleventh Circuit Court Rule 32.1

D.C. Circuit

• D.C. Circuit Court Rule 32.1

Federal Circuit

• Federal Circuit Court Rule 32.1

Finding Cases

Headnotes show the key legal points in a case. Legal databases use these headnotes to guide researchers to other cases on the same topic. They also use them to organize concepts explored in cases by subject. Publishers, like Westlaw and Lexis, create headnotes, so they are not consistent across databases.

Headnotes are organized by subject into an outline that allows you to search by subject. This outline is known as a "digest of cases." By browsing or searching the digest you can retrieve all headnotes covering a particular topic. This can help you identify particularly important cases on the relevant subject.

Running Time: 4 minutes, 43 seconds.

Each major legal database has its own digest:

• Topic Navigator (Lexis)
• Key Digest System (Westlaw)

Start by identifying a relevant topic in a digest.  Then you can limit those results to your jurisdiction for more relevant results.  Sometimes, you can keyword search within only the results on your topic in your jurisdiction.  This is a particularly powerful research method.

One Good Case Method

After following the steps above, you will have identified some relevant cases on your topic. You can use good cases you find to locate other cases addressing the same topic. These other cases often apply similar rules to a range of diverse fact patterns.

• in Lexis click "More Like This Headnote"
• in Westlaw click "Cases that Cite This Headnote"

to focus on the terms of art or key words in a particular headnote. You can use this feature to find more cases with similar language and concepts.  ​

Ways to Use Citators

A citator is "a catalogued list of cases, statutes, and other legal sources showing the subsequent history and current precedential value of those sources.  Citators allow researchers to verify the authority of a precedent and to find additional sources relating to a given subject." Citator , Black's Law Dictionary (11th ed. 2019).

Each major legal database has its own citator.  The two most popular are Keycite on Westlaw and Shepard's on Lexis.

• Keycite Information Page
• Shepard's Information Page

Making Sure Your Case is Still Good Law

This video answers common questions about citators:

For step-by-step instructions on how to use Keycite and Shepard's see the following:

• Shepard's Video Tutorial
• Shepard's Handout
• Shepard's Editorial Phrase Dictionary
• KeyCite Video Tutorial
• KeyCite Handout
• KeyCite Editorial Phrase Dictionary

Using Citators For

Citators serve three purposes: (1) case validation, (2) better understanding, and (3) additional research.

Case Validation

Is my case or statute good law?

• Parallel citations
• Prior and subsequent history
• Negative treatment suggesting you should no longer cite to holding.

Better Understanding

Has the law in this area changed?

• Later cases on the same point of law
• Positive treatment, explaining or expanding the law.
• Negative Treatment, narrowing or distinguishing the law.

Track Research

Who is citing and writing about my case or statute?

• Secondary sources that discuss your case or statute.
• Cases in other jurisdictions that discuss your case or statute.

Knowing When to Start Writing

For more guidance on when to stop your research see:

• Terminating Research, by Christina L. Kunz

Automated Services

Automated services can check your work and ensure that you are not missing important resources. You can learn more about several automated brief check services.  However, these services are not a replacement for conducting your own diligent research .

• Automated Brief Check Instructional Video

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• Last Updated: Sep 21, 2023 2:56 PM
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Legal Research: An Overview: Introduction

• Introduction
• Secondary Sources
• Courts, Case Reporters & Publication of Cases
• Mandatory v. Persuasive Authority
• Caselaw Searching
• Validating Your Research
• Statutory Codes
• Searching in the Codes
• Regulations
• Search Techniques

Legal Research: Getting Started

• Before You Start
• Suggested Research Strategy
• Knowing When Your Research Is Done

Good research begins with knowing what it is you are researching. New attorneys often overlook the importance of their initial communications with those assigning them projects. In their zeal to impress their employers and to appear informed, new attorneys may draw their own assumptions about the objectives for the research, neglect to ask clarifying questions, or may even appear disinterested in the assignment. Good communication skills are vital to having a solid understanding of your assignments and that those giving you assignments know they can count on you. Keep these tips in mind when you get new assignments:

Clarify the nature and scope of the project . For assignments given to you via e-mail, read the e-mail thoroughly, and for assignments given to you during a meeting, listen carefully and take detailed notes. When you receive an assignment, ask questions to clarify the scope of the project and anything that is confusing. Your questions should include asking for recommendations for key sources to consult; clarifying the format that your work product should take (i.e. research memorandum, hard copies of relevant material, draft insert for document, etc.); and confirming the deadline for completion of the assignment.

Reiterate your understanding of the project . After you have been given an assignment, send a follow up e-mail confirming your understanding of the assignment, including the key issue(s) to be researched, the format your work product will take, and the deadline.  This provides a good roadmap for you of the project and also gives your supervisor the opportunity to clarify any additional details.

Maintain good communication throughout the process . As you work on the project, check in regularly to let your supervisor know of your progress, to confirm that you are on the right-track, and to get additional guidance. If you are unsure about the extent of communication your supervisor desires, consult with other attorneys who have successfully worked with your supervisor. 

Timely respond to e-mails . It is important to timely acknowledge e-mails that your receive, even if you cannot get to the substance of the e-mail right away. For example, if you are sent an e-mail asking for a bit of research, respond to the e-mail at your earliest opportunity to let the sender know that you received their e-mail and advise the sender of when they can expect to receive at least some preliminary work on the project.

Project confidence . As a new attorney, it is natural to feel overwhelmed and unsure of your abilities when given a new assignment. Do not let these feelings compromise your professionalism when communicating with your supervisor. Show enthusiasm for the project and ask appropriate questions about deadlines and suggestions for getting started. Should you feel confused or overwhelmed as you work on a project, identify what it is you need guidance on, such as help prioritizing research items or confirmation that you are researching in the right sources, and go to your supervisor with specific questions.

Your research strategy will vary depending on your legal issue and the nature of your project. While there is no one path that works for every research question, these steps are a useful starting point:

Determine the relevant jurisdiction . Before you begin your research, you need to determine which law is controlling for your issue. Is the issue governed by state or federal law? For state law questions, what state(s) law is at issue? For federal law questions, what are the relevant Circuit and District courts?

Identify the legal issue and determine keywords to describe the issue . It is common for those new to legal research to go directly to a search engine and start typing away, hoping to find an answer quickly. Taking some time to step back from the search engine and think through the issue to be researched will save you time in the long run, as it will make your searching more efficient and effective. Identify what area(s) of the law are implicated by your issue, what is the question to be researched, what topics are implicated by that question, are there sub-issues that should be considered? You may find it helpful to write out the question(s) that you are researching. Also, think through keywords that describe your issue that would be useful for generating good searches. For those keywords, think through synonyms that may be used in lieu of those words.

Begin your research by consulting a secondary source . Secondary sources offer guidance on legal topics and questions. They are a critical resource to help you get a "lay-of-the-land" regarding your issue and will identify statutes and leading cases to jump start your research.

Locate relevant statutes . If there is an on-point statute for your issue, look up that statute in an annotated code. Take note not just of the language of the specific statute but also review the rest of the "chapter" in which the statute appears to identify other related and relevant statutes. For each relevant statute, review the annotations for citations to cases and secondary sources.

Find relevant cases . If you have identified relevant cases by looking at secondary sources and/or annotated codes, review those cases. Use the on-point headnotes of each case to search for other relevant cases in your jurisdiction, and use the citator (Shepard's in Lexis, KeyCite in Westlaw, and BCite in Bloomberg) to identify cases that have cited to your cases. Also, do additional keyword type searches to find other relevant cases.

Confirm that your authority is still good law . Use a citator (Shepard's in Lexis, KeyCite in Westlaw, or BCite in Bloomberg) to confirm that your cases and statutes are still good law.

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:

Your searches keep turning up the same set of relevant authorities. If you are no longer finding relevant new sources, you have probably found the bulk of what is available.

You have searched in a variety of available sources (i.e. secondary sources, cases, etc.) and resources (Westlaw/Lexis/Bloomberg, government websites, other available resources).

You have searched using a variety of keywords.

You have searched using a variety of methods (using secondary sources to find primary authority, keyword searching, mining headnotes to explore Topics/Key Numbers, reviewing citing references, etc.).

For your most relevant search results, you have reviewed both the sources they cite and sources that cite to those materials.

Other Useful UCLA Legal Research Resources

Law Library Home Page . The Law Library home page provides access to a wide array of research resources and information.

Law Library Research Guides . The Law Library has prepared more than 80 research guides to assist UCLA Law students with their research needs. Guides of particular interest for law students include: Guide for First Year Law Students; Law School Study Aids; Mobile Applications for Law Students and Lawyers; and Career Planning, Job Search and More for Law Students.

How to Access UCLA Databases . This guide provides instructions for UCLA Law students on how to access UC, UCLA, and UCLA Law licensed databases remotely.

Law Library Digital Collection . The Digital Collection page provides links to commonly used legal databases.

UC Library Search . Use the Catalog to search for books and other library materials available at UCLA and the other UC libraries.

UCLA Library A-Z Databases List . The UCLA Library system provides access to non-legal databases and other research resources available at UCLA.

• Next: Secondary Sources >>
• Last Updated: Feb 2, 2024 1:31 PM
• URL: https://libguides.law.ucla.edu/researchoverview

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• Uncategorized Posts

A Step-by-Step Guide on How to Do Legal Research

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When it comes to the practice of law, we often think about court appearances. But crafting a winning legal argument requires a lot of research.

Well-conducted legal research empowers your arguments and gives substance to your legal work, leading to a better outcome for your clients.

To become a pro, you need to understand the tools available to you, and developing a research strategy. Learning to conduct effective legal research isn’t glamorous. That said, it will save you time while helping you conduct stronger outcomes.

This guide reviews the fundamentals of the legal research process, including what sources you should turn to—and when. We’ll also discuss how and why you should check that you’re using “good” law, and offer tips for how you can improve your legal research skills—at any stage in your career.

Click here to watch our on-demand webinar with our lawyer in residence, Joshua Lenon, to learn how to take your legal research to the next level. 

What is legal research?

Legal research involves identifying, finding, and cite-checking information and applicable laws needed to support your legal decision-making. The primary and secondary legal sources for this research include statutes, constitutions, regulations, court orders, and more.

How to do legal research

While the techniques and tools you use may vary, the goal of legal research is simple: You want to find the relevant information and resources (i.e. laws) that apply to the facts of your case, so you can support legal decision making.

With this in mind, the legal research process can be broken down into three basic elements:

• Understanding the key details and questions of your legal issue
• Finding laws and information to support your legal argument checking that what you’ve found is still relevant
• Achieve your research goals in seven easy to follow steps:

Gather critical information about your legal issue

When presented with a legal issue, it’s natural to want to dive in and start looking for cases. But it’s in your best interest to first collect key details about the legal issue at hand.

Pausing to gather and record critical details (like the who, what, when, where, and how of your case) lays the foundation for a more focused, streamlined legal research process.

Establish your legal issue and your goal

Next, use your case’s critical information to pinpoint your legal issue. By establishing legal issues and your client’s ideal outcomes before you start researching, you can construct a well-defined framework that allows you to:

• See what you know about your legal issue—and what you need to find out
• Narrow the field of potential search terms
• Identify the jurisdiction you need to focus your research within

Learn and understand the precedent in your jurisdiction

While researching, pay special attention to the geographical location where your legal issue will be resolved. Is the precedent controlling already in your jurisdiction? Or is it merely a persuasive precedent that has not yet been adopted in your jurisdiction?

Determine the type of legal sources you need

Each of the three types of legal sources you’ll work with has a purpose in the legal research process. Here’s a quick overview:

Primary legal sources are key to legal research because they establish the current law on whatever legal issue you’re working with. You can find primary sources by searching legal research databases like Fastcase or Casetext , include:

• Federal and state constitutions
• Statutes or legislation (such as laws enacted by legislative bodies like Congress and state legislatures)
• Regulations (such as rules or regulations made by either federal or state agencies)
• Annotations
• Case law (such as court opinions or decisions issued by federal or state courts)

Secondary legal sources explain or interpret legal principles in detail, or summarize the current state of the law—giving a better understanding of a particular area of law. These sources are also useful for identifying primary sources for your case (more on that later). Examples include:

• Law review articles and journals
• Practice guides
• Legal treatises

Learn more about the best free legal research tools available.

Begin your legal research with secondary sources

When it comes to legal research sources, start in the middle with secondary sources.

In addition to providing important background information on your legal issue, secondary sources save time: Instead of starting from scratch, you can leverage the expert work that’s already been done.

Think of it this way: In order to create and publish the material, experts had to go through a legal research process themselves. If a secondary source is reputable, the writer reviewed all of the available primary resources to determine what was most applicable. So, by noting the primary sources that are cited in law reviews, law journals, and case-law documents, you can take advantage of the research already done.

Note: Also keep in mind that useful cases don’t necessarily have to have the same legal outcome as your goal. If you find relevant case law where the outcome didn’t match your client’s desired outcome, you shouldn’t necessarily disregard it. If the laws are aligned, you can use that case to show how the fact patterns in your client’s case are different to strengthen your own argument.

Check that you’re using “good” law

Another key step to legal research is verifying that any cases and statutes you come across in your legal research are still “good” law—that is, that any legal decision you’re looking to is still valid and relevant. Using an overruled or unconstitutional statute won’t help you win your case.

Can older cases be “good” law?

While more recent cases are preferred (after all, they’re more likely to reflect the current legal changes that could impact the case law—and are thus less likely to have been rendered obsolete), recency isn’t mandatory.

A decades-old case could be considered “good” law—if it hasn’t been overruled in court or otherwise made irrelevant, an older case that fits with your case’s fact pattern and applicable law could be helpful.

Verify you’re using “good law” with a citator

How can you check if you’re using “good” law? Use a citator. Citators let you verify a case’s authority by giving you a cataloged list of cases, statutes, and legal sources—along with a history and precedential value for those sources—so you can then check that it hasn’t been overruled, questioned, or made irrelevant.

When using a citator, focus on the negative material (by checking a case in a citator, you can look for flags that indicate any negative history). Specifically, use a citator to check that you don’t miss a case that invalidates your argument—which could undermine your credibility.

Major legal databases all have their own citator tools. For example, Casetext offers SmartCite , which “uses a system of flags to indicate the treatment of cases.” Casetext can also “help you evaluate whether a case is good law and find other relevant cases citing that opinion.”

Report your results to check for gaps

Compiling your research into a legal memorandum is a necessary part of conducting legal research, as it allows you to identify any gaps in information that may present consequences at a later stage. Legal writing presents challenges within itself, and it’s not a bad approach for you to supplement your legal case research with a book from a local law library on how to present your findings. Generally speaking, a legal memorandum does five things:

• States the facts of the case
• Identifies the issue
• Applies “good” law to the facts
• Predicts any counterpoints
• Makes an assessment of the outcome of the case

How can I improve my legal research skills?

Whether you’re new to legal research or you’ve conducted legal research for years, once you have a solid understanding of the process, take advantage of strategies and tools to maximize legal research efficiency. Here are three strategies to consider:

Conduct more efficient research remotely

In the past, the legal research process was arduous—partly because it tied the researcher to a physical location—whether that was a local law library or a law office computer—to access resources through legal databases.

Today, online legal research software can be used remotely when integrated with a cloud-based practice management software like Clio Manage. Having the flexibility to research from anywhere streamlines the legal research process and enhances efficiency. Here are a few examples:

• By signing into an online legal research service like Fastcase with Clio, for example, you can remotely access resources and primary sources like cases and statutes, as well as secondary sources like law review articles. CourtTrax provides real-time online access to State and Federal courts across the United States. With CourtTrax’s Clio integration, you can link your search results to specific client matters, and have the results injected directly into Clio as a document.
• Cloud-based online research software like Tracers lets you search for pertinent information (such as contract information or social media activity) remotely. You can also request a Tracers search directly from a matter in Clio for an even more efficient process.

Double-check your memos and briefs with advanced legal research AI

Casetext Logo

Effective legal research needs to be thorough and accurate—which, traditionally, is time-consuming. Legal research AI can help speed that process up without sacrificing the quality of your research.

Here are a few tools to help streamline your legal research process:

• ROSS Intelligence is an AI-driven legal research platform with an automated review tool that allows you to do more thorough research in a fraction of the time. ROSS lets you highlight statements in your pleadings and briefs to instantly search for cases and statutes discussing similar points of law. You can also use ROSS to identify negative case treatment in your pleadings and law briefs—without the manual searching.
• Casetext’s CARA artificial intelligence search technology and automated review tool enhance and speed up your legal searches. You can use Casetext to start your research with a complaint or legal brief from a matter in Clio to find highly relevant, tailored search results and resources. Casetext will not just find authorities on the same facts and legal issues—it will also find them in the same jurisdiction. Casetext’s citator functionality also makes it easier to check and flag any bad law.

Document your research with secure, cloud-based fact management software

Don’t let your research go to waste or let facts slip through the cracks because of a poor documentation system. By using secure, cloud-based fact-management software, you can record your research in an efficient, organized, and accessible way.

Software like Clio Manage and apps like FactBox , for example, keep you organized by connecting all the facts, notes, and ideas in your cases. Using this type of tool helps you prepare for depositions, hearings, client briefings, and trials faster—and with more confidence that you aren’t missing facts.

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Clio’s series f funding: how it benefits you, a lawyer’s guide to motion hearings, a lawyer's guide to post-trial motions, lawyer depression: recognizing the signs and dealing with it, final thoughts on how to conduct legal research.

Whether you’re a student in law school or an experienced attorney, learning how to do thorough legal research (or how to enhance your existing legal research process) is a skill that can give you a competitive advantage.

Learning great legal research techniques—from developing a more efficient research process to adopting cloud-based tools to conduct better, faster, and smarter legal research—helps you better support your cases, and clients.

Explore how you can conduct more efficient legal research with Clio Manage and the host of Clio software integrations .

How do you do legal research?

Lawyers conducting legal research often consult online legal databases, such as LexisNexis and Westlaw. They might also pore over print resources, case law reports, statutes and regulations, and secondary resources (such as legal encyclopedias, dictionaries, and treatises). That said, there’s no one-size-fits-all process.

How do I start a legal research paper?

Start by determining your topic—this should be specific and something you find interesting. Then, conduct the necessary research to form a well-supported thesis. Create an outline to structure your thoughts before writing an introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. Finally, edit and proofread.

How to do legal research as a paralegal

First, ensure you understand what you’re researching. Then, start with secondary sources (law reviews, practice guides, and treatises), consulting a citator to ensure it’s “good” law. Lastly, fill in any gaps with primary sources, including constitutions, treaties, regulations, and case law.

We published this blog post in October 2020. Last updated: November 15, 2023 .

Categorized in: Uncategorized

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1 What is Legal Research?

Legal research can be summarised as the ability to find, evaluate, and use sources of legal information to:

• solve a legal problem
• suggest reform of the law
• compare the laws of different jurisdictions
• understand the role of law in society.

Possessing legal research skills is important

Possessing these skills will not only improve your effectiveness in university assessment but will also prove valuable in your future career. Those who study law will continue to use legal research skills once they graduate and are in practice or other workplaces.

“The ability to search for information online is a key skill of the modern law graduate… research must be done accurately and without assumption. The law is now highly technical in many areas and thorough research of all relevant materials is required before a client can be advised with confidence. If you cannot research accurately and quickly you won’t have much of a legal career.”

Mark McFarlan (King & Wood Mallesons, Sydney)

This chapter is adapted from What is Legal Research? in Legal Research Skills: An Australian Law Guide by The University of Queensland Library, James Cook University Library, University of Southern Queensland Library, Charles Darwin University Library, Southern Cross University Library, Queensland University of Technology Library, and Deakin University Library.

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Legal Research Essentials Copyright © 2023 by The University of Queensland is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Strengthening your legal practice: How advanced research tools are changing the game

Building capabilities is essential for any organisation to thrive, and the legal sector is no exception. To achieve consistent performance, legal practices must integrate their people, processes and technology efficiently. One crucial aspect of this integration is legal research, which serves as the foundation for making informed legal decisions and providing valuable insights for cases.

In a broad sense, any research is a methodical quest for the collection, categorisation, and analysis of the right information. This holds true particularly for legal research, as answering legal questions correctly helps to form a sound base for  legal decision-making .

Understanding legal research

As a legal professional, it is a lawyer’s duty to understand the distinctions within the law and have the capability to interpret legal precedents. Legal research is the method to first determine the steps required to answer the legal query and then follow the process to collect relevant data to answer those questions. This entire process makes legal research an integral part of the legal profession and an essential skill to have when working on any type of case.

It may sound simple, but legal research is quite demanding and requires not only an in-depth knowledge of the law but also a good grasp of information analysis. Organisations are building this capability so that it can be leveraged as a managed service offering to make the legal research process more efficient, both in terms of time and cost. This way, many law firms and in-house legal teams are earning profits by opting for automated legal research solutions powered by predictive analytics to provide cutting-edge solutions and using their domain expertise to help lawyers.

Constructing a solid foundation for your legal practice

• Analysing the law by breaking it into separate elements, simplifies understanding and the interpretation of specific statutes and cases.
• Forming coherent legal standards by blending distinct elements of different cases and statutes, justifying specific legal decisions which may be very useful in building an argument.
• Breaking down doctrinal issues and advising legal professionals or clients about the application of legal theories in specific cases, or criticising judicial opinions and resolving conflicts based on legal doctrine.
• Curating teaching material for legal professionals and students to help them understand legal theories, doctrine, statutes, and case laws.
• Arguing for improvements in legal practices and examining crucial legal doctrines from the perspective of economics, sociology, politics, and other sciences.
• Leveraging AI/automation to access, analyse and apply legal information and augment the process.

And with these, legal research offers benefits to legal professionals as well through:

• Fact-finding: Providing comprehensive knowledge about cases, including all the facts and evidence of the case before the authority and the jury.
• Understanding key issues: Simplifying issues by eliminating unnecessary or irrelevant data and allowing focus on core facts to argue the matter at hand.
• Finding answers: Getting accurate answers to understand the whole issue with the concerned authority and developing a strategy to effectively counter any arguments.
• Value add: Providing more value when presenting case evidence and other details in front of the concerned authority while interpreting the underlying legal theory and precedent that supports the argument.

Fundamentally, legal research ensures better clarity on any issue and anticipates different arguments that may come up in court.

Steps to successfully execute legal research

Legal research is a comprehensive process; and here are a few things to consider while undertaking legal research:

• Understanding the issue: It is critical to be cognizant of the issue under consideration to better evaluate the core details and supporting information uncovered during legal research.
• Recognising the primary and secondary sources: Primary and secondary sources of research must be correctly identified to generate a cohesive representation of the collected information.
• Evaluating information: The knowledge of the issue at hand and the information collected from both sources must be aligned to evaluate accuracy.
• Selecting core information:  Data collected  is evaluated and the findings are used to build well-researched legal arguments and an informed strategy that incorporates core details with supporting background information.
• Studying deviations: It is important to study deviations from the norm to understand potential counterpoints and prepare strong arguments to support the required issue.

It is time-consuming to follow these steps manually and there may also be ancillary costs to accessing reliable data sources, which is one of the key reasons prompting modern law firms to consider outsourcing legal research . With the intervention of modern technological solutions such as automation, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and cloud-based services, legal research is now easier, faster, and cost-efficient, resulting in its emergence as a promising service line in the legal managed services space.

By harnessing the power of technology and following best practices, legal professionals can conduct effective research, leading to better decision making and improved client representation. In this rapidly evolving legal landscape , organisations that prioritise legal research can thus gain advantage and stay ahead in delivering better services.

This article was first published on Business Insider

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A paralegal’s guide on how to do legal research

• April 16, 2024

Laura Krieg

Legal research serves as the cornerstone of informed legal practice, offering the means to navigate a constantly evolving legal landscape.

The importance of effective legal research cannot be overstated in a world where laws multiply, and court decisions shape the foundation of legal arguments.

This blog post will delve into the essence of legal research, explore the sources of law, understand primary versus secondary sources, decipher mandatory versus persuasive authority, and unveil the practical steps of the legal research process.

Join us in unraveling the complexities of legal research, a skill essential for any legal professional striving for success.

What is legal research?

Legal research means finding law that supports a legal argument or decision. The law is always changing, and new laws and court decisions are added each year.

In 2022, California’s Governor Gavin Newsom signed 997 bills into law, and the federal government passed 249 bills . Add to that all the cases published each year, and the amount of information attorneys and paralegals need to know is staggering.

Given this, legal professionals do not know the answer to every legal question and must rely on effective and thorough legal research to identify and find the laws that apply to the facts of the case. Effective legal research is integral to the practice of law.

What are the sources of law?

Efficient legal research starts first with an understanding of the sources of law in the United States.

• Constitutional law: The federal government and all the states have constitutions whose primary purpose is to establish the government and define its functions and obligations in relation to the people.
• Statutory law: Laws established by legislative action.
• Administrative regulations: Administrative agencies (IRS, FDA, FAA, etc.) have the power to make necessary rules and regulations.
• Ordinances: Laws established by a local government such as a county board of supervisors or city council.
• Case law: Laws are created in the form of decisions, also called opinions, that are published in case reporters. Case law is also known as common law and is based on the legal principle known as stare decisis (let the decision stand). Simply put, courts are required to follow earlier decisions made by higher courts, such as the Supreme Court. This helps make the law predictable.

How to do legal research

Knowing how to do legal research in an effective way is a crucial skill for paralegals in the discovery and trial preparation process.

The process of identifying and gathering information relevant to legal questions or issues, involving searching for and analyzing legal sources such as statutes, regulations, case law, and secondary sources like legal commentaries and scholarly articles, is essential to master.

Here’s a step-by-step checklist to conducting legal research:

• Identify the legal issue: Clearly define the legal question or issue you are researching. Understand the key terms and concepts involved.
• Find primary sources: Start by searching for primary sources, which include statutes, regulations, and case law. Use legal databases such as Westlaw, LexisNexis, or public databases like the Legal Information Institute (LII).
• Locate relevant case law: Search for relevant case law using legal databases or court websites. Look for cases that interpret the statutes or regulations relevant to your issue.
• Use secondary sources: Consult secondary sources such as legal commentaries, treatises, and law review articles. These can provide background information, analysis, and citations to primary sources.
• Check jurisdiction: Ensure that your research is relevant to the appropriate jurisdiction, as laws can vary by state, federal, or international levels.
• Update your research: Legal research is a dynamic process. Verify that the cases, statutes, and regulations you find are current and still good law.
• Organize and analyze: Organize your findings and analyze them to form a legal argument or opinion.

How to do legal research as a paralegal

As a paralegal, conducting legal research is of critical importance in supporting attorneys and their cases.

Your role involves assisting in gathering and analyzing legal information, including statutes, regulations, case law, and other legal sources.

Once you’ve followed the steps above, there are a number of elements in the legal research process that must be adhered to.

As a paralegal, legal research must be continued by:

• Analyze information: Compare and contrast legal sources and summarize the findings to help the attorney understand how the legal issue is addressed in the law.
• Prepare research memos: Write detailed research memos summarizing your findings, including citations to cases, statutes, and other sources. The memos should be clear and concise, making it easy for the attorney to understand the legal landscape.
• Stay updated: Keep track of any changes in the law and update your research as needed. Legal research is an ongoing process, and you may need to revisit your findings.
• Work collaboratively: Communicate and collaborate with the attorney and other team members throughout the research process to ensure that your findings align with their needs and goals.

What is the difference between primary sources v. secondary sources?

Primary sources of law are constitutions, statutes, regulations, ordinances, and case law. Primary sources articulate the law.

Secondary sources are plain-language writings by legal scholars that explain, analyze, and criticize primary law. Secondary sources are a great place to start research on any legal topic as they provide an overview of the relevant law. Secondary sources are not the law, they are the author’s interpretation or explanation of the law and are not binding on the courts. Secondary sources explain the law and will cite the relevant case law, statutes, etc.

Secondary sources include: 

• Practice guides
• Legal treatises
• Law review articles
• Scholarly journals
• Legal dictionaries and encyclopedias
• Jury instructions

Seeing the difference

As an example of the difference , the U.S. Supreme Court decision of Brown v. Board of Education is a primary legal source, establishing that state laws permitting separate schools for whites and blacks are unconstitutional.

The book “Simple Justice” and the Gale Encyclopedia of American Law provide secondary legal sources, offering discussions and analyses of the case and its historical context.

Similarly, the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is primary law, guaranteeing the right to security against unreasonable searches. However, an article from the 2012 William and Mary Law Review analyzing a specific aspect of the Fourth Amendment constitutes a secondary legal source.

What is the difference between mandatory authority v. persuasive authority?

Courts are required to follow the decisions of higher courts in the same jurisdiction. Court cases from a higher court and in the same jurisdiction are considered mandatory authority. All federal and state courts are bound by the decisions of the United States Supreme Court related to the United States Constitution and federal laws. State courts are bound by the decisions of the higher courts in that state, such as the state’s Supreme Court.

If there is little or no mandatory authority in your jurisdiction, you may want to look at cases from other jurisdictions. This is persuasive authority, meaning the court may follow the ruling but is not required to.

What is the legal research process?

The legal research process can seem overwhelming with the volumes of legal resources available. How do you do legal research? The same way you eat an elephant, one bite at a time. Legal research is the elephant, and to successfully complete the research, take it one step (bite) at a time. Knowing the steps to perform legal research makes the process much less daunting.

Step 1: Identify the facts, issues, and jurisdiction

Before you can begin your research, you must first determine the facts, the issues, and the jurisdiction of the legal research project. Eliminate the unimportant facts and focus on the essential facts such as who, what, where, and how. Use the facts to pinpoint the legal issues and to determine the jurisdiction.

Step 2: Find relevant law

It sounds easy enough until you start thinking about the sheer volume of statutes and published case law, and then it can become overwhelming for the researcher.

When I was teaching paralegal students, I always told my students to start with secondary sources.

Even though secondary sources are not the law and are not binding on the courts, secondary sources educate the researcher on the topic and build your knowledge base.

Keep in mind that in order to publish the material, the writer had to go through the legal research process and have identified the primary resources most applicable to the topic.

The secondary source will explain the relevant primary source, such as the governing statutes and case law. Do not rely only on the secondary source. Once you have the applicable statutes, go directly to the primary source.

What are search methods?

To use research databases efficiently, there are several search techniques you can use to improve the precision of your search results.

The more precise your search. The less irrelevant material you will need to review, the more you need to start with a broad search using keywords.

If the search is returning too many results, narrow the search by using connectors.

Search techniques

Some search techniques include (please note this is not a complete list): 

• And: Use “and” between your search terms to indicate that all terms must appear in your search results. For example, the search – banana and slip and fall – will retrieve materials containing each of these terms.
• Or: Use “or” between your search terms to indicate that any one of the listed terms appears in your results. This is very helpful when your issue may include synonyms for the same concept. For example, the search – minor or juvenile or child or children or infant – will retrieve materials that have any one of these terms.
• Not: Use “not” to disqualify words from your search. “Not” is a rarely used connector, but it can be helpful under certain circumstances. For example, if you were searching for a particular anti-corruption statute, you may want to run the search – RICO, not “Puerto Rico.”
• Proximity connectors designate how closely your search terms must appear within a document.

Common proximity connectors include: 

• /p: Terms must appear in the same paragraph.
• /s: Terms must appear in the same sentence.
• /n: (such as /3) – Terms must appear within the specified number of words to each other.
• Phrases: Using quotation marks (“ ”) allows you to search for a particular phrase. To search for a specific phrase put the phrase in quotation marks. For example, if you were interested in searching for mentions of the television show “Orange is the New Black,” simply run the search “Orange is the New Black.”

Where do I go to conduct the research? 

Programs such as Lexis and Westlaw are online subscription legal research programs. The costs for these programs can be prohibitive, especially if you do not conduct legal research on a regular basis.

If you do not have access to these programs, you can still conduct effective legal research using free sources available online.

Use your favorite search engine, such as Google, to locate both secondary (articles written by legal professionals) and primary sources of law.

Reminder: use the secondary source to locate applicable law, and then always go directly to the primary source for your answers.

Step 3: Check to see if you are using good law

Research is not complete until you have checked to make sure the law you found is still valid and relevant. The quickest way to draft a losing document is to rely on a case that has been overruled or a statute deemed unconstitutional. Citators let you verify a case’s authority by listing cases, statutes, and legal sources so you can check that it has not been overruled, questioned, or made irrelevant.

Legal research software such as Lexis and Westlaw makes checking the validity quick and easy. Google Scholar includes ‘How cited,” which is a list of cases that have cited the selected opinion.

Research in practice

Now that we know how to conduct legal research let’s practice. For this scenario, I only used resources that were available for free online.

Sample research scenario

A potential new client (PNC) On November 1, 2023, on a beautiful, crisp fall afternoon, our client Anita Radcliff was walking Fluffy, her beloved shih tzu, on a leash at a public park in California when a large dalmatian ran up to Fluffy and bit her.

Animal control was called, and the Dalmatian’s owner was located. It was determined that the Dalmatian had never bitten another animal or person before this incident.

Anita rushed Fluffy to the vet, and despite all efforts, Fluffy unfortunately died. Fluffy was a registered emotional support animal, and Anita was devastated by her death.

Important facts:

• Fluffy was leashed.
• Dalmatian was unleashed.
• Dalmatian bit Fluffy. This was the Dalmatian’s first bite.
• Fluffy died.
• Fluffy was a registered emotional support animal.
• The owner is devastated.
• Is the owner of the Dalmatian liable for the death of Fluffy?
• What remedies in law (damages) does Anita have?

Jurisdiction: 

Now that the facts, issues, and jurisdiction have been determined, it is time to begin your research.

Issue 1: Is the owner of the Dalmatian liable for the death of Fluffy? 

Finding the answer to this issue was quick (about one minute).

Search terms – owner liability for dog bites in California – Google came up with about 15,600,000 results. Using (“ ”) did not narrow this search.

I found a helpful article (secondary source) that directed me to California Civil Code section 3342, subdivision (a) (primary source). Based on the Civil Code, the brief answer is “yes,” the Dalmatian’s owner is liable for the death of Fluffy.

Answer: Yes. Based on Civil Code section 3342, the Dalmatian’s owner is liable for the death of Fluffy.

Issue 2: What remedies in law (damages) does Anita have? 

Finding the answer to this issue was more involved and took about 20 minutes (this included skimming through the cases), with more research needed.

Search terms – damages for the death of an emotional support animal California law – Google came up with about 15,800,000 results. Using (“ ”) reduced that to about 12,500,000 results.

I didn’t find the first few results very helpful, so I searched a little further down on the first page of my search results and located California Civil Jury Instruction No. 39030 (secondary source). The jury instruction has a section “Directions for Use” and “Sources and Authority.” Both these sections have California case law. They also have a “Secondary Sources” section.

From the jury instruction, I found the cases (primary source) of Martinez v. Robledo (2012) 210 Cal.App.4th 384 and Plotnik v. Meihaus (2012) 208 Cal.App.4th 1590.

Answer: Anita is entitled to recover the value of Fluffy and reasonable vet bills. She may also be entitled to recover punitive damages and damages for emotional distress, but more research would be needed. Note: If I was doing this research for an attorney, I would continue researching for the answers to punitive damages and damages for emotional distress.

Today, we’ve explored the core components of legal research, from sources of law to primary vs. secondary sources, mandatory vs. persuasive authority, and practical research steps.

Although only an attorney can give legal advice and perform  particular functions  with regard to clients, paralegals oftentimes will conduct the initial research attorneys rely on. Effective legal research can make or break a case and is critical to the practice of law.

Legal research can be hard and daunting due to the sheer volume of laws, but by following a few simple steps, you can eat the research elephant one step (bite) at a time.

We’ve looked at some real-word examples to highlight this process, showcasing the importance of secondary sources and precision in search terms.

Bear this guide in mind when conducting case law in future, and stay efficient in your research!

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Why legal research skills are (really) important

Are you about to begin your legal studies? Do you think polishing your legal research skills can wait until your exams? You’d be wrong.

Associate Professor and LLB Programme & Student Lead, Dr Andreas Yiannaros has written a book entitled “Legal Research, Planning and Writing”. Here, he shares five reasons why you shouldn’t neglect your legal research skills in your first year and how these skills can help improve your grades and advance your professional development.

By Cara Fielder . Published 14 June 2024.

1. Legal research helps you avoid being overly descriptive

Early on in your studies, you may receive the feedback that your written or verbal arguments are overly descriptive. This means that you are describing the law, without providing a meaningful analysis. Instead, provide balanced and well-evidenced analysis that is backed up by legal research. If you master the skill of analysing and evaluating, rather than simply describing what your sources say, you will provide more convincing and well-articulated arguments. I would highly recommend producing a research plan before you start working or any research task. Also, conduct a thorough evaluation of the literature on the subject to identify trends and relevant examples to back up your arguments.

2. Correct utilisation of sources can add depth to your legal arguments

Legal research can add depth to your legal arguments and demonstrate not only an excellent grasp of the subject, but also your ability to use them correctly to support your points. Not all sources are created equal, and you must evaluate all your materials carefully before you use them. Conducting a good literature review is important, as it can help you distinguish your sources thematically and evaluate them before you use them. In my book, Legal Research, Planning and Writing , I provide top tips on how to evaluate the quality of your sources in several ways:

• By looking more closely into the source
• Considering the methodologies used by authors
• The presence of any biases
• The way the information has been presented.

3. All assessments require some form of legal research

A common misconception is that first year grades don’t count. This is far from true. Law is a competitive field and employers will be looking for academic excellence, among other things, to gauge your suitability and academic ability. To achieve academic excellence, it is imperative to utilise your legal research skills and go beyond mere description. All assessments, no matter how easy or complex you perceive them to be, will require some form of legal research. Problem questions require an excellent grasp and correct utilisation of case law and statutes. Essay questions require in-depth evaluation and analysis of scholarly debate, and oral examinations require the ability to think on your feet and present information in a convincing and articulate manner. Having strong foundations in legal research can help you apply the law more effectively and evaluate in all of those situations.

4. Employers value strong research skills

Prospects , the UK's biggest graduate careers website, lists “information analysis and research” as one of the top 7 skills for a successful career in law . Employers highly value candidates who have a track record of information analysis and legal research, as this can help lawyers with their daily tasks. As a future lawyer, you will be expected to know how to use legal databases to find information and check if the law is still valid, or, for example, whether precedent has been overturned or is being departed from in more recent cases. The law is constantly changing and evolving, so knowing how to quickly find the status of legislation is crucial. Certification in legal databases such as Westlaw and Lexis is a useful (and impressive) addition to your CV, so grab the opportunity if your university offers database training and certification events. I advise you to complete your training as early as possible as the skills you learn will equip you to complete research tasks with more ease and efficiency in the future.

5. Legal research helps you set strong foundations for your next academic steps and your legal career

When you study law at university, the complexity of the subjects you study will increase as you progress. Setting strong foundations early in your studies will help you manage your course more efficiently and meet your examiners’ expectations. It is no secret that as you move up to the next stages, your subjects will require more analysis and critical evaluation. Your final term is the culmination of all the knowledge and skills you developed over your course, therefore excellent research skills and the ability to critically evaluate the law will be a key expectation.

Sharpen your legal skills with a mix of training topics tailored to suit you with our Junior Lawyer Development Programme .

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Legal Research: The Importance of Legal Research

Student Lawyer, Vol. 41, No. 8, pp.19-20, April 2013

2 Pages Posted: 3 May 2013

Shawn G. Nevers

Brigham Young University - J. Reuben Clark Law School

Date Written: May 1, 2013

I doubt Steven Spielberg thought anyone watching "Lincoln" would think about legal research, but that’s what happened to me. As I listened to Lincoln explain his reasoning for pursuing the 13th Amendment, I couldn’t help but think about legal research. Lincoln had found, understood, and applied the law. While Lincoln’s legal research didn’t include Westlaw or Lexis, its underlying principles of finding, understanding, and applying the law remain the same today. Today’s lawyers continue to use legal research on a daily basis to prepare them to advise clients, negotiate with opposing counsel, or persuade a judge or jury. Written for Student Lawyer magazine, this column discusses the importance of legal research and provides some tips for developing an appreciation of legal research and improving research skills.

Keywords: legal research, importance, Lincoln, legal analysis

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Why Legal Research is Important for Lawyer?

Table of Contents

It isn’t tedious to gather information, what takes more time is to collect relevant data.

Many law firms are incurring more profits just by using cloud-based legal research solutions over manual research. It’s both the hard work and the smart work that is paying the legal sector more and more from every client.

It’s not hassle-free for lawyers to quickly analyze all the data that is needed for the case or the litigation. The process takes time and effort for every single matter or case. To run a whole law practice, proper software is highly needed to access everything remotely without switching many tools. 

MatterSuite not only provides a good platform to conduct your legal research but also gives you a whole one in hand solution to manage every aspect of your law practice smoothly from anywhere anytime. Rather than investing money in both law practice management software and legal research tools , it’s more economical to invest in one and get the other included in it. 

This blog will assist you in understanding the major advantages of having good legal research and will also make you go through the whole process of conducting exceptional and accurate legal research for your matter.

Benefits of conducting legal research

Legal research can act as a great help for lawyers to streamline their matter or an issue without any major trouble.

1. Gives Accurate Answers

Good legal research covers more than half of the matter and gives you more confidence in presenting the whole issue in front of the authority without any trouble or second thought.

It helps you in winning the matter without any complications. With proper research and information, you can easily fight back against the opponent with strong counterarguments. 

2. Gives Full Knowledge about the case

Whether it be a matter or a general issue, a lawyer must have answers for the same in front of the jury. It can be a question or a statement, but as a lawyer, you should be answerable to the authority to maintain a good image of yourself in front of your client as well as the authority. 

The lawyer must explain the information and evidence of the matter the lawyer is presenting. Good legal research helps lawyers in making the best out of the matter or a case.

3. Simplifies Issue

Unnecessary data gets eliminated when you go through the legal research process. You can analyze and know about what are the different aspects of the issue and how you can deal with the same. 

Some matters look complicated at the start, but with proper legal research, things get broken down into simplified small pieces which helps lawyers easily manage the whole complication without much trouble. 

4. Provides More Value

A strong case is easily captured and shows the hard work of the lawyer in the past days and months. It reflects a good image of the lawyer or an attorney. Legal research helps in delivering more value in front of the authority but submitting core evidence and details of the related matter. 

Once you have the research work done, things get more clear as you tend to understand the different situations which can take place in the court. It gives you more power to present relevant proof.

Steps to successfully execute legal research at your law practice

There are many processes that accelerate your legal research, but there are some major steps to consider before jumping into legal research.

1. Have a Clear Knowledge about the Issue

Before making any final decision on a case or an issue, its evaluation is really important. Legal research helps lawyers in properly knowing about what the issue is by clearing all the background details with its core details. 

MatterSuite legal research software helps you to conduct legal research for your matters and create all the data on a single screen without incurring any trouble in the process of collecting and storing information. 

2. Study about the Sources Needed

Think about what your case base is and manage detail accordingly. If your matter is complex you might need both primary and secondary sources to gather and collect useful information for your matter. 

Some information can be taken out with only primary sources. But a proper evaluation is a must to start your research process effectively without much doubt. 

3. Collect Information

Once you are ready with what sources you need to continue your research then you are all ready to start your research for your matters. It’s one of the most important steps to be considered and executed to make your matter strong. 

The information can be both from primary and secondary sources depending upon the type of matter you get. The background details can be obtained easily by secondary searches and you can save a lot of time by doing it online. 

4. Select Core Information

Now once you have all the information from all the sources, it’s time to select the data that is relevant and connected to the matter. As a lawyer, you can easily make out what’s core and what’s not. 

Evaluate the whole data and create a file containing all the essential details and evidence for your matter.

5. Study Deviations

Just collecting the necessary legal details is not enough for a strong matter to be presented in front of the jury. A whole process to analyze its data and to correct what’s not right is also equally important. 

Make sure to predict what all can be the counterpoints that can be framed. Go through the evidence and try to match it with how it can help in the given matter. Clear your mind with what the issue is exactly.

Integrated legal research with MatterSuite

With the growing digital usage, legal research has established a good base on digital and online tools. Now lawyers don’t waste much time in assembling chunks of data manually, rather they prefer to collect all the information from a single click. 

But why invest more in different tools, when MatterSuite provides a whole solution for your law practice. 

With MatterSuite legal research software, you can easily:

• Evaluate your final results and can check possibilities for more improvements. It provides you with full-fledged data and helps you in making fair decisions for your matter. 
• It helps in making your case look more systematic than earlier. It gives you a platform to store, update, add, edit, delete your data whenever needed. 
• You can even attach multiple documents that are linked to your matter directly. It gives your client more ideas about your research and helps in satisfying them.
• Mark your research as favorable and non-favorable and process your matter with high accuracy. 

Not just legal research with MatterSuite you get more than just a single tool. It includes features like litigation management , matter management , document management , legal calendaring , eDiscovery management , cause of action , and many more with top-notch integrations.

Frequently Asked Questions

Legal research is the process of collecting information for effective decision-making. It assists lawyers in making a strong base for their cases irrespective of their law practice.

Yes definitely, as a law firm it is more important to understand your client’s case and take out what all necessary information or data is crucial to fight back the opponent and win the case. Without proper legal research, you won’t be able to find strong arguments to prove your case relevant.

It depends on the medium you are using to conduct your legal research. Many lawyers have shifted towards online tools to continue their research work with full security. But many still rely on manual methods to execute their legal research for their case. The manual paper approach is a bit risky as manipulation is quite common to happen in this case, whereas a proper cloud-based solution eliminates the risk of manipulation and helps you in smoothly handling all information securely throughout the whole case.

Conclusion Whether you are a solo practitioner or a law firm owner, every aspect of law needs proper legal research and planning before making any strong arguments in front of the opposite party. Getting information requires certain procedures to avail the data. Legal research plays a huge role in giving lawyers the exact data needed to win the case professionally. The research work requires critical skills and to develop the perfect set of skills, lawyers must have proper knowledge about the same.

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• Legal research

Tips to conducting an effective legal research

Top legal websites for legal research, all you need to know about legal research.

This article is written by Surbhi Jindal , a law student at Dr. B.R. Ambedkar National Law University, Sonipat Haryana. Through this article, she attempts to put forth the concept of legal research and its importance. She further attempts to discuss some of the effective tips to do legal research. 

Table of Contents

Introduction

Legal profession cannot move forward without research and findings. The main reason behind this is the dynamic nature of law. Legal research forms an integral part in the life of law professionals, whether they are law students, lawyers, academicians, practitioners who are interested in legal knowledge. Even if you are someone preparing for a career in law and trying to understand what kind of education is needed for a lawyer , legal research will come in handy. With the changing of society and laws every day, it becomes essential to scrutinize the pool of laws and social rules. The primary purpose of legal research remains to either find the lacunas in the laws, so they are made following the society’s needs or add some vastness to the subject matter of rules to make it comprehensive.

Through this article, we shall ascertain the true meaning of research and, after that, understand the legal research. There exist different types of legal research. We shall also look at them by having a comparative analysis between them. Furthermore, in the last part of this article, I will share a few legal websites that can do legal research. Not only this, but the article will also provide you with some of the best tips to conduct effective legal research. So, let us get started.  

What is research

Research means to investigate, inquire or probe in any particular area of discipline. It is a careful and detailed study of a topic to gather more information about it. This can be done by adding, deleting, updating, separating, or correcting the previous knowledge. 

People intentionally or unintentionally are involved in the process of research in their day-to-day life. The human mind is full of curiosity. It conducts an inquiry about something at some point in a day. The term research is itself made up of two words, ‘Re’ and ‘Search’. Re means again, and Search is to scrutinize or probe. In other words, searching, again and again, is what we call research.

According to M Stephenson and D Slesinger in the encyclopedia of social sciences, research is 

“The manipulation of things, concepts or symbols to generalize to extend, correct or verify knowledge, whether that knowledge aids in the construction of theory or the practice of an art”

There are three objectives of conducting research. These are as follows:

• To contribute to the existing field of knowledge in any specified discipline.
• To get a better understanding of how to formulate policies
• To answer a specific area of question or fact.

After understanding the meaning of research, it would be much easier to know what legal research is and its objectives. We would also understand the various kinds of legal research. Also, it is pertinent to note that research must be done carefully and systematically with minimal errors because their outcome impacts the public at large. It must be done in an organized system so that answers to the questions are simplified.

What is legal research

Law is a subject that has broad dimensions of knowledge in society. There are several laws in India, making it difficult for a prudent man to remember them all. With the growing needs and challenges of society, laws also have to change. This means the area of law is as dynamic as our society. A complementary relationship of law and society here comes to play a vital role.

Therefore, it becomes essential to review the laws and see whether they are suited to the best interests of society or not. Here, legal research comes into play. A systematic finding and ascertainment of the law on any identified topic to advance the science of law is known as legal research.

As discussed earlier, the law is a vast area. With a mass of statutes, constant amendments, and supplementary rules and regulations, it becomes challenging for a prudent man to understand and grasp everything from it. Therefore, a probe is conducted for different underlying principles and their reasons to make advancements in the law and simplify various acts and statutes.

Legal research is a broad area that leads to an inquiry and investigation consistently made by judges, lawyers, advocates, law students, and legal researchers in the quest for a deeper and fuller understanding of the law. To support legal-decision making, legal research comes into the limelight. It identifies and retrieves the information to make the complex process simplified.

Purposes of legal research

Law is dynamic as our society is. It operates in a complex structure of society. Behavioural norms and attitudes are controlled and moulded by the law. However, with the nature of these norms changing with time and space, it becomes essential that law becomes adaptable to the changing order of society.

Legal research is also essential to write plagiarism-free content. Plagiarism is a common practice with severe consequences. Most students avoid legal research and stick to paraphrasing or plagiarizing from the content written by others. This can lead to serious consequences such as a copyright complaint, a Google penalty, deduction of marks in universities, etc. So, legal research is an essential step to avoid resorting to such practices. Some students also order free from plagiarism essays from professional writers to succeed with the tasks and help them in their assignments.

Here, in such a situation, legal research becomes essential for the ascertainment of law, clearing ambiguities in the law, identifying the weak points in a direction, and critically examining the order to ensure consistency, coherence, and stability in the law, etc. There are various purposes for which legal research is conducted. These are:

• With various laws, rules, and regulations existing in society, it becomes essential to filter the laws presently applicable to the given situation. It is not easy to find the law or a judicial pronouncement at a particular point in time. Here, legal research makes the task easier. It makes the ascertainment of the law easier and much more helpful.
• It is not always true that law, once made, can never bring rise to any contingency in the future. There exist some ambiguities and gaps which might be removed with the help of legal research. The nature of law is both reactive and proactive in that it answers the question arising out of such ambiguities and gaps. Apart from helping in removing ambiguities, it also helps in determining coherence, stability, and consistency.
• Legal research also helps in predicting the future. It also helps to understand the social factors that had indirectly impacted the making of law. Social auditing of law helps in identifying the gap between the legal ideal and social reality. It further helps in suggesting reforms based on analytical, historical, and comparative research.

Types of legal research

The research can be broadly divided into various types by having a comparative analysis with respect to another kind of research. These are:

 Descriptive and analytical legal research

Applied and fundamental legal research

Quantitative and Qualitative legal research

 Conceptual and Empirical legal research

Legal research comes with a cost. Legal websites like Manupatra, SCC Online aren’t available for free. You would have to spend more than a penny on these sites in order to access their features. However, several authentic websites provide ways to access legal research easily without any hassle. This will be dealt with in the latter part of this article. In this section, the primary purpose is to tell you some tips for conducting effective legal research.  

• Always start with secondary sources. Though some people prefer to start from the primary sources, creating from secondary sources is the best way, to begin with, legal research. It helps in saving time and makes the research process effective and efficient. 
• You can always start with the news articles. There you will mostly get reliable information and also the opinions of different jurists. 
• To find the correct and reliable legal information, you can always refer to the legal websites (discussed later on) to boost your research. 
• Try to read judgements as they are a great source of information and can help make articles exhaustive. 
• Remember that whatever information you search for and find relevant for yourself, bookmark it somewhere. Otherwise, you will have to go back again and find that pertinent piece of information. 
• Also, you can follow the 10-minute rule by Ramanuj Mukherjee (CEO, Lawsikho ) to save your time in conducting legal research. The 10-minute rule says that you do the research for 10 minutes and after it, whatever you read, write for 10 minutes. In this way, you will not miss out on any critical points while doing research and writing. This will save you a lot of time and will have a positive effect on your article.
• Avoiding plagiarism at all costs. If you have used somebody’s idea in the information you’re disseminating, duly credit them. It becomes really easy if you have saved the sources. Also, you can cite the sources without facing any difficulty. There are different types of citation methods like Bluebook , Chicago , Oscola etc. In case you haven’t saved the sources, you can simply run the document through the  free plagiarism checker . This tool analyzes content and lets you know the source from where your text is duplicated.

These were some of the practical tips that could help a person conduct effective and efficient legal research. 

Conducting legal research is very easy till one knows how to do it. However, not everyone can access legal databases such as Manupatra , SCC Online etc. Either you have to purchase them, or your college will provide access to them. But don’t worry; there are many legal websites you can refer to for your legal research. These all are user-friendly and can be of great use if one looks at its structure. A lot of information can be accessed on these websites very easily.  

• Indian Kanoon : The Indian Kanoon was founded by Sushant Sinha in 2008. It is one of the best tools that law students can use for understanding complex judgments simply. 
• Livelaw : The website Livelaw was started by Rashid M.A. in 2013. The most prominent blog in India seeks to create awareness in society by providing accurate and reliable information. 
• iPleaders : iPleaders was started by the two NUJS graduates Ramanuj Mukherjee and Abhudyay Aggarwal, in 2010. It is an educational start-up whose primary purpose is to make legal education accessible to all. It has its blog called iPleaders blog, which focuses on legal issues and legal questions. 
• Path Legal : It is a legal directory started by Sunil Joseph in 2011. The main aim of Path Legal is to provide free legal advice online, telephone consultation, free legal advice, free LPO training, legal papers etc. 
• Lawctopus : It was founded by the NUJS graduate Tanuj Kalia in 2010. It is one of the exclusive sites for law students that provide information regarding internships, career opportunities etc. 
• Bar and Bench : It was established in 2011. It is a place where comprehensive news and analysis is provided for the legal community. The entire legal spectrum of information like interviews, news, column sources are provided on this website. 
• SCC Online : Eastern Book Company, an internationally renowned publishing house, has its own reliable and comprehensive law reporting of the Supreme court of India through SCC Online. It has been providing its legal services across India. However, if you want to access SCC, you would have to purchase the subscription plan to avail the benefits. 
• Legally India : It was founded by Kian Ganz in 2009. It is one of the leading blog pages whose primary function is to report news and information that pertains to Indian law firms, Indian lawyers, international law firms and business lawyers in India. 
• Law Times Journal : Founded in 2014, law times journal is one of the leading online education portals devoted to the law. It believes in promoting free education in the legal sector. Besides this, it also provides resume services that help students in obtaining internships. 

Henceforth, legal research is fundamental. To understand the intricacies of complex laws, it becomes essential for us to know the process of simplifying them. One should always start with secondary sources such as commentaries, textbooks, articles, journals, etc. From secondary, one should move on to primary sources, i.e. statutes, constitution, etc. After having a better grasp of these sources, one should analyze and look for relevant information.

There are various kinds of research, any of which can be employed to conduct research. It is a systematic understanding of the law to advance it. Research is essential both for the law and society since they both have an impact on each other. Every method has its value in research. Hurdles that come while conducting research can be best avoided by proper planning by the researcher.

• https://chilot.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/legal-research-methods.pdf
• https://www.mylawman.co.in/2020/05/law-notes-legal-research-types-and.html

Students of  Lawsikho courses  regularly produce writing assignments and work on practical exercises as a part of their coursework and develop themselves in real-life practical skills.

LawSikho has created a telegram group for exchanging legal knowledge, referrals, and various opportunities. You can click on this link and join:

https://t.me/joinchat/L9vr7LmS9pJjYTQ9

Follow us on  Instagram  and subscribe to our  YouTube  channel for more amazing legal content.

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1 Introduction: Legal Research Methodology, Purposes, and Footsteps

• Published: January 2020
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The first chapter introduces the subject by explaining key words like research, legal research, method, and methodology. By linking knowledge with research, it brings out the purposive character of knowledge influencing research. It lists various objectives of legal research such as exploration, description, historical explanation, law reform, prediction, and publication, briefly explaining each. It traces the historical development of legal research in India thorugh ancient, medieval, colonial, and modern times. It finds that legal research became systematic and wide spread only along with orderly growth of legal education. Finally, it catalogues diverse methods of legal research under the categories of doctrinal, non-doctrinal, and integrated methods of legal research. Reader gets a basic idea about legal research, its past, present, and future potentiality and a glimpse of its wider canvas.

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Legal Research and Writing

Bernard Koteen Office of Public Interest Advising 4039 Wasserstein Hall (WCC) 1585 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02138

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What Is a Clinical Trial Agreement?

A clinical trial agreement (CTA) is a legally binding contract that outlines the terms, conditions, and responsibilities of all parties involved in a clinical trial, facilitating compliance with regulatory requirements and minimizing risks associated with non-compliance. This exhaustive agreement defines the scope of work, payment terms, and intellectual property rights, while verifying that the trial is conducted in accordance with relevant laws, regulations, and guidelines. By understanding the intricacies of a CTA, stakeholders can navigate the complex landscape of clinical trials with confidence, and capitalize on the full potential of a successfully executed trial.

Table of Contents

Key Components of a CTA

A thorough Clinical Trial Agreement (CTA) typically comprises several crucial elements that collectively provide a clear understanding of the terms and conditions governing the conduct of a clinical trial. These fundamental components confirm that all parties involved in the trial are aware of their contractual obligations and the regulatory requirements that must be met.

One of the primary components of a CTA is the delineation of contractual obligations, which outlines the specific responsibilities of the sponsor, investigator, and research site. This includes the scope of work, payment terms, and intellectual property rights. Regulatory compliance is another critical aspect of a CTA, as it verifies that the trial is conducted in accordance with relevant laws, regulations, and guidelines. This includes adherence to Good Clinical Practice (GCP), informed consent, and data protection protocols. By incorporating these key elements, a CTA provides a thorough framework for the successful execution of a clinical trial, while minimizing the risk of non-compliance and associated penalties.

Roles and Responsibilities

In a clinical trial, precise definition of responsibilities is essential to facilitate seamless collaboration among stakeholders, as it clarifies the specific duties and accountabilities of the sponsor, investigator, and research site. This clarity helps to prevent misunderstandings, guarantees compliance with regulatory requirements, and optimizes trial outcomes.

The following key stakeholders play pivotal parts in a clinical trial:

• Sponsor : Oversees the trial, provides funding, and guarantees compliance with regulatory requirements.
• Investigator : Conducts the trial, manages site operations, and safeguards participant safety.
• Site Administrator : Manages site logistics, coordinates trial activities, and provides administrative support.
• Study Coordinator : Assists the investigator, manages data collection, and verifies trial protocol adherence.

Clear definition of responsibilities enables effective communication, efficient trial execution, and high-quality data collection. By outlining specific duties and accountabilities, clinical trial agreements guarantee that all stakeholders understand their obligations, ultimately contributing to the trial's success.

Terms and Conditions Explained

The terms and conditions outlined in a clinical trial agreement serve as the foundation of the contractual relationship between the sponsor and the research site, governing the rights and obligations of all parties involved. These terms and conditions comprise a range of vital elements, including but not limited to, intellectual property rights, confidentiality agreements, and indemnification provisions. Effective contract negotiation is vital to confirm that the terms and conditions are mutually agreeable and align with the interests of both parties. In addition, regulatory compliance is a critical aspect of clinical trial agreements, as non-compliance can lead to severe consequences, including legal and financial repercussions. The terms and conditions must adhere to relevant regulations, such as Good Clinical Practice (GCP) and the International Council for Harmonisation (ICH) guidelines. By outlining the terms and conditions in a clear and concise manner, clinical trial agreements provide a framework for successful collaboration and guarantee that all parties are aware of their responsibilities throughout the clinical trial process.

Negotiating the Agreement Process

When negotiating a Clinical Trial Agreement, it is vital to have a clear understanding of the key terms, responsibilities, and functions of all parties involved. A well-defined timeline and deadlines are also pivotal to facilitate a smooth and efficient agreement process. By carefully considering these fundamental aspects, sponsors, investigators, and institutions can navigate the negotiation process with confidence and clarity.

Understanding Key Terms

During the negotiation process, sponsors and contract research organizations (CROs) must carefully consider the contractual terms and definitions that govern the clinical trial agreement. A thorough understanding of key terms is crucial to ensure a successful collaboration. In the complex regulatory landscape, contract jargon can often lead to confusion and misinterpretation. It is essential to clarify and define critical terms to avoid disputes and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.

Some key terms to consider include:

• Confidentiality : The protection of proprietary information and data shared between parties.
• Intellectual Property (IP) : Ownership and rights related to innovative products, processes, or methods developed during the trial.
• Indemnification : The allocation of liability and responsibilities for damages or losses incurred during the trial.
• Dispute Resolution : The process for resolving conflicts or disagreements that may arise during the trial.

Clear definitions of key terms pave the way for effective negotiation of the clinical trial agreement, which hinges on the clear allocation of functions and responsibilities among sponsors, CROs, and other stakeholders.

The allocation of roles and responsibilities is critical to ensure the successful execution of a clinical trial. The following table outlines some of the key responsibilities of sponsors, investigators, and CROs:

Timeline and Deadlines

A well-defined timeline with realistic deadlines is vital for facilitating the efficient negotiation and execution of a clinical trial agreement. Establishing a clear timeline helps to guarantee that all parties involved are aware of their responsibilities and can plan accordingly. This, in turn, enables the smooth progress of the clinical trial, minimizing delays and potential bottlenecks.

To achieve a successful clinical trial, it is vital to define key milestone markers, which serve as checkpoints to monitor progress. These markers should be accompanied by realistic deadlines, allowing for flexibility when needed. Deadline flexibility is critical, as unforeseen circumstances can arise, and adjustments may be necessary to stay on track.

Some vital timeline considerations include:

• Defining key milestone markers, such as study start-up, patient recruitment, and data analysis
• Establishing realistic deadlines for each milestone, with built-in flexibility when possible
• Identifying potential roadblocks and developing contingency plans to mitigate their impact
• Regularly reviewing and updating the timeline to guarantee it remains relevant and effective

Importance of a Well-Drafted CTA

A meticulously crafted clinical trial agreement (CTA) serves as the cornerstone of a successful clinical trial, as it clarifies the functions, responsibilities, and expectations of all parties involved. A well-drafted CTA guarantees that all stakeholders are on the same page, minimizing misunderstandings and potential disputes.

A primary importance of a well-drafted CTA lies in confirming regulatory compliance. By outlining the protocol, procedures, and guidelines, the agreement certifies that the trial is conducted in accordance with relevant laws and regulations. This mitigates the risk of non-compliance, which can lead to trial delays, penalties, or even premature termination.

Furthermore, a well-drafted CTA provides financial protection to all parties involved. By clearly outlining the financial responsibilities, payment terms, and potential liabilities, the agreement safeguards the interests of sponsors, investigators, and institutions. This financial clarity helps prevent disputes and guarantees a smooth trial execution.

Common Disputes and Resolutions

In the context of a Clinical Trial Agreement (CTA), disputes can arise from various factors, including breach of contract. Effective dispute resolution mechanisms are vital to mitigate the impact of such disputes on the trial's timelines and outcomes. It is imperative to establish clear procedures for dispute escalation and resolution, guaranteeing that all parties involved are aware of their functions and responsibilities in resolving conflicts.

Breach of Contract

Breach of contract is a common dispute that arises in clinical trial agreements when one or both parties fail to fulfill their contractual obligations. This can lead to significant delays, financial losses, and reputational damage.

In such cases, the affected party may seek remedies, including damages, specific performance, or termination of the agreement. It is essential to have a clear understanding of the contractual obligations and liabilities to mitigate the risks of breach.

Some common issues that may lead to breach of contract disputes include:

• Failure to meet timelines or milestones
• Non-compliance with regulatory requirements
• Inadequate data management or quality control
• Unauthorized disclosure of confidential information

To minimize the risk of breach, it is crucial to establish clear contractual obligations, including liability caps, and ensure that both parties understand their responsibilities and liabilities. By doing so, sponsors and research institutions can reduce the likelihood of disputes and ensure successful clinical trials.

Dispute Escalation Procedures

Effective dispute escalation procedures are crucial in clinical trial agreements to resolve conflicts efficiently and minimize delays, as prompt resolution of disputes is critical to facilitating the successful execution of clinical trials. A well-structured dispute escalation procedure enables parties to address conflicts in a timely and cost-effective manner, thereby mitigating the risk of trial delays or termination.

In the event of a dispute, the agreement should outline a clear process for conflict resolution, including mediation strategies. This may involve designating a neutral third-party mediator to facilitate negotiations between the parties. The procedure should also specify the timeframe for resolving disputes, as well as the process for appealing decisions. Additionally, the agreement should define the scope of disputes that can be escalated, guaranteeing that only legitimate issues are addressed. By incorporating a robust dispute escalation procedure, clinical trial agreements can minimize the risk of disputes and facilitate the successful execution of clinical trials. This, in turn, enables the timely delivery of innovative treatments to patients in need.

Best Practices for Implementation

Clinical trial agreements require careful planning and execution to facilitate successful implementation, and several effective practices can facilitate a smooth and compliant trial process. To confirm adherence with regulatory requirements and minimize potential risks, it is vital to implement optimal practices throughout the clinical trial process.

Some vital practices for implementation include:

• Establishing clear compliance frameworks to maintain regulatory adherence
• Conducting thorough risk assessments to identify and mitigate potential issues
• Developing detailed standard operating procedures (SOPs) to guide trial conduct
• Implementing robust data management and quality control processes to maintain data integrity

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a cta be used for non-pharmaceutical research studies?.

While traditionally associated with pharmaceutical research, Clinical Trial Agreements (CTAs) can be applied to non-pharmaceutical research studies, spanning device testing, social sciences, and other fields, provided the study involves human subjects and meets regulatory requirements.

What Happens if a Sponsor Changes the Study Protocol Mid-Trial?

If a sponsor changes the study protocol mid-trial, protocol amendments may be required, potentially leading to study delays, necessitating revised informed consent and re-approval from relevant authorities, maintaining participant safety and data integrity.

Are CTAS Required for Investigator-Initiated Trials?

In investigator-initiated trials, a Clinical Trial Agreement (CTA) may not be required, as funding typically comes from internal or government sources, rather than pharmaceutical companies, preserving investigator rights and autonomy over trial design and implementation.

Can a CTA Be Terminated Early by Either Party?

A Clinical Trial Agreement (CTA) may be terminated early by either party, as specified in termination clauses, allowing for early exit due to unforeseen circumstances, with party obligations, termination fees, and contract disputes addressed accordingly.

Do CTAS Need to Comply With International Regulations?

Clinical trial agreements (CTAs) must comply with international regulations, adhering to global standards and regulatory harmonization, promoting consistency and uniformity across jurisdictions, thereby facilitating multinational clinical trials and promoting public trust.