Legal research -is "the process of identifying and retrieving information necessary to support legal decision-making. In its broadest sense, legal research includes each step of a course of action that begins with an analysis of the facts of a problem and concludes with the application and communication of the results of the investigation.

legal research meant simply, ‘how to use a law library and the material it contains’. It was concerned with what lawyers and educators in the United States prefer to call legal bibliography. It was restricted to knowing the structure of the literature of law and showing technical competency in finding one’s way around different types of publication.

Legal research is performed by anyone with a need for legal information

Why important?

Often the issues are not correctly identified, or some issues are missed altogether. Issue identification is crucial for effective research.

The law is constantly changing. Recent decisions of the Supreme Court of Canada clearly show the fluidity of legal doctrine. Even where there is a recent decision of the Supreme Court of Canada, split decisions of the court make it difficult to determine how the next case will be decided.

In many areas there are conflicting decisions, or no binding authority. You must then research the law of other jurisdictions, and apply creative analysis to the existing case law or create an argument based on first principles.

Why do legal research? The function of a brief is to briefly recite the facts of the case, explain the applicable law,

apply the law to the facts of the case, and explain why the attorney’s client should prevail on

this motion or win at trial. Citations to statutes and cases makes the attorney’s explanation of the

law credible, by allowing the judge to easily check what the attorney alleges is the correct law. As

mentioned later in this essay, beginning on page 53, judges will not do legal research for litigants. An attorney should inform the judge of the controlling law in the jurisdiction. In routine

cases with familiar issues, the judge probably already knows the law well, but citations to

authorities are still expected. However, in cases involving unfamiliar issues or obscure law, the judge

will need the attorneys to explain the applicable law, so citations to statutes and cases are

essential.

If there is no case on point in the jurisdiction, one will need to either (1) find a case on point in

a foreign jurisdiction, (2) find cases on analogous issues and make a novel argument, or (3) argue

from basic principles, such as the federal and state constitutions, maxims of equity, and rules in the

Restatements of the Law. Some judges are willing to make new law in their jurisdiction by following some persuasive authority that is cited to them in a Brief. Attorneys who understand the law can cite facts that distinguish their case from what might casually appear to be a simple application of precedent from the leading case. There is another important reason to do legal research: to find all viable legal theories to include in the Complaint, and to avoid legal theories that have failed in the past for good

reasons that are explained in prior cases.

Sources and tools for legal research

online publications newspapers / journals official gazette law firms library

Define:

En Banc – a session where a case is heard before a panel of judges

Per Curiam – used to define the decision of the whole court rather than a decision from a specific judge

Ponente - ???

In toto – in total, complete, final

Potentia - ???

Acuo – cut to a point

Case at bar -