Conducting Legal Research

• You start seeing the same resources cited to over and over; and
• You have a complete answer to your legal question.
• Also check out this video explanation from Rutgers Law.

Note: When you begin writing, you may find that you need to do additional research. This is normal.

• READ the document.
• Highlight cited resources within the document that are relevant to the issue which you have been asked to research.
  • READ these resources.
• If you have an annotated document, such as an annotated statute or regulation, read the annotations and pull out relevant materials & citations.
• Shepardize/KeyCite the document – primary sources have citing references; some secondary sources do as well.

• Law firms and other legal offices often have their own work product banks, so you can see previous examples of forms, briefs, etc., produced by the organization’s own attorneys.
• If you’re faced with a topic about which you know nothing, start by looking at research guides rather than jumping straight into a paid database such as Westlaw or Lexis.
  • The LIC has several research guides, at http://guides.law.ufl.edu/.
  • Google the broad topic plus “research guide.”
    • E.g. administrative law research guide
    • Look for research guides from respected law schools in your results.
• Ask questions, clarify information, and double-check your facts.
• Be familiar with the court system and legislative process for your jurisdiction.
• Keep track of your research, either through folders on Westlaw and Lexis, or a research log. Don’t incur the costs of re-researching something. 

• You may have not framed your issue narrowly enough.
  • Return to your assignment or the original legal question. 
  • Be more specific in identifying the legal issue.
    • E.g., negligence instead of torts
• Consider whether there are jurisdictional considerations that you have not yet applied.
• Can you split the question into parts/sub-issues that can be tackled one at a time?
  • E.g., procedural issues and substantive law.
• Clarify the assignment with the attorney who gave it to you. The attorney may be able to provide more specific details.

• Broaden the types of resources that you are looking at:
  • Have you looked through multiple types of secondary sources?
  • Did you look at all of the resources mentioned in the annotations to the statutes?
  • Did you look at all applicable primary sources (statutes, cases, regulations, etc.)?
  • Consider expanding your search into a different jurisdiction, if you are sure no information exists in your jurisdiction.
• Broaden the legal topic you are researching:
  • Be less specific in the legal issue
    • E.g. general duty of care instead of duty to warn of danger on the property
  • Focus less on the facts and more on the legal theory.
    • E.g. liability for wild animal bite instead of liability for raccoon bite
  • You may be researching a case of first impression for your jurisdiction.
• There may not always be a definitive answer to every research question. 
• If you cannot find an answer, ask for help from your supervising attorney or a reference librarian.

• Using only keyword searching.
  • Make use of finding aids, such as tables of contents, headnotes, and indexes.
• Consulting too few/inadequate secondary sources.
• Going outside of your organization’s database plan – stop when you see the warning about charges and ask.
• Forgetting to plan your research.
• Forgetting to track your research.
• Not asking for help when you need it.
• Citing to Wikipedia or a random webpage.
• Forgetting about all the resources you have available to you:
  • Lexis/West/Bloomberg research attorneys.
  • Law librarians, both at your organization and here at UF Law.
  • Your supervising attorney/other attorneys in the organization.
    • It is better to ask questions than to waste time researching and answering the wrong thing.
  • Your organization’s form/sample bank.
• Relying on information that you Googled without verifying its source and accuracy.