Legal Research

Legal research is the foundation of every legal argument, opinion, and
strategy. Its purpose is to identify the governing legal rules, understand
how courts have applied them, and predict how they will apply to the facts
at hand. Research that is incomplete, outdated, or poorly organized can lead

## Key Points

- **Frame the research question precisely**: Before opening any database,
- **Start with secondary sources**: Treatises, practice guides, law review
- **Use statutory research for regulatory questions**: When the issue involves
- **Build a case law research strategy**: Use headnotes and key numbers on
- **Verify all authorities with citators**: Run every case through KeyCite or
- **Search across jurisdictions strategically**: Start with binding authority
- **Use Boolean and natural language searches effectively**: Boolean searches
- **Document your research trail**: Record every database searched, every
- Create a research plan before beginning. List the issues, sub-issues, and
- Organize findings by issue, not by source type. Group all relevant cases,
- Read cases in full before citing them. Headnotes and summaries can be
- Pay attention to the procedural posture of cases. A ruling on a motion to