TUTORIAL 1.

1. Explain the importance of Legal Research

The definition of Legal research in the Lexis Nexis is the process of identifying and
retrieving information necessary to support legal decision-making. In the legal research
process there are 3 main process such as secondary authority, primary authority and
validation(Shepard). The secondary sources such as CLJ, Lexis Nexis and MLJ. The
definition of secondary authority means sources of information that describe or interpret the
law, such as legal treatises, law review articles, and other scholarly legal writings, cited by
lawyers to persuade a court to reach a particular decision in a case, but which the court is not
obligated to follow.

The definition of Primary Sources is a document that establishes the law on a particular issue,
such as a case decision or legislative act. Primary sources such as cases, statues are being use
to support the arguments in court. The third process is the process of consulting Shepard's to
see if a case has been overturned, reaffirmed,questioned, or cited by later cases. It ensure us
that our research need to be good law and can’t use reversed or overruled authority.

Legal research is an very important tool for individual lawyers and law firms irrespective of
their practice areas. It involves basic search for land mark case governing the issues in
question. During the research process, the issues at stake are wrongly interpreted. Wrong
interpretation can result in research not relevant to the current issue. Hence, identification of
the right issue is very crucial for an effective research. A good research involves searching
for underlying principles of finding, understanding, and applying the law.

The researchers continuously face is changes made in the law of a particular state or
country.Good legal research is an entangle of analysis, understanding, and application. A
lawyer’s understanding and analysis of a case starts by identifying the relevant facts and
determining the legal issues that need to be researched. This analysis continues the question
of what needs to be searched is determined. As relevant legal matter is found, application and
understanding of the same is required. The research makes available a crucial investigative
base that prompts the decisions for the rest of the case. Research is a serious and continuing
constituent of representing a client.

Finding the right law is crucial to any legal research and should be up to date with frequently
changing laws and should be available to devote long hours as at times, looking for the
correct issue can be time consuming.A person undertaking a legal research project should be
knowledgeable of the fundamental principles and issues of law related to the topic of the
research undertaken. Thorough knowledge will help in determining the law on significant
issues and facts.Attorneys, who have not performed significant research always face the risk
of being sued by their clients as failure to carry out research in a proper manner to have a
better understanding of the prevalent law can lead to personal liability issues for the client.

Conclusion is the legal research is never done, so we have to keep our research up to date as
the law evolves.

2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of modern legal research

One advantage is the speed at which documents become available. Most court web sites will
post opinions and make them available for download on the same day they are issued. On the
other hand, some courts remove older opinions from sites rather than maintain an archive.
The federal courts, for example, remove some older opinions and place them on PACER,
which requires a subscription and incurs access charges for documents other than opinions.
Legislative documents are not always posted with the same speed, particularly transcripts or
proceedings, but usually appear on an official site before a paper version becomes available,
if one becomes available at all. Agency reports or documents that are created in the course of
agency business usually appear on an agency’s site around the same time as their public
release.

Another advantage is the broad range of documents that are available. Obscure documents
include policy statements, forms, studies, reports, and smaller information collections. Law
libraries do not necessarily carry these documents in print within their collections. They rely
on the Internet as the major source of access for these materials. A rule of thumb is that
irregularly issued documents from any official source are more likely to appear on the
Internet than Lexis or Westlaw.

A disadvantage is that the format of a document taken from the Internet may be difficult to
cite. That has to do with how courts accept authentication of a document. The current
standard is to recognize print collections as the official source of cases when both a print and
online version exists. The only jurisdictions to abandon official printed reporters for case law
entirely are Arkansas and Illinois. Beginning with opinion issued in 2009, the official source
for Arkansas case law is the Arkansas court web site, though opinions will still be published
by West in the Southwestern Reporter. Arkansas still requires citation to the Southwestern
Reporter despite digitally publishing case opinions. Illinois dropped officially printed reports
for its case law beginning with cases released after July 1. 2011. As with Arkansas case law,
West will still publish printed copies of opinions in the Northeaster Reporter and Illinois
Decisions. Illinois court rules require opinions issued on or after July 1, 2011 to be cited to
the secured online versions while allowing (but not requiring) citation to the unofficial
reports.

Court rules are changing in regard to what sources are useful for evidence of the law,
especially as the courts digitize their own records. Portable Document Format or PDF files
have a greater acceptance in the courts and by attorneys because they format documents
almost identically to their print counterparts. Moreover, they now have the ability to be
authenticated by the entity that created them. The U.S. Government Printing Office is
undertaking a program that authenticates the documents it issues in PDF format, making it
easier for courts to accept them as evidence. At this point in time, however, the courts will
mostly require citation to an officially recognized source that is likely in paper.

There is a movement in the legal community to create a citation system that is independent of
format. Some courts produce electronic documents that include neutral citation, sometimes
taking the form of dates and sequential numbers, and identify sections of a document with
numbered lines or paragraphs. There is no standard format adopted for universal citations,
and other courts may or may not recognize them. Court rules will identify the citation
standards for a particular jurisdiction. As an example, see the Court Rules for Arkansas and
Illinois as to how they handle citation to their electronic opinions. Other states, such as
Wisconsin, which still publishes official reports, as well as some of the federal courts, have
rules on citing opinions in a vendor-neutral form.

The source of the document is another factor affecting citation. Though PDF copies are
convenient, courts and lawyers look to documents from their most primary sources,
especially when authenticating information in litigation. A state supreme court usually
contains a limited archive (usually by date range) of its opinions. The likelihood is that the
online text is accurate having come from the Court. The printed version of the opinion will
be the definitive version should a discrepancy appear. The Supreme Court of the United
States, for example, places PDF copies of U.S. Reports on its site and has an explicit
statement on the archive page that printed versions of opinions control. A researcher may
rely on the text found online but may still have to provide citations to the print versions when
citing documents submitted to a court.

Another disadvantage is the lack of research aids comparable to those in print. Virtually all
court opinions on the web are in slip opinion format, usually without reference to citations as
they appear in printed reporters, even official reporters published by a state. Commercial
print and online products usually feature annotations and cross-references to other documents
or secondary source commentary. Free online legal materials are frequently in the rawest
form available and often do not link to other relevant documents, even those which may be
available in the same online collection. In short, the added value and convenience of
commercial research databases is usually missing from free sites
 3. Explain the research strategy, IRAC.

The IRAC method is a framework for organizing your answer to a business law essay question.
The basic structure is: Issue, Rule, Analysis, and Conclusion. Using this simple framework for
structuring your answer will ensure that you have written a complete answer.

ISSUE:

Begin your answer by stating the issue presented by the essay question. Sometimes the question
will provide the issue for you. If not, then ask: What is the legal question that, when answered,
determines the result of the case? The issue should be stated in the form of a question in a
specific, rather than general form: “Is there an agency relationship if there was no compensation
paid?”would be an acceptable issue. “Will the plaintiff win?” would not be acceptable. Note that
the issue may be case specific, mentioning the parties’ names and specific facts of the case.
Example: “Did Jones have an agency relationship with XYZ Corp. due to his acting on behalf of
XYZ and following its instructions?” The issue can encompass all cases which present a similar
question. Example: “Is an agency created whenever there is an employment relationship?” Most
cases present one issue. If there is more than one issue to address, then you must write a separate
IRAC analysis for each issue.

RULE :

The rule describes which law or test applies to the issue. The rule should be stated as a general
principal, and not a conclusion to the particular case being briefed. Example: “An agency
relationship is created when there is an agreement that the agent will act for the benefit of the
principal at the principal’s direction or control regardless of whether compensation is paid”
would be an acceptable rule. “The plaintiff was the defendant’s agent” would not be an
acceptable rule. Do not use parties’ names or specific facts from the case. Hint: Frequently, the
rule will be the definition of the principle of law applicable in the case. Example: An agent may
not use or disclose confidential information acquired through the agency absent an agreement to
the contrary.

Analysis :
The analysis is the most important, and the longest, part of your answer. It involves applying the
Rule to the facts of the problem or question. You should use the facts to explain how the rule
leads to the conclusion. Discuss both sides of the case when possible. Important: Do not merely
state a conclusion without also stating reasons for it. A conclusion without reasons or
explanation means that you have not used the rule and the facts to analyze the issue. Hint: The
rule can be used as a guide in your discussion. Example: Suppose the issue is whether A is an
independent contractor. Using the facts of the case, explain whether or not they fit into the
definition of what is an independent contractor: “In this case, A was told by the foreman what to
wear, how to operate the machine, and when to report to work each day, giving her little control
over the job.” If the rule is a test with multiple factors, then you must analyze each factor by
pointing out how the facts do (or do not) fulfill each factor.

Conclusion :

The conclusion is your answer to the Issue. State the result of your analysis. Examples: “Smith is
liable for negligence” or “Therefore, no valid contract was formed between X and Y.” If there
are multiple issues, there must be multiple conclusions as well.

4. Explain some of the legal research techniques.

The research path you follow will vary depending on the nature of your topic and legal issue.
There is no single “right” path to take in conducting   legal research. While there will be times
when you will follow the research steps suggested herein in a linear fashion, that will not always
be the case. 
Regardless of the path you follow using the steps below, if you are thorough and flexible in your
research you will succeed!
  1.    Identify the scope of the legal question.   Ask specific questions to identify:
(a) the relevant jurisdiction
(b) key sources and search terms
(c) the applicable time period.
  2.   Begin your research by consulting a secondary source.
Core texts, Halsbury’s Laws, key articles, can give perspective on how your specific issue fits
into a broader legal context and will assist you in finding on-point primary authority.   These are
particularly useful if you have no experience of the area of law as they will act as a background.
Note references to pertinent statutes and case citations.  Search for articles on the topic using the
main legal journal indexes.  These include the Legal Journals Index (on Westlaw), Index to
Legal Periodicals via Oxlip+ and Google Scholar.  You can also widen the scope of your search
to outside the legal indexes and search the Social Science Citation Index as well.
  3.   Identify relevant statutes.
If you located an applicable statute in your review of secondary sources, review the annotations
for the applicable provision in Halsbury’s Statutes or on one of the various databases (Westlaw,
Lexis Library, Legislation.gov). Browse the contents of the statute to identify any other pertinent
sections. Browse the contents page of the Halsbury's Statutes volume to find other relevant
statutes.  Look at any analysis documents available on the databases.
  4.    Identify the cases that are on-point for your specific facts.
When reading secondary sources, note cases that relate to your set of facts. Follow up the cases,
checking headnotes and reading judgments that seem applicable. One good case can be a great
starting point for research on narrow topics.
  5.   Use digests and databases to find more cases.
Digests provide another excellent resource to identify relevant case law. The Digest is a good
source for finding English and Commonwealth cases by topic. It has the same subject structure
as Halsbury’s Laws.  You can also search for cases on the databases using subject terms.  You
may need to think about your search terms carefully as the database are very large. Use Boolean
operators and connectors when possible to increase the accuracy of your results.
   6.    Confirm that your authority is still good law.
Use Westlaw Case Analysis, Lexis Case Search or a print citator to check that your cases are still
good law and provide the most current, direct authority available for your set of facts.
   7.    Search other online sources  to fill any gaps in your research. 
There are many other online sources other than Westlaw and Lexis Library.  There are free
sources such as the Legal Scholarship Network which can be useful for recent articles as well as
Google Scholar, Bailii and Legislation.gov. Blogs, policy websites and so on are also useful,
depending on the topic but you must be careful to evaluate the information you find on the web
for accuracy.
   8.    Keep a record of your research trail.
Document all sources reviewed, including all sections and page numbers, regardless of whether
you located relevant materials in them. This will help you later when you write up your research
and need to check points.
  Some keys to legal research success:
(a) Get to know your librarian
(b) Take the courses on topics/searching/endnote etc on offer
(c) Get out of the Google-search mindset – ask us the tricks of each database
(d) Look beyond Lexis and Westlaw
(e) Use secondary sources
(f) Know when to stop!

5. Extract articles that were written by any of your lecturers in MMU from Lexis Nexis. Provide the
name of the author, the title of the article and the full citation.