Research Strategy

This outline's general advice can be adapted to many projects. (It also includes advice on when it's appropriate to go online.) Because no one strategy can cover all possible legal research assignments, consult a reference librarian for specific advice on your project.

1. Clarify the assignment. (See below for advice on clarifying the assignment.)

2. Begin with a secondary source. Choose, e.g. —

   • Basic (nutshell, one-volume overview),
     if you are new to the area of law — to learn the basic structure, theoretical underpinnings and terminology of the area.

   • More Detailed (e.g., multi-volume treatise),
     for analysis of the issue and for citations to and evaluation of key statutes, regulations, and court⁄administrative decisions.

   • Comprehensive Looseleaf Service,
     if you are very familiar with the area and want to begin immediately collecting references to a variety of primary authorities.

   Use any convenient format — print or digital.

   For more advice, see the Zief Library's "Starting Places" handout.

3. Move to primary sources —
   when you have a basic grasp of the area of law and your specific issue.

   • Look up key statutes as soon as you find citations. Use the annotations at the end of the statute to locate cases.

   • Look up potentially dispositive cases at the outset, too. Review the headnotes for leads for later digest searching and cite checking.

4. Return to secondary sources —
   for explanations of significance of obscure primary authorities, or to follow newly-discovered lines of inquiry.

5. Consult a variety of sources —
   to expand access to relevant authorities. Some choices —

   • Annotated codes and their updates, for cases citing statutes.
   • Digests, for other cases similar to those you've already found.
   • Online case law (using terms & connectors or natural language searching).
   • American Law Reports annotations, for thorough citations to primary authorities from all United States jurisdictions.
   • Law review articles, for references in footnotes.
   • Comprehensive looseleaf services not yet consulted.
   • Detailed treatises or other secondary sources not already consulted, for potentially useful information in footnotes.

6. Stay current.

   Be sure you have the latest case and statutory developments. (For techniques, see a reference librarian).

7. Cite-check all relevant primary authorities.

   Always use both Westlaw's KeyCite and Lexis's Shepard's.

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Go To Lexis & Westlaw …

… if⁄when you can state the issue in one sentence and formulate a clear, precise, well-thought-out search that does not solely use very common words.

Keep these tips in mind:

• Plan your search (including potential variations and modification) before you go online.
• Consult a librarian or a vendor's search expert (via toll-free number) for advice on creating a search.
• Select the databases⁄ to be searched before you go online. Pick the narrowest applicable database or source.
• Go offline if your planned search fails to produce the hoped-for results. Then, consult a librarian or vendor's search expert, or return to printed materials for more background.

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Clarifying the Assignment

Before you embark on your research, be sure you know what it is that the attorney in charge wants you to do. Don't be afraid to ask lots of questions right at the outset and to seek clarification during the project.

Ellen Callinan, J.D., M.S.L.S., principal of Callinan the Librarian and Adjunct Professor at Georgetown Law School, has devised the following JUST ASK formula to help associates remember what to ask when they receive their assignments. It is used here by kind permission.

J – Jurisdiction. Which government entities have jurisdiction over this topic?
U – Useful tips. Does the attorney have any useful tips for researching this issue? Are there any internal documents (such as briefs or research memos) that might help? Are there any recent cases or other developments?
S – Scope of research. What scope of research is appropriate? Does the attorney want an outline or overview, or are you expected to do exhaustive research?
T – Terms of art. What terms of art pertain to this issue? What are their definitions?
A – Acronyms. What acronyms are associated with this issue. What do they mean?
S – Sources. What sources do attorneys in this area generally use to research this issue? What are the most well-respected publications?
K – Key cost restraints. What key cost restraints apply to this assignment? How much time can be spent or billed? Will online research be allowed?

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