comprehensive guide to legal research writing and analysis pdf

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• The Comprehensive Guide to Legal Research, Writing & Analysis

The Comprehensive Guide to Legal Research, Writing & Analysis

Moira McCarney, Ruth Kuras, Annette Demers, Shelley Kierstead, The Comprehensive Guide to Legal Research, Writing & Analysis (3 rd ed) (Emond, 2019).

https://emond.ca/the-comprehensive-guide-to-legal-research-writing-a-analysis-3rd-edition-he.html

The third edition of  The Comprehensive Guide to Legal Research, Writing & Analysis  focuses on helping readers develop the competencies required by the Federation of Law Societies of Canada. This is achieved through in-depth coverage of provincial, territorial, and federal research tools and processes. In addition to developing these important communication and research skills, readers will also be equipped to apply them in both academic and professional environments.

This text provides a thorough background of the foundations of the Canadian legal system so that readers fully understand the laws and issues that may impact their work. Using this fundamental knowledge, readers will build key skills related to analyzing issues and facts, researching legal statutes and cases from various levels of court, creating and maintaining research plans, developing legal arguments, and transitioning their legal writing skills from classroom to courtroom. These skills can be further refined by using the in-text sample problems created by the accomplished author team.

Skills in research, writing, and analysis are essential to anyone aspiring to work in or currently working in the legal field. From start to finish, this resource’s detailed and practical approach supports readers in developing these necessary competencies.

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The Comprehensive Guide to Legal Research, Writing & Analysis

Moira McCarney Ruth Kuras Annette Demers Shelley M. Kierstead , Osgoode Hall Law School of York University Follow

Available in the Osgoode Hall Law School Library

Description

The Comprehensive Guide to Legal Research, Writing & Analysis focuses on developing the required competencies emphasized by the Federation of Law Societies in legal research, writing, and analysis and using those skills in both law school and professional environments.

The Comprehensive Guide to Legal Research, Writing & Analysis offers systematic, practical instruction, taking readers through context-based research problems. The book highlights examples and research tasks graphically and in full colour to facilitate the pedagogic experience. Screen captures of online resources are also included, assisting the researcher’s understanding.

Developed by an authoritative and experienced team of legal research instructors and librarians, this text covers a range of writing styles, including academic, objective, and persuasive, with an emphasis on legal analysis.

In addition to addressing researching federal resources, detailed provincial chapters written by a truly national group of contributors cover jurisdiction-specific techniques and content. Three jurisdictional two-volume editions are available: Ontario & Quebec, Western Canada, Atlantic Canada, as well as a one-volume national edition, covering all provinces.

Extensive supplementary materials and review questions for self-study and classroom exercises will be available online.

9781552396070

Publication Date

Emond Montgomery Publications

Toronto, Ontario

Legal research; Legal composition; Canada

This book contains two volumes

Bibliographic Citation McCarney, Moira, Ruth Kuras, Annette Demers, and Shelley M. Kierstead. The Comprehensive Guide to Legal Research, Writing & Analysis. Toronto, Ontario: Emond Montgomery Publications, 2013. Print.

Repository Citation

McCarney, Moira; Kuras, Ruth; Demers, Annette; and Kierstead, Shelley M., "The Comprehensive Guide to Legal Research, Writing & Analysis" (2013). Books . 89. https://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/faculty_books/89

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The Comprehensive Guide to Legal Research, Writing & Analysis 3rd Edition

• Author(s) Moira McCarney, Ruth Kuras, Annette Demers, Shelley Kierstead
• Publisher Emond Publishing

Print ISBN 9781772555356, 1772555355

Etext isbn 9781772555370, 1772555371.

• Edition 3rd
• Copyright 2019
• Available from $ 73.00 USD SKU: 9781772555370R365

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The Comprehensive Guide to Legal Research, Writing & Analysis 3rd Edition is written by Moira McCarney, Ruth Kuras, Annette Demers, Shelley Kierstead and published by Emond Publishing. The Digital and eTextbook ISBNs for The Comprehensive Guide to Legal Research, Writing & Analysis are 9781772555370, 1772555371 and the print ISBNs are 9781772555356, 1772555355. Save up to 80% versus print by going digital with VitalSource. Additional ISBNs for this eTextbook include 9781772555363.

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 399 views this year
• Zotero by Daniel Becker Last Updated Aug 30, 2024 26520 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 6439 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) (Westlaw)
• American Jurisprudence (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 6029 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 4814 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 815 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:

Additional Shepard's Resources

• Shepard's Video Tutorial
• Shepard's Handout
• Shepard's Editorial Phrase Dictionary
• Shepard's Signal Indicators & Analysis Phrases
• Shepard's Citation Services User Guide
• Lexis+ Support and Training Additional online videos and handouts for Lexis+.

Additional KeyCite Resources

• How to Ensure I'm Citing Good Law (Westlaw Video)
• KeyCite Handout
• KeyCite Editorial Phrase Dictionary
• Understanding Next Generation KeyCite
• How to Check the Status of a Case with KeyCite
• Westlaw Precision Support Additional videos and handouts to support your Westlaw research.

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

Legal Research and Writing

• About this Guide
• Reference Books
• Legal Research, Writing & Analysis
• Academic Writing Books
• Legal Citation This link opens in a new window

Legal Research, Writing & Analysis Books

Online Legal Research Guides

• The Canadian Legal Research and Writing Guide
• Beginning Your Research (UBC Law Library)
• << Previous: Reference Books
• Next: Academic Writing Books >>
• Last Updated: Aug 30, 2024 9:04 AM
• URL: https://learn.library.torontomu.ca/LegalResearch

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The Comprehensive Guide to Legal Research, Writing & Analysis Paperback – January 1, 2013

• Language English
• Publisher Emond Montgomery Publications
• Publication date January 1, 2013
• ISBN-10 1552396525
• ISBN-13 978-1552396520
• See all details

Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Emond Montgomery Publications (January 1, 2013)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1552396525
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1552396520
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.6 ounces

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The comprehensive guide to legal research, writing & analysis

• Kuras, Ruth
• Demers, Annette L
• Kierstead, Shelley
• Legal research - Canada - Textbooks
• Legal composition - Textbooks
• Legal research - Canada
• Legal composition - Canada.

The Comprehensive Guide to Legal Research, Writing & Analysis, 4th Edition

Our new 4th edition of  The Comprehensive Guide to Legal Research, Writing & Analysis  offers an in-depth, comprehensive, and up-to-date resource to help readers develop the practical competencies required by the Federation of Law Societies of Canada . The text provides coverage on provincial, territorial, and federal research tools and processes. It places a keen emphasis on applying research techniques in both academic and professional settings.

It’s us against the robots. 

So, if you believe AI has (or will) replace legal research by humans, let me tell you a little story about the NINETEEN AUTHORS (and zero robots) behind the creation of our brand-new fourth edition of The Comprehensive Guide to Legal Research, Writing & Analysis . 

The fourth edition, like the three before it, is the result of dedicated collaboration lead by authors passionate about the present and the future of legal research. Fourth edition editors Moira McCarney ,  Ruth Kuras ,  Annette Demers , and  Shelley Kierstead  each reviewed every word of new content from eighteen other people, and made careful decisions about what to keep, what to remove, and what to update from the previous edition. To ensure that the book provides accurate pinpoint references, they negotiated with another publisher for pre-publication access to the tenth edition of the McGill Guide to Legal Citation , and they arranged for a review by none other than The Honourable Michelle O’Bonsawin , Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. 

With all that effort from the lead authors, what did the other fifteen contributors do? Well, thirteen of them prepared extensive and detailed materials about those aspects of legal research and writing specific to each of Canada’s provinces and territories: over 450 pages worth, to be specific – so that no matter where readers study or practise, the book will be locally accurate and relevant. 

That leaves two authors unaccounted for. What did they do? 

The last two authors, Tara Williamson and Jessica Asch , are the Co-Research Directors of the Indigenous Law Research Unit at the University of Victoria. Together, they crafted the brand-new-to-this edition “Chapter 3: An Introduction to Legal Research of Indigenous Legal Orders”.  

Indigenous Legal Orders are poorly understood by most novice researchers. Diverse as the settings and situations to which they apply, these sources of Indigenous law often require deep immersion in a culture itself if they are to be properly understood. Ranging from academic works to oral tradition stories, through dances, art and ritual, these sources require a unique commitment to the research process if researchers hope even to scratch the surface of understanding. Introducing them appropriately in a traditional textbook was an awe-inspiring challenge; no wonder, then, that in describing the book, Madam Justice O’Bonsawin noted that “With each edition, this text offers richer and more informative guidance on the skills and principles for working competently with legal sources.” 

Sorry, AI. You can’t properly research Canadian law without The Comprehensive Guide . 

Oh, and if you think we’ve just got our heads in the sand when it comes to the role of AI in the research process, think again: Annette Demers, one of the four lead authors of the book, has been a regular commentator in the AI sphere; see this link , this link , and this link … among others. Coming to terms with how to ensure that generative AI serves the interests of justice and works for us, not against us, will be an essential challenge for the legal profession over the next few years. First, though, lawyers need to learn how to avoid being burned by it. For help with that, you’ll find a chart setting out the various AI policies drafted by Canadian governments and courts within the Casebook+ portal that’s included with every purchase of a new print or ebook copy of The Comprehensive Guide to Legal Research, Writing & Analysis . The portal goes live in August; look for a code in your new book to gain access!  

• Corpus ID: 214205164

The Comprehensive Guide to Legal Research, Writing and Analysis, 3rd Edition

• Moira McCarney , R. Kuras , +1 author Shelley M. Kierstead
• Published 2019

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• The Comprehensive Guide to Legal Research, Writing & Analysis, 3rd ed. by Moira McCarney et al Call Number: KE250 .C66 2019 Course Reserves
• La Recherche Documentaire en Droit, 5th ed. by Denis Le May et Dominique Goubau avec la collaboration de Nathalie Giguère Call Number: KEQ140 .L45 2002 Course Reserves
• The Law Workbook: Developing Skills for Legal Research and Writing, 2nd ed. by Shelley Kierstead, Suzanne Gordon, & Sherifa Elkhadem Call Number: KE250 .G67 2012 Course Reserves
• Legal Problem Solving: Reasoning, Research & Writing, 8th ed. by Maureen F. Fitzgerald with Susan Barker Call Number: KE250 .F57 2019 Course Reserves
• Legal Research and Writing, 4th ed. by Ted Tjaden Call Number: KE250 .T52 2016 Course Reserves Also available online to the U of T community
• Legal Research Handbook, 6th ed. by D.T. MacEllven Call Number: KE250 .M33 2013 Course Reserves
• Legal Writing and Research Manual, 8th ed. by Philip W. Whitehead & Anne Matthewman Call Number: KE265 .Y64 2019 Course Reserves
• The Practical Guide to Canadian Legal Research, 4th ed. by Nancy McCormack, John Papadopoulos, & Catherine Cotter Call Number: KE250 .C37 2015 Course Reserves
• Last Updated: Nov 8, 2023 2:36 PM
• URL: https://guides.library.utoronto.ca/legal_research

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