Legal research

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."[1]

The processes of legal research vary according to the country and the legal system involved. Legal research involves tasks such as:[2]

  1. Finding primary sources of law, or primary authority, in a given jurisdiction (cases, statutes, regulations, etc.).
  2. Searching secondary authority, for background information about a legal topics. Secondary authorities can come in many forms (for example, law reviews, legal dictionaries, legal treatises, and legal encyclopedias such as American Jurisprudence and Corpus Juris Secundum).
  3. Searching non-legal sources for investigative or supporting information.

Legal research is performed by anyone with a need for legal information, including lawyers, law librarians, and paralegals. Sources of legal information range from printed books, to free legal research websites (like Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute, Findlaw.com, Martindale Hubbell or CanLII) and information portals to fee database vendors such as TheLaw.net, Wolters Kluwer, LexisNexis, Westlaw, VLex and Bloomberg Law. Law libraries around the world provide research services to help their patrons find the legal information they need in law schools, law firms and other research environments. Many law libraries and institutions provide free access to legal information on the web, either individually or via collective action, such as with the Free Access to Law Movement.

A number of books are available for those wishing to undertake legal research in the UK context.[3][4][5]

Databases and software tools

Free-to-use

Although many jurisdictions publish laws online,[6] case law is often accessed through specialty online databases.[7] Free-to-access services, through the free law movement, include: Australasian Legal Information Institute, British and Irish Legal Information Institute, CanLII, Legal Information Institute, LexML Brasil, World Legal Information Institute,[8] and Jurispedia.[9] Google offers a free, searchable database of federal and state case law as part of Google Scholar.[10][11][12]

Commercial

Commercial services for legal research include both primary and secondary sources. Commercial services can be country-specific, international or comparative. As of 2010, commercial legal research tools in the United States generated an estimated $8 billion in revenues per year.[13]

Some governments also provide access to certain resources through paid databases, such as the United States PACER law system.

Legal research is known to take much time and effort, and access to online legal research databases can be costly. Consequently, with due consideration given to ethical concerns, law firms and other practitioners may turn to third-party legal research providers to outsource their legal research needs.[14]

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See also

References
Library resources about
Legal research
  1. Barkan, Steven M.; Bintliff, Barbara; Whisner, Mary. Fundamentals of Legal Research (10 ed.). Foundation Press. p. 1. ISBN 1609300564. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  2. Larson, Aaron (30 May 2016). "How to Perform Legal Research". ExpertLaw. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  3. Clinch, Peter (2001). Using a law library : A student's guide to legal research skills. London: Blackstone.
  4. Holborn, Guy (2001). Butterworths legal research guide (2nd ed.). London: Butterworths.
  5. Knowles, J; Thomas, P (2001). Dane & Thomas : How to use a law library : An introduction to legal skills. (4th ed). London: Sweet and Maxwell.
  6. e.g., "legislation.gov.uk". The National Archives. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  7. "Guide to Law Online". Library of Congress. 22 August 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  8. "WorldLII". World Legal Information Institute. AustLII. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  9. "Jurispedia". Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  10. Black, Nicole (June 23, 2017). "Legal research: Google Scholar leads the pack". Minnesota Lawyer.
  11. "Using Google Scholar for Case Law Research". Maryland Courts. Maryland State Law Library. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  12. "Free Law Search Engines". Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  13. Adams, Russell (8 July 2010). "Bloomberg Hangs New Shingle". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  14. Cohen, Adam I.; Lender, David J. (2016). Electronic Discovery: Law and Practice. Aspen Publishers Online. p. SA13-32. ISBN 1454815604.
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