Importance of legal research in litigation and how it should be conducted

Law, just like any other profound course requires tons of practice in which research plays a dominant role. Legal research is one such common task, that is performed by almost every lawyer throughout the globe, irrespective of their field of work. It may involve conventional methods such as searching through books, newspapers, and journals, or the modern one which includes raw search about the content on the internet or employment of different types of tools- paid and free.

Why legal research is emphasized so much?

Legal research is the backbone of the legal industry, as it acts as a resource for judges, advocates, students, attorneys. Whilst use for everyone may be different; the knowledge of exploitation of rights and their prevention binds all of them together. For determining the possible solutions for a case, conclusions and similar case history is derived from legal research. As easy as it may sound, it becomes a complex problem for even the most experienced lawyers.

Obstacles in legal research and their role:

·         Misinterpretation: It is the most common obstacle in the path of collecting resources. Facts and observations could be misinterpreted which may lead to a loss. The authenticity of the source plays an underlying factor in the misunderstanding. Ignorance of some facts also leads to inefficient legal research.

·         Changes/ Update of laws: Thelaws in every country changes every now and then. The opinions of experienced lawyers and experts differ altogether; this ambiguity and outdated data is also an obstacle in the path of legal research.   

·         Time: Proper and efficient legal research requires heaps and lots of time. The devotion of such amount of time results in producing adverse consequences like a decrease in productivity and loss of concentration in routine work.

Tools to be utilized for legal research:

With the integration of the latest technology, legal research can be made more accurate and productive than the more conventional methods; by the usage of below-mentioned tools:

·         LexisNexis Advance: For conducting legal research; business research; and risk management, LexisNexis is one of the most popular premium tools available in the market. They provide their services on  subscription basis through different plans.

·         Westlaw.com and Westlaw Next: It is one of the famous tools in the USwhich is utilized for legal research in the legal domain. Its resources include case laws, magazines, law journals, newspapers, public records.

·         Thomas Reuters: This tool helps to provide different legal solutions as per the demands of various clients/ business owners. Their services are available on a subscription basis for their prospects and clients.

·         Google Scholar: Often deemed as not resourceful, Google Scholar provides free access to all kinds of laws- federal and state. It also includes patents, scholarly articles, and hyperlinked opinions. The authenticity of the cases prove to be an issue on this platform irrespective of the size of the resource.

·         Casetext: It provides access to millions of cases, regulations, and statutes provided by the authentic sources of the community, but lack annotations and highlighted search terms.

·         Questia: Smaller than the resource of LexisNexis, this tool provides millions of articles, at a much affordable rate than LexisNexis. Embedded with a search engine and an advanced search option, this tool is an affordable alternative to LexisNexis.

Strategy also plays a pivotal role inthe selection of tools for conducting proper legal research. After setting the objectives, any one or more strategy or strategies can be employed namely,descriptive and analytical, applied and pure, quantitative and qualitative, or conceptual and empirical legal research strategies.