Secondary sources: If you are researching a new legal principle or an unfamiliar area of the law, the best place to start is secondary sources, including law journals, practice guides, legal encyclopedias, and treatises. They are a good jumping-off point for legal research since they've already done the work for you.
As the defendant, you want to find a legal basis for the court to deny the plaintiff’s relief. The first and most important step you must take when you are preparing to do legal research for a case is to understand the question that you are researching.
But if not, don't fret, you can still search for relevant case law in a variety of ways, including running a search in an online legal research service like Westlaw. And once you find a helpful case, you can use it to find others. For example, in Westlaw, most cases contain headnotes that summarize each of the case's important legal issues.
For example, attorneys must conduct legal research if they need court opinions (that is, case law) to back up a legal argument they are making in a motion or brief filed with the court. Alternatively, lawyers may need legal research to simply provide clients with accurate legal guidance.
Not every legal question will require you to search regulations, but many areas of law are affected by regulations, so make sure not to skip this step in the research process if they are relevant to your question. If playback doesn't begin shortly, try restarting your device.
Finding California court opinions online Click to search published opinions by the California Courts of Appeal and Supreme Court. You can also find past court cases or opinions in law libraries. To find cases in print at your local county law library, you can use a number of tools.
Legal Research BasicsIntroduction.Step 1: Preliminary Analysis.Step 2: Create a Research Plan.Step 3: Consult Secondary Sources.Step 4: Search for Authority – Statutes, Regulations, and Cases.Step 5: Evaluate Your Search Strategy and Results As You Go.Step 6: Update & Final Check.
Five Steps of Legal ResearchFormulate a Research Plan.Consult Secondary Sources.Consult Primary Sources. ( a) Expand Primary Law, and (b) Update Primary Law.Analyze & Organize Results.
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, and checking that what you've found is still relevant.
Steps of the research processStep 1: Identify the Problem. ... Step 2: Review the Literature. ... Step 3: Clarify the Problem. ... Step 4: Clearly Define Terms and Concepts. ... Step 5: Define the Population. ... Step 6: Develop the Instrumentation Plan. ... Step 7: Collect Data. ... Step 8: Analyze the Data.
Quick guide to Legal ResearchIdentify the scope of the legal question. ... Begin your research by consulting a secondary source. ... Identify relevant statutes. ... Identify the cases that are on-point for your specific facts. ... Use digests and databases to find more cases. ... Confirm that your authority is still good law.More items...•
A legal research plan or strategy is generally conceived to have five common ele- ments: (1) identification of legally relevant facts both known and unknown, (2) state- ment of the legal issue or issues, (3) statement of jurisdiction, (4) identification of useful sources and the order in which they are to be used, and ...
Legal Research ProcessPLAN AND ORGANIZE YOUR RESEARCH. The first step for any researcher should be to plan out your path. ... USE COMMENTARY TO DEFINE & UNDERSTAND ISSUES. ... FIND RELEVANT LAW IN YOUR JURISDICTION (cases, statutes, regulations) ... RESTATE & REFINE. ... CONSIDER LAW OF OTHER JURISDICTIONS. ... UPDATE & VERIFY. ... WHEN TO STOP.
Case law is law based on judicial decisions. This guide cites resources for locating and identifying judicial decisions from the U.S. courts using primary and secondary sources of case law.
In most instances, the purpose of legal research is to find support for a specific legal issue or decision. For example, attorneys must conduct legal research if they need court opinions (that is, case law) to back up a legal argument they are making in a motion or brief filed with the court.
What are the four steps of the legal analysis process? The four steps of the legal annalysis process are the issue, the rule, the application and the conclusion.
LEGAL RESEARCH REPORT A report which deals specifically with a legal problem is said to be a legal research.
Civil cases typically begin with a dispute, so researching case law begins by spotting the legal issues raised by the facts surrounding the dispute. At this stage, consider everything at face-value, and don't discount anything as not relevant.
1. Keep track of headnotes. Each case in a reporter begins with a series of numbered paragraphs called "headnotes" that identify and describe particular topics or rules mentioned in the text of the opinion. You can follow the headnotes that relate directly to the issue you're researching to find other cases.
For example, some parties have a fiduciary relationship, which means one party owes the other a higher standard of care. Financial advisors and home-care providers are examples of professionals who have a fiduciary duty to their clients. A contractual relationship is another type of relationship that may be present.
U.S. law is more than just statutes passed by legislatures. Appellate courts – including the U.S. Supreme Court – are responsible for interpreting those statutes, and that interpretation becomes part of the law itself. Therefore, to understand a statute and how a court will decide an issue arising under it, you must study written appellate court ...
The relationship of the parties prior to filing a lawsuit can affect the legal remedies available to the party who sued as well as the duties and obligations both parties have to each other.
Cases provide stronger support that have facts that are more closely related to the facts in your situation. All facts potentially are relevant in finding the most similar case, so you can argue that the rule the court applied in that case also applies to your situation.
For example, if you were doing research on a historical event, you might limit your search to the year the event took place or the geographical area where the event occurred.
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?
In the past, the legal research process was arduous, partly because it tied the researcher to a physical location—whether that was a law library or a law office computer—to access legal databases.
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.
Casetext can also “help you evaluate whether a case is good law and find other relevant cases citing that opinion.”.
Secondary sources. 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 . Secondary sources are also useful for identifying primary sources for your case (more on that later). Examples include:
Legal research—that is, identifying, finding, and cite-checking the information and applicable laws needed to support your legal decision-making— empowers your arguments and gives substance to your legal work.
Statutes or legislation ( such as laws enacted by legislative bodies like Congress and state legislatures) Treaties. 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)
You can browse and search for case law in the same way you search for primary sources: by subject, with a citation, or using keywords. To maximize your efficiency use a secondary source to identify important cases that you can use as a foundation for your research.
Understanding the Legal Questions. A legal question often originates in the form of a problem or a story about a series of events. In law school, these appear as fact patterns. In practice, this may come in the form of an assignment from a manager or an interview with a potential client. Start by doing the following:
Logging your research will ensure that you do not miss sources and can explain your research strategy, which you may be asked to do. Researchers can keep logs on paper, in folders on Westlaw or Lexis, or in another online citation management platform. If playback doesn't begin shortly, try restarting your device.
Restatements are organized into chapters, titles, and sections. Sections contain a concisely stated rule of law, comments to clarify the rule, hypothetical examples, explanation of purpose, as well as exceptions to the rule. To access restatements visit: American Law Institute Library on HeinOnline.
Regulations are rules made by executive departments and agencies. Not every legal question will require you to search regulations, but many areas of law are affected by regulations, so make sure not to skip this step in the research process if they are relevant to your question.
Many researchers create their own tracking charts. Be sure to include:
Why Conducting a Legal Research. Because research reports are used in law and policy formation and reformation, the establishment of some programs, fill the existing legal gaps (LACUNA) also, legal research can be conducted to verify the existence of certain facts.
After identifying the research problem the second step is formulating the title of your research.
Hypotheses are the assumptions that the researcher makes regarding the problem.
While research questions are questions raised by the researcher for the purpose of find answers in the course of conducting his research. Research questions are used in lieu of hypotheses. You cannot use both at a single study.
After the problem identification and Title of your research what follows is the research Proposal.
The most commonly used methods of collecting data in legal research are observation, interview, questionnaire and Focus group Discussion . The researcher must state the reasons for using a certain method (s) of data collection in his study.
Research design entails the plan on how data will be collected and analyzed and research methodology refers to methods of data collection.
represent you competently, zealously, and within the bounds of the law. keep conversations with you confidential, except in specific and rare occasions. communicate with you in a timely and effective manner. keep you informed of developments in your case.
Be courteous to your lawyer and his or her team. Don’t ask your lawyer to do anything illegal or unethical. Pay your legal bills in a timely manner. These duties are often implied as part of the attorney-client relationship, even if you didn’t expressly agree to them in a retainer agreement.
If you signed a retainer agreement when your hired your lawyer, it may include specific duties that you owe your lawyer. Because the retainer agreement is a contract, you are legally bound by its terms. In general, clients have the following duties: 1 Be truthful with your lawyer. 2 Cooperate with your lawyer and respond to requests for information in a timely manner. 3 Attend meetings and legal proceedings, such as a deposition or mediation. 4 Be courteous to your lawyer and his or her team. 5 Don’t ask your lawyer to do anything illegal or unethical. 6 Pay your legal bills in a timely manner.
If your lawyer violates these rules, he or she can be disciplined or even face a legal malpractice suit.
Each state has its own ethical rules for lawyers, called the rules of professional conduct. When lawyers fail to live up to this code of conduct, the state disciplinary board can take action against them—from a simple warning to disbarment (losing the license to practice law forever).
The Client Review Rating score is determined through the aggregation of validated responses. People who submit reviews are either individuals who consulted with the lawyer/law firm or who hired the lawyer/law firm and want to share their experience of that lawyer or law firm with other potential clients. Reviewers can be anyone who consults or hires a lawyer including in-house counsel, corporate executives, small business owners, and private individuals.
When you seek advice from an attorney about a legal matter, your private communications with your lawyer are protected by the attorney-client privilege. This means that your lawyer cannot reveal any information that you disclose to him or her in confidence, unless you give your express permission.
the attorney is not competent to continue the representation. the attorney becomes a crucial witness on a contested issue in the case . the attorney discovers that the client is using his services to advance a criminal enterprise. the client is insisting on pursuit of a frivolous position in the case. the attorney has a conflict of interest ...
the client is refusing to pay the attorney for his or her services in violation of their fee agreement. the client is refusing to follow the attorney's advice. the client is engaged in fraudulent conduct, and.
When an attorney withdraws in the middle of a client's case, that withdrawal is usually categorized as either "mandatory" or "voluntary." In this article, we'll explain the difference between these two processes, along with some examples of each. Keep in mind that with either type of withdrawal, the attorney usually needs to ask for and obtain the court's permission before ending representation of one of the parties in a civil lawsuit in the middle of the case.
withdrawal would materially prejudice the client's ability to litigate the case.
The attorney must cooperate with the client's new counsel and must hand the client's complete file over as directed. An attorney who has withdrawn from representation has a continuing professional obligation to maintain the confidentiality of all matters within the attorney-client relationship, so for example the attorney cannot become ...
Where the circumstances permit, but do not require, the attorney to cease representation, the withdrawal is considered voluntary.The circumstances under which an attorney may withdraw mid-case include:
Even where withdrawal is mandatory, an attorney must first seek and obtain the court's permission before ending representation in the middle of a case.
However, regardless of how you choose to perform your legal research, a paralegal should know all of the various sources to consult for different types of information that will be used by the attorneys to either prove or defend the claims that are of issue in the case. This leads us to our first tip for performing legal research: define the issues to be researched and determine your research goals.
D id you identify all of the relevant parties involved in the case? It is very important to know as much about each party as you begin your legal research because the identities (including lifestyle, occupation, etc.) of the parties often have a direct impact on the case.
Most paralegals never set foot in a law library to perform legal research because most information is now available electronically. Computerized subscription services such as Lexis and Westlaw make it very easy to perform legal research by cataloging, indexing, cross-indexing and providing other tools that make finding the statutes and case law that you need more efficient and less time consuming. You can also locate free resources for legal research by searching online (i.e. various court websites, law schools, legal associations, etc.).
U nderstanding the events will give you the basis of action or the issues that are involved in the case. This is a crucial step because if you do not understand the legal claims or the issues involved in the action or lawsuit, you will not be able to provide relevant legal research to assist the attorney.
It does not matter which one you begin with as long as your research both sources. Both provide valuable information that can support your client’s claims. In fact, secondary sources will often analyze, explain and critique an area of law and then provide you with the specific citations to the primary law.
If an attorney is made aware of the fact that their client has lied about situations or circumstances, or if they have falsely testified while under oath, the attorney must file a motion to withdraw. If the reason for the attorney’s motion to withdraw is of this nature, they will claim the motion to withdraw is based on “ethical obligations”.
If an attorney advises their client to refrain from certain behaviors or actions, yet the client directly opposes this advice, the attorney may withdraw from the case.
If the client fails or refuses to pay the legal fees as outlined in the contract, the attorney may withdraw from the case. Typically, the attorney will provide several warnings requesting payment before they proceed with a motion to withdraw.
What happens when an attorney withdraws from a case? An attorney can withdraw from a case for a wide variety of reasons. Given a valid reason, the attorney must submit a motion to withdraw to the court. The judge presiding over the case will then either approve or deny the motion. If approved, the client must find a new attorney to take over their case. However, a judge may not always approve the motion to withdraw in which case the motion would go to court.
If an attorney believes that the client has breached the contract, they may choose to withdraw from the case. It is important to note that a client can also terminate the working relationship if they feel the attorney has breached the contract.
If the attorney is rendered unable to provide representation due to injury or illness, they must withdraw from the case. This injury or illness may be physical or mental but restricts them from performing their duties as outlined in the client-attorney contract. This is perhaps the most uncommon reason a lawyer would file a motion to withdraw.
The attorney-client contract includes important information such as legal fee structure, the involvement of other lawyers and paralegals, and communication boundaries. This contract serves as a defining boundary between the client and the attorney and benefits both parties equally. If an attorney believes that the client has breached the contract, ...
Once an answer to a lawsuit is filed, the time for conducting discovery begins. The timing and methods for conducting discovery will vary from state to state and from court to court. There are substantial and numerous rules governing discovery in each case. You should check your state rules and court rules for conducting discovery. Although there is a broad scope of what may be requested in discovery, there are strict deadlines for requesting discovery and responding to discovery requests. It is very important to be aware of and follow the deadlines because of the potentially serious consequences for non-compliance.
If discovery requests are not answered or objected to, and sometimes if they are improperly answered or an improper objection is made, the side requesting the discovery may ask the court to compel proper responses, including the production of the requested discovery.
Discovery is conducted by sending written requests in a proscribed form to the opposing party specifically listing the type of discovery sought, the manner in which it will be obtained, and the time for complying with the request. Check your state and local rules for the required form of these requests.
The goal of discovery is to avoid surprises and for all parties to go to trial with as much information as possible. Not surprisingly, many cases will settle during the discovery phase as a result of what is discovered and what would be unwise to disclose in discovery.
Written interrogatories. A set of written questions about the case submitted by one party to the other party, witness, or other person having information of interest which must be answered under oath, and the answers to which must be provided to the requesting party within a set period of time.
Almost all trial courts allow a wide scope for discovery, the theory being that all parties should go to trial with as much knowledge as possible, and that the parties should not be able to keep secrets from each other. This broad right can involve the discovery of any material relevant to the case excepting privileged information or information that is the work product of the lawyers for the other side.
Depositions. A device by which one party asks oral questions of the other party or of a witness for the other party. The deposition is taken under oath outside of the courtroom, usually in one of the attorney’s offices. The deposition is transcribed by a court reporter and a copy of the transcript is provided to both parties.