Legal Research Conduction

Legal Research Strategies

These topics offer general advice on legal research strategies, as well as advice on researching in particular legal environments. See Legal Research in the Law Firm Environment at the bottom.

Basic Checklist of Sources and Strategies

This checklist of research sources can be printed out for use with a particular research problem. The list of sources on the left serves to remind you of various possibilities for your research. See in Legal research sources.

Legal Research in the Law Firm Enviornment

Research and writing in a law firm environment is different from researching and writing in law school. Understanding how it is different and adapting to your changed environment is a key factor in your success as a summer associate, and in your career. Below is some general advice. Because every firm is different, use your judgment when adopting the suggestions below: if your firm follows different procedures or protocol, you should of course conform to your firm’s particular standards.

Ask Questions

Put your ego aside, and ask questions about everything. Everyone at the firm — the mailroom personnel, your secretary, your assigning attorney — has information you need to know. They expect you to ask questions, and will usually be happy to share information with you. If you ask lots of questions early on, within two or three weeks, you’ll be ahead of the pack in terms of your knowledge on how to successfully put the firm’s resources to use.

When you receive a research assignment, it’s particularly important to know the right questions to ask. Here’s an easy way (courtesy of Georgetown Univ. Law Center) to remember the kinds of questions you should Just Ask your assigning attorney.

Slow Down

Summer associates frequently put undue pressure on themselves to produce research and memos very quickly. You do need to work diligently and efficiently, but if it seems like someone has given you an impossible task – don’t panic. Not infrequently, an assigning attorney has an unrealistic idea of how long a particular piece of research will take. If you begin to doubt your ability to meet your deadline, go back and explain to the assigning attorney why it is taking a long time, giving him or her a chance to either modify the assignment or to extend the deadline.

Make a Plan

When getting back to your office after you’ve received a new research assignment,take just five minutes to think about an assignment, and to sketch out a quick legal research plan before you begin. Ask librarians or attorneys for advice and feedback regarding your research plan if necessary.

Consider Your Options

There is nearly always more than one way to research a particular problem, and often more than one source of the information you seek. If one path to your answer is blocked, find out what other options are available. Consult our “>checklist of legal research sources for ideas..

Stay Organized

As you increasingly manage many projects, it’s crucial to stay organized. Figure out a system that works for you; your secretary may have helpful suggestions. Whether you use redwells, files, or piles, keep on top of it — you’ll be happy you did when someone calls on you to find a document quickly. As an added bonus, organizing your research materials helps you to organize your writing when you begin it.

Quality

While time is always a factor, it is far more important to do thorough and high quality work than to quickly churn out something inferior. When you try to rush, you make mistakes that are costly both economically and to your reputation.

Here’s something that sometimes is a shock to the summer associate: as a rule, no one is going to check your research. When you produce a research memo, the attorneys working with you are going to rely on what you tell them.

Therefore, it’s important that you be sure you are providing a correct statement of the law and facts. Some ways of making sure that you have covered all the bases are: make and follow aresearch plan; talk to a friendly junior associate about your research, and ask him or her for suggestions; ask for advice from your law firm librarian.

Be sure that every source you cite is current by updating, keyciting and/or shepardizing shortly before you turn in your work. Finally, when you think you’re done with your memo, put it aside for an hour (more if possible) and then re-read it. Often you will think of something you forgot to try, or another search that might yield results – or at least catch a typo. Remember that it’s always better to take longer and be accurate, than to rush and be wrong. Generally, attorneys will be very tolerant of a summer associate’s need to extend deadlines when necessary, as long as you provide enough lead time, and are up front about it.

A Word About Writing
This topic is focused on research — but researching well and efficiently requires a solid understanding of the writing you intend to produce. At a firm, you are usually writing for other practicing lawyers (or sometimes for a client) with real problems that they need to solve now, rather than for a law professor who may be interested in imaginative arguments or interesting tangents. Accordingly, in your writing, it’s best to be concise. Beginning a memo with a brief “question presented” and “short answer” or an “executive summary” are often appreciated (check your firm’s style manual, or look at sample memos). Normally these are followed by a brief statement of the facts, and finally, your legal analysis and conclusion.

Clearly state your conclusions — early in the memo if possible. If you are in the situation of writing a memo before you are confident of the answer, then make a statement qualified with a “level of confidence” as to whether the answer is correct. Follow this with sufficient analysis such that the assigning attorney can understand your reasoning, and be able to ask you intelligent questions. When there are competing theories, choose the strongest, support it, and then briefly explain the alternative view. In the rare case that you cannot draw any conclusion based on your research, then state that up front and explain why. Generally, avoid long histories, “fun facts” and other inessential verbiage. Shorter is better.

Your firm will often have additional sources of help — such as training sessions — designed to improve your writing. Take advantage of them — clear, concise writing is one of the most appreciated traits of an associate.

LAW FIRM RESOURCES

Online Research

Know your firm’s policy on use of Lexis, Westlaw, and other fee-based systems. Having a basic understanding of how your client is charged for use of these services will help you make wise choices when you’re researching. Also, be aware of specialized online sources that your firm may subscribe to, such as CCH, BNA, and Social Law Library databases — ask your firm librarian for a list of what’s available to you.

Document Management Systems
Your firm is probably uses an electronic document management system. Among other advantages, such a system allows you to perform searches that identify other attorneys’ work product (memos, briefs, notes) on the same or related subject matter. This is useful in at least four ways:
1) As a starting place for your research – for example, possibly providing key cases for you to update;
2) it flags a different matter that may have had similar issues – other documents in that same case may be helpful in your own;
3) it identifies another attorney in your firm who worked on a similar issue – you can ask that person whether they have any advice for you in your research.
4) looking at firm memos and briefs can help you better understand the firm’s style preferences and provide sample layouts and organizational structures for various document types.

Records/Central Files/Document Rooms
Firms necessarily maintain sophisticated record keeping procedures. Generally, documents for closed (or even dormant) cases are kept in a central file area, which may be located offsite. Files for active cases are usually located in attorneys’ offices or a nearby workroom. Typically, one member (often the most junior member) of the team of attorneys working on any case is generally designated to be responsible for “the file,” meaning that that attorney is specially charged with keeping an organized copy of all key documents in the case. As a summer associate, you probably will not be charged with keeping “the file,” but it’s useful for you to know who is, because that will be a key source for documents you may need to consult.

Firm Libraries – Services, Not Shelves
Your firm probably has a library, and may employ one or more professional research librarians. It’s most helpful to think of your firm library as a bundle of services, rather than a place where books are stored. (In fact, firm libraries tend to be light on books, due to space considerations.)

However, firm libraries often provide excellent research and retrieval services that more than make up for the lack of books onsite. Most large firm libraries have an extremely speedy system for obtaining books of all kinds for you – either from other libraries or by purchase. Often journal articles, or even books, can be obtained from offsite in a matter of hours. If you identify a treatise or other research source that you suspect would be helpful – ask-you may have it in your hands just a few hours later, and it could save you and your clients significant time and money.

For More Information

For more detailed help with legal research strategies, see more about Research Methodology.