Legal research involves finding “authority” that will aid in finding a solution to a legal problem. This can often involve locating the latest information on a particular topic and so it becomes mandatory to refer to some of the latest periodicals and journals on the subject. Law resources are useful for attorneys, educators, business people, law librarians, students and paralegals. How do we choose the right periodical? There are so many categories of periodicals and each comes with a distinct character and level of information. While using online or off line resources from major libraries, one must be aware of the different levels of scholarships that are associated with different categories of periodicals. Online resources must be updated on a daily basis to be relevant. The four basic types of categories of periodicals are,

• Scholarly journals
• Substantive, News/General Interest
• Popular
• Sensational

The word scholarly is mainly concerned with research and academic study, and has the attitude and characteristics of a scholar. It is often accompanied by an abstract or a summary of the article. Thus the scholarly journals

• Are written by scholars
• Have the purpose of reporting original research
• Always cite sources
• Always list the author’s credentials
• Have a serious look with very few flashy pictures
• Uses a disciplinary style of language

While substantive periodicals are publications meant for an educated audience they contain illustrations and photographs and are made to look attractive with the objective to provide information in a general manner. Information got from a popular magazine is never original but always second or third hand and will never cite the source. Sensational publications assume certain gullibility in their audience and often use inflammatory language and cannot be depended upon for facts.

While doing legal research it would be best to get a reference book that describes and evaluates all the periodicals in a library. There are international law directories that have indexed resources from scholarly articles, symposia, jurisdictional surveys, court decisions, legislation, books and book reviews.

About the Author

The author of this article is John Kessel of Managed Outsource Solutions , a US based company that offers services in Legal Outsourcing and Legal Transcription for clients across the US.

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Legal research is defined as the process of identifying and retrieving information that is required for supporting legal decision-making. Who performs Legal research? It can be performed by lawyers, law librarians, paralegals or anyone who wants legal information. This legal information can be collected from printed books, online legal research websites and information portals that can be accessed for free or even from fee based database vendors (like LexisNexis and Westlaw). Legal research generally involves,

• Finding primary authority (cases, statutes, regulations)
• Finding secondary authority about a specific legal topic
• Finding non-legal sources for supporting information.

There are many different approaches to doing legal research and there is no hard and fast rule or any mandatory method that has to be followed while doing legal research. However for the not so experienced the following basic legal research steps will prove to be a helpful guide.

• Start with a preliminary analysis of facts and start framing questions
• Consult secondary sources
• Evaluation of the research
• Locating the primary authority
• Re-evaluation of the research
• Updating the research
• Stopping the research
• Follow Black letter law rules

During the preliminary analysis, one should identify all the facts and details of the people, place, and the acts involved besides familiarizing oneself with the related jargon. A proper understanding of all issues that is to be got via the research has to be made at the outset itself. Also one must identify the different legal theories, procedures and know about the specific relief that is being sought. For this various secondary sources / resources will have to be referred to, that may include treatises, law reviews and encyclopedias.

It is important to identify the right legal theories and see if these need to be modified or if new theories have been found that require us to do more research. Most importantly one must review and see as to what is the core legal theory that is being developed.

Locating of primary authorities including court opinions/statutes and regulatory law etc can be done using different online and off line secondary sources including various digests and law publications authoritative paperbacks and study aids. This is again followed by re-evaluation and legal research / updation and must be repeated until one is satisfied. One of the important things while doing legal research is to always keep in mind the basic Black letter rules. The black letter law refers to the basic standard elements for a particular field of law, which are generally known and free from doubt or dispute. Outsourcing of major legal research projects to offshore locations can help reduce the huge costs of litigation.

About the Author

The author of this article is John Kessel of Managed Outsource Solutions , a US based company that offers services in Legal Outsourcing and Legal Transcription for clients across the US.

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For non-lawyers, conducting legal research can seem like an overwhelming challenge. But it doesn’t have to be, if you know where to look.

First, define the specific information you need and determine the jurisdiction. Once you know which court or government agency handles your area of concern, you’re ready to start researching.

But before you begin, you need to learn about citations and abbreviations. Law books are cited in this sequence: volume number, book and page. For instance, 380 U.S. 97 indicates volume 380 of United States Reports, page 97. Statutes are cited by the statute title and section number. For example, 42 U.S.C. § 7622 for title 42 United States Code, section 7622.

Most public libraries, especially the larger ones, have resources for legal research. Law school libraries also are open to the public, providing depository libraries of federal materials. Many federal publications now are available online at www.access.gpo.gov, as the Internet is increasingly being used for legal research.

Simply “Googling” a specific topic is not the most efficient way to go, especially considering the soaring number of “spamdexing” sites you’ll have to sift through in your search results. Instead, visit sites specifically designed for legal research including RealDealDocs, www.realdealdocs.com; FindLaw, www.findlaw.com; LexisOne, www.lexisone.com; The Legal Information Institute, www.law.cornell.edu; Washburn University School of Law, www.washlaw.ed; The American Bar Association, www.abalawinfo.com; and HierosGamos, www.hg.org.

While doing a web search via Google can be a hit or miss approach, using it to search for news stories related to your topic often yields very helpful information. Just run a search on Google’s main page and then click on the “News” link. Or you can start your search directly from Google’s News site at www.news.google.com.

To get an overview of a topic, legal encyclopedias are a good place to start: Corpus Juris Secundum (C.J.S.) and American Jurisprudence 2d (Am. Jur. 2d). Many states also publish encyclopedias of state laws.

Also useful are articles published in bar association journals or law schools reviews. You can look up a specific topic in printed or computer indexes including Index to Legal Periodicals or Legal Resource Index. In some cases, you may find free articles online at such sites as the University Law Review Project at www.lawreview.org or the Jurist’s Law Review page at www.jurist.law.pitt.edu/lawrev.htm.

Codes contain legal rules known as statutes, regulations or ordinances, which are mandatory. You can access codes through an index that refers you to a numbered section. To keep them current for research, they are updated by supplements or pocket parts or are in looseleaf form.

Many public libraries and all law libraries have a copy of local state code, as well as city or county ordinance codes. Most state and some local law can be found online using directories such as Piper Resources’ State and Local Government on the Net at www.statelocalgov.net/index.cfm. Or you can use the URL address www.state.xx.us, and fill in your state’s postal abbreviation where the “xx” is shown.

For questions with federal jurisdiction, look to these resources: United States Code (U.S.C.), United States Code Annotated (U.S.C.A.), or United States Code Service (U.S.C.S.). The U.S.C. is available on the Web at uscode.house.gov/, but other sites containing the U.S.C. (such as www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/ and others mentioned herein) provide simpler ways to locate a statute.

Of course, those with the financial means can always hire an independent paralegal to conduct legal research for them. These freelancers can also assist you with any forms preparation you may need. More information is available on the National Federation of Paralegal Associations site at www.paralegals.org.

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Attorneys and legal assistants researching information have many tools that weren’t available twenty years ago. Gone are the endless days in the library stacks because much can be done remotely from the comfort of your own office. However, just because more material with better technology is available, does not mean that it’s time-saving in the end. Understanding the resources available and right resources to utilize, however will save you time, frustration and end the end, money. Even more important than being acquainted with your resources and also having a plan.

Legal Research - Making a Plan

Start with a brief write up of what you hope to find. It is easy to get sidetracked as more information comes to light, so having a written goal to refer to will help you stay on topic. Then decide how exhaustive will your search be. Keep in mind how much information is really necessary. If you are working on a case for someone else and they really only want an overview, you don’t want to waste time. If your client will be put off by certain charges such as Lexis or you need to worry about the amount of hours you bill, you’ll need to keep that in mind as you develop your plan.

Now you can make a list of where you know you should start looking for the appropriate information. What jurisdiction is your case in? Will you need to examine federal or state, court or administrative decisions? Is it necessary to look at regulatory or legislative sources? Or will you need to look at a combination of these resources?

Supplement this list of resources with thoughts from the expert attorney on the case if there is one or consult a reference librarian. The librarian of course cannot help you interpret the text, but the librarian or an expert attorney may be able to direct you to the most recent articles and the books that are considered “bibles” of the topic into which you are delving. You can then add to your plan and adjust it as you go. If you stay organized, you will be more likely to be successful in your search.

General Legal Research

If the research that you need to do is not specifically legal, there is a tremendous amount of resources that are now available over the internet. Most public libraries offer their catalogues online, giving patrons the opportunity to not only check the stacks without leaving the office, but in come case, giving them access to online databases. With a library card, patrons to some libraries can log on remotely and use even the for-pay databases.

If your research requires data on public figures, businesses, associations and similar information, with the right library access, you can do it all from your home or office. Digging up this type of information may be helpful in investigating the background of clients, an expert witness or the opposition.

Make a plan, talk to experts regarding available material, learn what is available at the law library, the public library and online and get to researching. To see actual examples of actual legal documents & clauses be sure to visit RealDealDocs and search for free.

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