How to Improve Your Legal Research Skills: A Step-by-Step Guide

Apr 23, 2024

Written By Zara Arif

Introduction Effective legal research plays a critical role in the practice of law and has a concrete impact on the quality of legal analysis, drafting, and decision-making. For this reason, having strong legal research skills is fundamental. This article will guide you through how to improve your legal research skills step-by-step.

Understanding the Basics of Legal Research

Legal research involves identifying and retrieving legal information to address specific legal issues or questions. Legal research is so important because in legal practice, identifying relevant legal issues, locating applicable laws and precedents, and analysing legal authority to support arguments or decisions are all core aspects of a lawyer’s role.

There are various types of legal sources to research. These include primary sources like statute and case law, and secondary sources like textbooks, journal articles and blog posts, which can be used for commentary and further analysis.

Developing a Research Plan

The first step to effective legal research is to develop a research plan. This will outline your research process by defining specific research goals and objectives from the outset.

It is also important to identify what sort of primary and/or secondary legal sources you want to use.

Once you have identified your sources, it is also helpful to establish a structured timeline or schedule to manage research tasks efficiently and to meet deadlines effectively.

Utilizing Online Legal Databases

The next step is to utilise legal databases. There are several popular online legal databases in the UK, including Westlaw and LexisNexis.

Westlaw is an online information service which gives access to case law, legislation, journals, and commentaries. Similarly, LexisNexis provides access to information on legal and business information as well as analytics and data.

To maximise the efficiency of your research using online legal databases, you should aim to use keywords. You may also wish to insert words like ‘and’, ‘or’ and ‘not’, to allow you to gain access to the most precise results possible.

Mastering Traditional Legal Resources

Although the Internet has a wealth of resources, traditional print resources, such as law library collections, legal textbooks, and treatises, still hold a lot of value in legal research, especially when it comes to finding definitions or doing historical research. These traditional resources can usually be accessed through membership or employment at law firms or universities.

Evaluating Sources and Authority

Ensuring your research is accurate is key to ensuring the validity and credibility of legal arguments and outcomes.

In order to evaluate the credibility and reliability of legal sources, there are several factors to take into account. These include the reputation of the author or publisher, how recent the information is and the extent to which the source adheres to legal standards and principles.

Some legal sources are more significant than others. For example, judicial opinions from higher courts, statutes enacted by legislatures and regulations issued by administrative agencies are all significant in legal research as they have the greatest authority and weight. Using these sources can therefore help to strengthen your argument.

By contrast, using outdated or unreliable legal materials can undermine your argument, so make sure you use the most current, up-to-date and authoritative sources in order to support your legal arguments.

Refining Your Search Techniques

Your legal research should aim to track down the most relevant information. This can be achieved through narrowing down search results by including specific keywords, filters, and search modifiers.

It is a good idea to use filters and advanced search features on online legal databases in order to refine your search. For example, you can usually customise your results based on criteria such as jurisdiction, date range, and document type.

If you still need to refine your search further, it may be useful to select effective keywords and synonyms to enhance search queries and improve the comprehensiveness of search results. You can brainstorm relevant terms and concepts before or during your search and use variations and alternative terms to capture relevant information.

Analyzing and Synthesizing Information

Once you have refined your findings, you can review and organise them systematically to identify key legal principles, arguments, and authorities relevant to the legal issue at hand. Make sure you identify the most salient points from the sources you have found.

You should use analogical reasoning and distinguish between relevant facts and authorities in order to synthesise and integrate legal information from multiple sources. This will allow you to support coherent and persuasive legal arguments and as well as addressing any potential counterarguments.

Documenting and Citing Sources

All research must be accurately referenced in any work you produce, and legal sources cited must comply with legal and academic standards of integrity and attribution. Otherwise, you are at risk of plagiarism, which carries serious consequences.

A common citation format used in legal writing and research in the UK is OSCOLA, which stands for Oxford Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities.

It is crucial that your citation is correct and consistent throughout your research. You can use tools such as citation management software, online citation generators and style guides to ensure accuracy.

Continuing Legal Education and Professional Development

Successful legal professionals understand the importance of continuous learning and professional development. Legal professionals stay abreast of developments in the law and continuously work on enhancing and refining their legal research skills.

Law is a dynamic and changing field, so you should stay updated with changes in legal research methods. Staying informed about changes and advancements in legal research methods and technologies will allow you to remain effective and competitive in the legal profession.

Research skills can be further honed through the use of additional resources. These include joining professional research associations and attending legal research courses.

You can also participate in workshops, seminars and webinars which are focused on legal research. This will allow you to expand your knowledge, acquire new skills and network with peers and experts in the field.

Conclusion

There are a lot of things to consider when it comes to legal research. But if you take it step-by-step, remembering to consult a variety of resources, use key words and organise your findings systematically to support your arguments and dispel any counterarguments, you can quickly improve your legal research skills.

Practice, diligence and ongoing learning are the pillars of effective legal research, so use the strategies and techniques discussed in this article repeatedly to practise and refine your legal research skills.

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