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.
legal research meant simply, how to use a law library and the material it
contains. It was concerned with what lawyers and educators in the United
States prefer to call legal bibliography. It was restricted to knowing the structure
of the literature of law and showing technical competency in finding ones way
around different types of publication.
Legal research is performed by anyone with a need for legal information
Why important?
Often the issues are not correctly identified, or some issues are missed altogether. Issue
identification is crucial for effective research.
The law is constantly changing. Recent decisions of the Supreme Court of Canada clearly
show the fluidity of legal doctrine. Even where there is a recent decision of the Supreme
Court of Canada, split decisions of the court make it difficult to determine how the next
case will be decided.
In many areas there are conflicting decisions, or no binding authority. You must then
research the law of other jurisdictions, and apply creative analysis to the existing case
law or create an argument based on first principles.
Why do legal research?
The function of a brief is to briefly recite the facts of the case, explain the applicable law,
apply
the law to the facts of the case, and explain why the attorneys client should prevail on
this motion
or win at trial. Citations to statutes and cases makes the attorneys explanation of the
law credible,
by allowing the judge to easily check what the attorney alleges is the correct law. As
mentioned
later in this essay, beginning on page 53, judges will
not
do legal research for litigants.
An attorney should inform the judge of the controlling law in the jurisdiction. In routine
cases
with familiar issues, the judge probably already knows the law well, but citations to
authorities are
still expected. However, in cases involving unfamiliar issues or obscure law, the judge
will need
the attorneys to explain the applicable law, so citations to statutes and cases are
essential.
If there is no case on point in the jurisdiction, one will need to either (1) find a case on
point in
a foreign jurisdiction, (2) find cases on analogous issues and make a novel argument, or
(3) argue
from basic principles, such as the federal and state constitutions, maxims of equity, and
rules in the
Restatements of the Law.
Some judges are willing to make new law in their jurisdiction by
following some persuasive authority that is cited to them in a Brief.
Attorneys who
understand
the law can cite facts that distinguish their case from what might
casually appear to be a simple application of precedent from the leading case.
There is another important reason to do legal research: to find
all
viable legal theories to
include in the Complaint, and to avoid legal theories that have failed in the past for good
reasons
that are explained in prior cases.

Sources and tools for legal research
online publications
newspapers / journals
official gazette
law firms
library
Define:
En Banc a session where a case is heard before a panel of judges
Per Curiam used to define the decision of the whole court rather than a decision from a
specific judge
Ponente - ???
In toto in total, complete, final
Potentia - ???
Acuo cut to a point
Case at bar -