Legal Research Areas
Civil Law
Criminal Law
Administrative Law
The Legal Research Process
Research Identification of facts Identification of issues Finding appropriate law
Analysis Relating the law to the issues
The Legal Research Process
Writing Communicating your findings to the attorney Communicating your findings in a helpful form:
1. Your research is organized and easily understandable;
2. Your research helps the attorney find the legal answer or argument needed;
3. Your research is in a form that can be presented to a court.
Role of the Research Associate
Provide information to the attorney Must be accurate Must be thorough
Paralegals and research assistants may not give legal advice Unauthorized practice of law Unethical Illegal
Unauthorized practice of law
Paralegals and research assistants may not give legal advice. Unauthorized practice of law is “Unethical” and
Illegal Beware: It can ruin a promising legal career.
Louisiana example cases. Good Advice- Assoc. of Trial Lawyers Hey- What about LegalZoom.com??
Sources of Law for ResearchPrimary Sources
Cases Constitutions Statutes Administrative Regulations
Sources of Law for ResearchSecondary Sources
Legal Encyclopedias
Law Journals Digests Treatises
Form Books
Legal Periodicals
Legal Dictionaries
Legal Thesaurus
Sources of Law for Research Primary and secondary sources are found:
In print form In electronic form
CD-ROMs On-line services (fee-based)
Lexis Westlaw Checkpoint (for tax, accounting and
finance professionals)
Other internet sites
Federalism and Legal Publications
Federalism: Separate governments sharing power, but separate codes of law and separate courts.
Legal Publications: Often separate for federal laws and state laws
Sources of United States Law
Constitutional Law Statutory Law Administrative Regulations Case Law (The Common Law)
Stare decisis and precedent
Citing the Law The Leading Authority is The Bluebook: A
Uniform System of Citation
Published by the Harvard Law Review Association
a/k/a The Bluebook or The Harvard Bluebook
Citing the Law Other authority
ALWD Citation Manual (Association of LegalWriting Directors)
Local court rules
Sample case citation
Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973).
(a U.S. Supreme Court citation)
Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973).
The Parties
Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973).
The reporter volume
Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973).
The reporter
Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973).
The first page of the opinion
Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973).
The year of the case
Also Acceptable
Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (U.S. 1973).
Reference to court not strictly necessary in this case since all cases in the United States
Reports are from the Supreme Court.