Legal Research Checklist

A Step-By-Step Approach to Legal Research

Preliminary Analysis

Read the fact pattern thoroughly

Analyze facts and frame legal issues

Assess what you know and need to know

Note primary law that is provided and where the problem takes place (jurisdiction)

Generate potential search terms

Secondary Sources

Dictionaries and Encyclopaedias

Research Guides

Legal Treatises

American Law Reports

Law Reviews and Journals

Restatements (if applicable)

Search for Statutes and Administrative Regulations

Find applicable statutes, by name of act (Popular Names Table) or by citation

Find related regulations

Find related cases using annotated statutes

If comparing the law across states, look for 50 state survey

If statutory intent is relevant, search for legislative history

Search for Cases, Both Mandatory and Persuasive

Consult list of cases you have already identified in previous steps

Use the One Good Case Method to expand to more cases, using headnotes and
citators

Browse digests, and search within cases assigned to relevant keys/topics

Do field and advanced searching to find resources you missed with other methods

Refine, Double-Check, and Update

Validate cases and statutes that you rely on using citators (Keycite and Shepard’s)

Identify areas of your argument that need further support and revisit previous re-
search steps to identify appropriate materials

If you will be monitoring the issue or subject over an extended period of time, identify
and consult relevant current awareness sources

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