Secondary sources of law explain or interpret legal principles in detail or summarize current legal status – thus a particular area of law is better understood. Secondary sources are also useful for identifying the primary sources of your case (more on that later). Examples: Have a detailed chronological list for each event in the case. Understanding the events to include the date and time will provide you with the basis for actions and issues associated with the case. This is a crucial step because if you don`t understand the legal claims or issues associated with the trial or trial, you won`t be able to conduct relevant legal research to help the lawyer handle the case. New platforms emerging at the time of writing, such as Lexis Advance, will include hyperanalysis and visualization tools that, when merged with big data, make legal research very user-friendly and emphasize speed and accuracy. Instead of spending hours researching, Statutes Compare allows you to quickly see how a law has changed over time. Unfortunately, I never learned to love legal research, but during my years as a paralegal, I have learned many tips, strategies, and resources that make legal research easier and less frustrating than I did 25 years ago, when I started browsing hundreds of legal volumes in the law library. In fact, one of the most important tools a paralegal has today in terms of legal research is the power of the Internet.

Compiling your research into a legal brief is a necessary part of legal research, as you can identify information gaps that could have consequences at a later date. Legal writing presents challenges in itself, and it`s not a bad approach for you to supplement your legal case research with a book from a local law library on how to present your findings. In general, a legal dissertation does five things: By earning a degree in legal studies, students will cover more in-depth content so that they are prepared to play a larger role on the research side. Students should try to focus on certain law courses, but they may also study economics, political science, English, and other relevant majors. Effective legal research must be thorough and accurate, which traditionally takes a lot of time. To speed up this process without compromising the quality of your legal research, artificial intelligence can help legal research. Most paralegals have never set foot in a law library to conduct legal research, as most information is now available electronically. Computerized subscription services like Lexis and Westlaw make legal research much easier by cataloguing, indexing, cross-referencing and providing other tools that make searching for the laws and case law you need more efficient and less time-consuming. You can also find free resources for legal research by searching online (e.g., various court websites, law schools, legal associations, etc.). Another important step in legal research is to check that all the cases and laws you come across in your legal research are still “good” laws – meaning that every legal decision you seek is always valid and relevant. Using a struck down or unconstitutional law will not help you win your case. Sharon Miki writes for Clio about legal technology and legal affairs.

As an experienced freelance writer, she is passionate about creating fascinating, useful and well-researched articles. Legal research – that is, identifying, finding, and citing the applicable information and laws needed to support your legal decision-making – strengthens your case and adds substance to your legal work, resulting in a better outcome for your clients. In the past, the legal research process was cumbersome, in part because the researcher was tied to a physical location — whether it was a local legal library or a law firm computer — to access resources through legal databases. Independent paralegals who find subscription services too expensive may consider visiting their local law library for an annotated code book or purchasing an annotated code book for states whose laws they most often seek. When it comes to practising law, we often think of legal experience. But even the most successful legal argument will eventually fail without solid legal research. Regardless of how you conduct your legal research, a paralegal should know all the different sources to see the different types of information lawyers use to prove or defend the claims at issue in the case.