Research Strategies

Research Strategies Read closely Make a plan Use pre- & post-search filters Use value-added features of Westlaw and Lexis Keep track of your research and results Ask a librarian (if it's allowed) Secondary Sources > explain the law > lead you to primary authority > great starting place...

Research Strategies Read closely Make a plan Use pre- & post-search filters Use value-added features of Westlaw and Lexis Keep track of your research and results Ask a librarian (if it's allowed) Secondary Sources > explain the law > lead you to primary authority > great starting place when you're dealing with a topic that is new to you > jurisdictional ones are particularly helpful when dealing with a state issue > can contain forms, checklists and other helpful practical guidance Cases > editorial enhancements: summaries, headnotes, West's Topics and Key Numbers, star pagination > start with "one good case" and use a citator or headnotes to lead you to additional relevant resources > advanced searching: field searching, pre- and post-search filters (jurisdiction, date, content time, juage, search within results) make you a more efficient researcher and save you time and your client $$$ Statutes > annotated statutes are superior for doing legal research notes of decisions: relevant cases hand-picked by editors value-added editorial enhancements: tables of contents, section arrows history/credits: when the statute was enacted and amended; how it has changed over time > many but not all legal issues have a controlling or relevant statute Annotated statuses: Notes from Alexis and Westlaw lawyers are adding Citators: > tell you if your case/statute is still good law > lead you to additional relevant resources using the one good case/statute approach > KeyCite (Westlaw) and Shepard's (Lexis) - these are the gold standards, free versions are nowhere near as comprehensive and reliable > Before you rely on primary authority, whether you find it using Al, a free resource or Westlaw or Lexis, you must validate it and make sure it's still good law. This is best done with a citator. Al > Constantly changing (Westlaw's CoCounsel coming soon) > Westlaw Practical Law Al - based only on Practical Law content > Lexis+ Al - pulls from cases, statutes, regulations and limited number of secondary sources > General Generative Al Tools: hallucinate more and not great for finding legal resources > Always validate & use a citator to make sure still good law › Courts: check Al citation rules or certificates of compliance > Ethical issues (competence, confidentiality, fees)