LW111- Module 1 WK3

• Legal research


  The process of identifying and retrieving information necessary to support legal decision making
• Legal research


  (according to Black's Law Dictionary) the process used to identify and find the laws, including statutes, regulations, and court opinions, that apply to the facts of a case
• Legal research plays a primary and important role in the work of a law student and a lawyer
• The legal research process

  1. Continual analysis and evaluation of the information found

  2. Informs legal writing

  3. Legal writing is incomplete without the accurate content gained from the research process
• Some researchers prefer to conduct most of their research before beginning to write, while others prefer to write as they conduct their research
• Google, Wikipedia, and other general sources are not specific enough, not binding, and the credibility of the sources is always a question
• These general sources should only be used for initial background research
• Binding legal resource


  Constitution, legislation, subsidiary legislation, case law (law reports), common law, customary law
• Persuasive legal resource


  Textbooks, law school notes, etc.
• Case law


  • Courts are bound to the precedent of their jurisdiction when settling legal disputes
  • Determining whether a given case is binding is a necessary skill for any legal researcher
• Binding case law (stare decisis)

  Court must follow these decisions, based on similar facts, similar issues, and from a higher court
• Persuasive case law


  Court may consider these cases, such as decisions from a lower court, decisions from the same court, or cases with similar issues but very different facts
• Reading the original case will not give any indication of how a point of law in a case can be affected by decisions in other cases, so lawyers must be able to update cases to understand their current value as precedent and how they relate to other cases in the same area of law
• Online sources and law reports

  • Paclii, NZLii, AustLii, Laws of Fiji Online, Judiciary Fiji Online, Tuvalu Online Legislations, Tonga
• Secondary sources


  Core texts, Halsbury's Laws, key articles, etc. that can give perspective on how a specific issue fits into a broader legal context and assist in finding on-point primary authority
• Tools for effective legal research

  1. Plan and organize your research

  2. Identify the scope of the legal question

  3. Identify key knowledge gaps

  4. Draft an actual plan

  5. Identify the primary sources

  6. Consult secondary sources

  7. Use commentary to define and understand issues

  8. Record, update and verify

  9. Know when to stop
• Effective legal research will directly affect the outcome of a client's legal problem, and lawyers have an ethical obligation to be thorough and efficient legal researchers
• Ineffective or incompetent legal research can hurt the client, and can lead to discipline, civil liability, or even disbarment for the lawyer