THE PROCESS OF LEGAL RESEARCH
INSTRUCTIONAL AID SERIES
Contents
• Introduction
• From Facts to Issue
• Controlling Statute
• Expanding Research
• Identifying Cases to Cite
• Ensuring Currency and Validity of Law
• Conclusion
Introduction
Introduction
(R)esearch requires the poetic quality of the
imagination that sees significance and relation
where others are indifferent or find unrelatedness;
the synthetic quality of fusing items theretofore in
isolation; above all the prophetic quality of piercing
the future by knowing what questions to put and
what direction to give inquiry.
Frankfurter, “The Conditions for, and the Aims and Methods
of, Legal Research,”: 15 Iowa L.Rev. 129, 134 (1930).
Introduction
Introduction
• Legal research is an art as well as a skill. It calls for judgment and creativity along
with mastery of a set of tools and techniques.
• Each research question will have a different starting point, process, and
conclusion.
• Every research project will include false starts, dead ends, and revisions.
• There is never one “right” path. Researchers choosing different paths for the
same research question may be equally successful.
• Legal research is never “finished,” but the experienced researcher recognizes
when to stop.
Introduction
Introduction
• The starting point of research depends on the nature of the issue, how it
is presented to the researcher, and the researcher’s experience.
• The starting point for research may be a fact pattern, a subject, an issue,
a case, or a statute.
• At the outset, determine if your research will be exclusively in case law
or if there are statutes or regulations that should be explored.
• Determine whether your research will be primarily in federal law or state
law, or both.
Introduction
Introduction
• Research often begins with a fact pattern. You might be given an “onpoint” case or statute, but seldom will the facts of your research question fit
squarely with the facts of other cases or the language of the statute.
• A client relates a narrative for which he feels “wronged” but has no legal
theory to justify or deny compensation.
• This is when your legal training will come into play. It is extremely difficult
for someone untrained in the law to translate a fact pattern into a legal
theory of recovery or defense.
Introduction
FACTS
State
ISSUE
Federal
SECONDARY SOURCES
Digests
Key Numbers
Annotations
CASE LAW
CONSTITUTIONS
STATUTORY LAW
REGULATIONS
THEORY OF RECOVERY
OR DEFENSE
From Facts to Issue
Facts to Issue
Facts to Issue
Ronnie, a salaried driver for the Acme Corporation, was unloading
goods at a customer’s loading dock. Ronnie and the customer began to
argue about whose duty it was to move the goods into the store. Ronnie
shoved the customer. The customer fell and was injured. The customer
is suing Acme for compensation for his injuries. Acme employs you to
represent the corporation in the upcoming negotiations or litigation.
The case is filed within the jurisdiction of the state courts of Louisiana.
Facts to Issue
Facts to Issue
• These facts must be translated into a legal issue(s).
• This is one of the hardest part of legal research for the beginning
researcher. Legal resources are seldom organized by facts; they are
organized by legal theory.
• You will need to identify terms of art that might apply to this situation.
• You will need to learn the “black letter” law – statements of principles
that govern the particular area of the law. Black letter law will give shape
and limits to your research.
Facts to Issue
Facts to Issue
• The parameters of your research may later have to be broadened,
tightened, or shifted, but it is reassuring to start out with a map of the
area you will be exploring.
• Your thinking about the legal issues presented by a particular set of facts
is likely to change as you learn more about an area of the law. Remain
flexible.
• Once you are familiar with the relevant terms of art and black letter law,
you should be able to articulate your issue more precisely.
Facts to Issue
Research: In Print or Online?
• There is no right or wrong way to begin your research.
• In the past, researchers had no choice but to conduct legal research in
print resources. The last few years have witnessed the introduction and
tremendous growth of a powerful alternative, online legal research.
• Neither is the “better” method. One might work better than the other in
this situation. You won’t know until you get started.
• In all likelihood, you will move back and forth between print and online
resources during the research process.
Facts to Issue
Research: In Print or Online?
• When confronted with an unfamiliar area of the law, many researchers
find it easier to use print resources (such as legal encyclopedias,
restatements, and practice guides) to get an overview, set parameters,
learn the terms of art and black-letter law.
• Book materials have a satisfying way of organizing and limiting research.
They naturally set boundaries within the law that the seemingly endless
and seamless materials of online legal materials cannot provide.
• Book materials can impart a sense of orientation, the feeling that you
have found what you need to get started.
Facts to Issue
Research: In Print or Online?
One exception to the generalization that print resources are often the
best place to start research is when the case is dependent on a
particular detail.
– If the case rests on the fact that the vehicle involved was a farm
tractor, standard print indexes and table of contents will not be
organized around farm tractor cases. A full text online search for
farm tractors and injuries may retrieve cases that can be the starting
point for research.
Facts to Issue
Starting Research in Print Secondary Sources
• You might start with a well respected secondary source, such as:
– a treatise
– West’s Nutshell Series
– West’s Black Letter Series
– American Law Reports (ALR)
– a legal encyclopedia, such as American Jurisprudence (AMJUR) or
Corpus Juris Secundum (CJS)
• Law school casebooks, with their emphasis on related but seemingly
contradictory cases are designed for instructional purposes. They are not
efficient research tools.
• Published study outlines often do not contain the clear analysis of
contradictory outcomes needed for a full understanding of the issue.
Facts to Issue
Starting Research in Print Secondary Sources
• All of the print products listed on the previous screen are secondary
sources.
• Secondary sources
– are written by legal experts.
– lay out general principles of law along with exceptions and variations
to that law.
– are a source of citations to primary law (cases, statutes, and
regulations).
– may be cited to support a legal theory, especially in an emerging or
rapidly changing area of the law where there is no primary law
available.
Facts to Issue
Starting Research in Print Secondary Sources
• Once you have found a secondary source or two that you trust, check
the index and table of contents.
– Many indexes are designed with entry words that allow a researcher
unfamiliar with an area of the law to find the appropriate sections.
– The hierarchy of the materials listed in the table of contents will help
you move from general to specific issues.
• What you are looking for:
– Terms of art that apply to the facts
– A statement of the generally accepted principles of law, often called
“black letter” law
– Enough understanding of the broader aspects of the issue to set
parameters for your research
Facts to Issue
• The Table of Contents of Torts in the Nutshell Series
has a section titled, Employers, Employees and
Contractors.
• This section introduces and defines the following
terms:
– Vicarious liability
– Scope of employment
course of employment
Employers, Employees and Contractors
or
Facts to Issue
Vicarious liability is a form of strict liability
by which A is held liable to another for the
tort of B for no reason other than that there
exists some relationship between A and B
and B was acting within the scope of that
relationship when he committed the tort. The
overwhelming number of vicarious liability
cases arise from the employer-employee
relationship.
…(S)cope (or sometimes “course” or “scope
and course”) of his employment … is a question
of fact which considers the employee’s job
description or assigned duties, the time, place,
and purpose of employee’s act, the similarity
of his conduct to the things he was hired or
authorized to do or which are commonly done
by such employees, and the foreseeability of
his act.
Facts to Issue
• Torts in the Nutshell Series discusses the general
black letter law that applies to the vicarious liability of
employers for the acts of their employees.
– Once it is determined that the tortfeasor was an employee at
the time he committed the tort, his employer is vicariously
liable if his conduct is within the scope of his employment.
• Torts, in the Black Letter Series, describes
the liability of an employer for the intentional
torts of employees:
– An employer is vicariously liable for his employee’s intentional
torts committed in the scope of his employment and in
furtherance of his employer’s business, at least if the
employee’s act was foreseeable.
Facts to Issue
Black letter statements
of the law from Torts
in the Black Letter
Series
Facts to Issue
• You have found relevant terms of art and black letter statements of the
issue which enables you to determine the focus of your research.
• The fact that the assault was an intentional act and whether the act was
in furtherance of Acme’s business and foreseeable will be important
considerations.
• You can now lay out the broad parameters of the issue and state the
issue using appropriate legal terminology.
• You must persuade the court that Ronnie’s intentional act was outside
the scope of his employment.
• You must also anticipate the arguments of your opponent.
Facts to Issue
Issue
When Ronnie assaulted the plaintiff, was he acting
within the scope of his employment with Acme?
Two Step Determination
• Torts in a Nutshell lays out two questions that will help you
determine if Acme is liable for Ronnie’s actions.
– Was Ronnie an employee at the time of the accident?
– Was Ronnie’s conduct within the scope of his employment?
• The second step will be the focus of your research, as there is no
issue as to Ronnie’s employee status.
Controlling Statute
Controlling Statute
Controlling Statute
• Now you are ready to explore employer vicarious liability in more detail
and retrieve relevant primary law.
• The next step is often searching more detailed secondary sources or
case law, but another option is to see if there is a controlling Louisiana
statute.
• Because you have learned the terms of art that are often used when
referring to this issue, a Natural Language search in the Louisiana
Statutes Annotated database (LA-ST-ANN) on Westlaw may be a good
way to find relevant statutory law.
Controlling Statute
Controlling Statute
• The Natural Language search method allows you to use “plain English”
to retrieve relevant documents. Just enter a description of your issue
and Westlaw will display the documents that best match the concepts in
your description.
• Natural Language searching is often an most effective way to search
annotated statutory databases because:
– The text of a statute is often obscurely worded by the legislature and
the flexible nature of Natural Language can ignore search words that
do not appear in the document and focus on the remaining words.
– The annotations (Notes of Decisions) appended to the statute are
summaries of case law that have interpreted or applied the statute
and discuss the issue in the more foreseeable language of the
courts.
Controlling Statute
“Masters and employers are answerable
for the damage occasioned by their servants
and overseers, in the exercise of the functions
in which they are employed.”
§ 2320
• Database: LA-ST-ANN
• Search: employer “vicariously liable” for assault (“intentional act”
“intentional tort”) of employee
• The first statute displayed is Louisiana Civil Code § 2320.
• This statute seems to be addressing employers’ vicarious liability and
scope of employment, but it does not include the terms of art you
encountered in the print resources.
Controlling Statute
Best
Click the Best arrow to display the portion of the
document that most closely matches your description.
In this document, the Best portion of the document is
in the annotations where the more foreseeable
language of case law is summarized.
Controlling Statute
• The brief wording of the statute does not stand alone but has
been interpreted and applied by many courts.
• There are more than one thousand annotations, divided into
almost two hundred subtopics appended to § 2320 and many of
the subtopics seem relevant to your issue.
Controlling Statute
• It there were fewer relevant annotations, it might be possible to confine
your research to the full text of the cases summarized in the annotations.
• The number of annotations makes it difficult to synthesize them into
general principals law. You will more help.
• In this case, it may be more efficient to search for relevant secondary
sources that synthesize and analyze case law in detail.
Controlling Statute
Responsibility
for acts of employees
• You would have had a more difficult time if you had attempted to find the
controlling statute in the print statutory index.
• Civil Code § 2320 is indexed under LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT,
under the subtopic of Responsibility for acts of employees.
• There is nothing listed under Vicarious liability or Scope of employment
in the print Index.
Expanding Research
Expanding Research
Expanding Research
Having found the controlling statute, but being unable to
efficiently utilize the large number of annotations, you might turn
to a secondary source that will analyze and synthesize your
issue. At this point you have two choices: you could use the
terms of art and language of the black letter law and :
– go to a print secondary source and use the table of contents
and index to focus your research.
– go online and search for documents containing the terms of
art. (Going on line prematurely can be an expensive choice,
especially if you have easy access to the print resources.)
Expanding Research
Expanding Research
• American Law Reports (ALR) articles offer detailed analysis of a narrow issue of
law and provide many citations to relevant primary law.
• In the print ALR Index (T-Z) ALR 2d, 3d, 4th, 5th, and Federal, under the listing for
VICARIOUS LIABILITY
– Assume you looked first for Employer, found Employment, and were referred
to Labor and employment under this section
– The Labor and Employment section has a promising entry:
• Intentional wrong, employer’s liability for assault, theft, or similar
intentional wrong committed by employee at home or business of
customer (13 ALR5th 217)
Expanding Research
VICARIOUS LIABILITY
Relevant article
Labor and employment
Employment
Expanding Research
SCOPE OF EMPLOYMENT AND AUTHORITY
Assault
• In the print ALR Index (O-S) ALR 2d, 3d, 4th, 5th, Federal
• Under SCOPE OF EMPLOYMENT AND AUTHORITY, you see
– Assault
• Employer’s liability for assault, theft, or similar intentional wrong
committed by employee at home or business of customer (13
ALR 217)
• You found the same article under both VICARIOUS LIABILITY and
SCOPE OF EMPLOYMENT AND AUTHORITY in the ALR Index.
Expanding Research
SCOPE OF EMPLOYMENT AND AUTHORITY
• Be sure to check in the ALR Indexes’ pocket parts for recent ALR
articles.
• There are three recent articles listed in the pocket part of the O-S Index
under SCOPE OF EMPLOYMENT AND AUTHORITY, but none deal
with the specific issue of an intentional act of an employee within the
scope of employment.
Expanding Research
• This is the first page of the article
found in the ALR Index
that seems most relevant.
• It is a summary of the issue, with
reference to the lead case that
initiated the article.
• The full text of the lead case can be
found at the end of the volume.
• The cite for the article is 13 ALR 5th
217. The case is reported at 540 So.
2d 363. The full text of the case is
also available in the ALR, at 13
ALR5th 962.
Smith v. Orkin Exterminating Co.,
540 So. 2d 363 (La Ct.App. 1989).
Smith v. Orkin Exterminating Co. is
fully reported at page 962, infra.
Expanding Research
Table of
Contents
§ 13
Index
Assaults 3-9, 12, 13
Research References
ALR article finding aids, such as the Table of Contents, Research References,
and Index follow the summary of the article.
Expanding Research
Article Outline
NONSEXUAL ASSAULTS under BUSINESS
OF CUSTOMER is the section of the article
that seems most relevant to your issue.
Notice that the article uses the
phrase Respondeat superior,
rather than vicarious liability.
• In the Article Outline, the phrase respondeat superior is used under the
subtopic of NONSEXUAL ASSAULTS under BUSINESS OF
CUSTOMER. You have not encountered this phrase before.
• Check Black’s Law Dictionary for a definition of respondeat superior.
Expanding Research
Blacks Law Dictionary
Black’s Law Dictionary contains the follow definition of respondeat superior:
“This maxim means that a master is liable in certain cases for the wrongful
acts of his servant, and a principal for those of his agent…”
* You can use Black’s Law Dictionary on lawschool.westlaw.com, Black’s Law
Digital or Black’s iPhone application.
Expanding Research
RESPONDEAT SUPERIOR
Intentional wrong
You should consider respondeat superior as an alternative to vicarious
liability in your research. (If you had begun looking at RESPONDEAT
SUPERIOR in the ALR Index, you would have found the same article
under the subheading, Intentional wrong.)
Expanding Research
Several of the ALR article’s finding aids have led to the most relevant
section of the article:
III. Business of Customer
B. Nonsexual Assaults
§13 Respondeat superior
(a) Theory established or
supportable
(b) Theory not established
Expanding Research
Jurisdictional Table
Louisiana cases
McDermott v. American Brewing Co (1901)
105 La 124, 29 So. 498 - § 13 [b] (reference to
the section of the article where McDermott
is discussed).
§ 13(b)
• The article includes a Jurisdictional Table of Cited Statutes and Cases.
• McDermott v. American Brewing is the only Louisiana case in the table
that deals with nonsexual assault of a customer at the place of the
customer’s business.
Expanding Research
13 ALR 5th 217
There is a number to
call for very recent
case summaries.
There are no entries
in the pocket part
for § 13.
• Be sure to check the pocket part of the ALR volume for recent relevant case law.
• Pocket parts inserted into the back cover periodically supplement the materials in
the bound volume.
Expanding Research
Online Research
• You could have searched first for the terms of art on Westlaw. In
this session, you might want to supplement and confirm your print
product research in the ALR database.
• Whether you look for the relevant article(s) by using the print ALR
index or by searching Westlaw is a matter of choice and
economics.
• Note: Many people find it difficult to read with total
comprehension detailed online articles. If you prefer to look for
documents online, you might want to print them and then read,
highlight and make notes on the printed document(s).
Expanding Research
• Database: ALR
• Terms and Connectors search: ti(“vicarious liability”
“respondeat superior” & employ!)
• Result: seven documents. Two are in ALR INDEX TO
ANNOTATIONS (articles). One is under VICARIOUS LIABILITY,
the other under RESPONDEAT SUPERIOR. Both lead to the same
article you found in the print ALR indexes.
Link to article
Intentional wrong, employer’s liability for assault, theft, or similar
intentional wrong committed by employee at home or business of customer
Expanding Research
EMPLOYER’S LIABILITY FOR ASSAULT, THEFT, OR SIMILAR INTENTIONAL WRONG
COMMITTED BY EMPLOYEE AT HOME OR BUSINESS OF CUSTOMER.
• This is the same article you found using the ALR print index.
• Note the link to Smith v. Orkin. The full text of the opinion is available in the
Louisiana State Cases database (LA-CS).
Expanding Research
• A Natural Language search is often used as a check against missing relevant
articles that were not retrieved by a Terms and Connectors search.
• Database: ALR
• Natural Language search: employer "vicarious liability" (“respondeat
superior”) for assault ("intentional act" "intentional tort")
• One of the first documents retrieved is the same document you found using the
ALR print index and the Terms and Connectors search.
• You can now proceed with confidence that this article will provide detailed
analysis and citations to enable you to efficiently expand your research.
Expanding Research
§ 13
• The online article has many of the same finding aids and research
resources as the print article.
• Document Outline on the Links for tab links to an outline of the article.
• The Document Outline leads you to § 13, dealing with nonsexual
assaults by employee in the business of a customer.
Expanding Research
• The Citing Reference function of KeyCite is an easy and
effective way of expanding your online research.
• KeyCite Citing References lists cases, administrative
materials and secondary sources that have cited a case or
statute.
• Citing References for cases can be limited by issue
(headnote), locate terms, jurisdiction, date, document type, or
depth of treatment.
• Citing References for statutes can be limited by issue (notes
of decisions), locate terms, jurisdiction, date, or document
type.
Expanding Research
Citing References link
• McDermott v. American Brewing Co. is the only Louisiana case
discussed in § 13 of the ALR article. It was decided in 1901 and you
would like to check for more recent cases.
• Click KeyCite Citing Reference on the Links for tab.
• McDermott has been cited in twenty-two documents.
1915
Topic 29
Limit KeyCite Display
• At least 1915 documents have cited Louisiana Statute 2320.
• Click Limit KeyCite Display button to whittle citing documents down to the
ones that will be of most use.
• Here we have limited the display to the issue discussed under Topic 29 of
the Notes of Decisions for § 2320, Unauthorized acts of employee, course
and scope of employment.
Cases
6 of 1915
Apply
• We have also limited the KeyCite Display to cases.
• Click Apply.
• We have limited the KeyCite Display to the six of the original 1915
documents that will be of most use to us.
Identifying Cases to Cite
Identifying Cases
Section 13 of the ALR article analyzes some of the factors that courts have
considered when determining whether an employee acted within the scope of
his employment when committing a nonsexual assault at the business of a
customer. They include:
– Did the act further the employer’s business in any way, even if not in the
manner or method authorized?
– Was the act related to employee’s duties and incident to the performance of
the employee’s duties?
– Had the business purpose of the interaction between the employee and
customer been completed?
– Did the action arise out of a job dispute, or was the assault in pursuit of
private purposes or grievance?
– Did the employee’s duties contemplate the use of force?
Identifying Cases
• You will need to align these factors with the circumstances that surrounded
Ronnie’s assault of the customer.
• You could argue that Acme is not liable because
– Ronnie’s job did not contemplate assault.
– Ronnie’s job was over when he unloaded the goods on the loading
dock. It was not necessary for him to pursue the argument to complete
his delivery.
– Ronnie was pursuing a private grievance.
• But the plaintiff is likely to that Acme is liable because
– the assault arose out a job dispute and was not personal.
– Ronnie’s job was not over, as he remained on the customer’s loading
dock.
– the assault furthered Acme’s business in that its purpose was to deliver
the goods to a customer.
Identifying Cases
Topic and Key Numbers
• You will want to identify relevant cases through sources other than the
ALR article to verify that you are using the most relevant cases and the
strongest arguments.
• Key Number Digests are one option of identifying cases with similar
issues. The digests organize the law into approximately 400 broad topics
divided into approximately 100,000 narrow issues of law, each assigned
to a specific key number.
• The McDermott case that is cited in the ALR has only one headnote.
That headnote is assigned to 255K302(3) (Assault under Scope of
Employment, under Master and Servant topic).
Identifying Cases
Print Digests
• If you were to find Louisiana cases by topic and key number in the print Louisiana
Digest you would need to check the digest’s pocket part for the most recent
cases.
• Louisiana cases have the most precedential value, but the reasoning of courts in
other jurisdictions may be persuasive. Topic and key numbers remain constant
across jurisdictions.
Identifying Cases
• Instead of using the print digests, you might go online and search the
LA-CS database for relevant key numbers, using the terms of art that we
have identified in the print resources and in the ALR database. You
might add other terms associated with factors a court considers when
determining liability.
• Database: LA-CS
• Digest field search: di(“vicarious liability” “respondeat superior” /p
assault! (inten! /3 tort! act!) & “job dispute” “personal grievance”
furtherance)
ResultsPlus
• The search retrieved 22 cases in the Louisiana Cases database.
• On the right of the screen are relevant ALR, Am. Jur. 2d, Am. Jur. Proof
of Facts, Am. Jur. Trials articles and Key Numbers that could be used to
expand your research. These are your ResultsPlus.
Identifying Cases
255k302(2)
255k306
Reference to La. C.C. 2320
The search retrieved several relevant key numbers under topic 255 (Master and
Servant):
302(2)
302(3)
302(6)
306
Acts for Which Master is Liable in General
Assault and Battery
Acts of a Servant in His Own Behalf
Willful and Malicious Acts of Servant
Identifying Cases
Assault and Battery
Most Cited Cases
• We will choose 255k302(3), Assault and Battery, under Scope of
Employment as this is the key number assigned to the sole headnote in
the McDermott case which was cited in § 13 of the ALR article.
• Click Most Cited Cases.
Identifying Cases
255k302(3)
Most Cited Cases
Louisiana
• Select Louisiana as the jurisdiction.
• The Most Cited Cases feature will retrieve headnotes assigned to key
number 255k302(3) in a Custom Digest format. The headnote that has
been cited the most will be displayed first, the headnote that has been
cited least will be displayed last.
• The Most Cited Case feature helps determine which cases are most
authoritative.
Identifying Cases
Cited 147 times
• There are over forty headnotes in Louisiana’s Custom Digest for key
number 255k302(3).
• LaBrane v. Lewis has been cited more than any other case for this
issue, indicating that it is an important case.
• McDermott is also near the top of the list and the ALR article on assault
in the home or business of a customer is also referenced.
Identifying Cases
• The next step is to read the full text of the cases that seem most relevant.
• The critical and often very subtle factors that influence a decision must be
isolated be fully thorough reading of the complete text of the cases.
• Some cases might seem to be contradictory, but you should be able to detect a
trail of consistency drawn from subtle factual distinctions among the cases.
• You should read opinions that have imposed liability on the employer and
opinions that have not imposed liability on the employer.
Identifying Cases
Several of the cases retrieved set forth factors a Louisiana court should
consider when deciding whether to hold an employer vicariously liable for the
intentional acts of employees:
“ (1) whether the tortious act was primarily employment rooted,
(2) whether the violence was reasonably incidental to the
performance of the employee's duties,
(3) whether the act occurred on the employer's premises, and
(4) whether it occurred during the hours of employment.”
Ensuring Currency and Validity of Law
KeyCite History
KeyCite History
• Once you have found the relevant cases and statutes, you must
determine the current status of the law.
• Check the validity of any relevant case or statute before continuing your
research.
• A case may be reversed, vacated, remanded or overruled.
• A statute may be repealed, amended, declared unconstitutional, or
preempted.
KeyCite History
KeyCite History
• Online citators have distinct advantages over print citators:
– There is a single source of information. (Checking the validity
of a case in print citators involves checking in multiple
volumes and updating pamphlets.)
– Online citators are extremely current. (Print citators cannot be
as current due to the necessity of printing and mailing
updating pamphlets.)
• KeyCite is the citation research service available on Westlaw.
KeyCite History
KC History
• One of the cases in the results of your key number search, LaBrane v.
Lewis, displays a yellow flag in the upper left corner and on the Links for
tab in the left frame.
• The yellow flag indicates the case has some negative history, but hasn’t
been reversed, overruled, vacated, or remanded.
• Click either yellow flag to display this negative history.
KeyCite History
• The negative history includes cases in which factual distinctions led to a
different outcome.
• These would be very valuable cases to read as you try to fit the Acme
case into the texture of Louisiana cases.
KeyCite History
Judgment Reversed
• Another case retrieved in your key number search, Moore v. Blanchard,
is tagged with a red flag on both the case and the Links for tab.
• The KeyCite Direct History of the case indicates that the judgment was
reversed by a higher court.
• When you see a red flag on a case, you should investigate before
relying on that case to support your argument.
Conclusion
or
Knowing When to Stop Research
Conclusion
• You’ve done the research and you feel confident of your understanding
of the issue.
• You have isolated the most relevant articles, cases, statutes, and key
numbers that were found by different methods of research and which
cross reference one another.
• You’ve carefully read and analyzed relevant Louisiana law.
• You’ve ensured the cases you are relying on are good law.
• You can support your position with references to primary law and
secondary sources, and counter the arguments likely to be presented by
opposing counsel
Conclusion
Knowing When To Stop1
• The Loop Rule
– When you start to see the same documents and citations over and
over, you should probably realize you are done, especially if you have
used the research products of more than one publisher
• The Economic Analysis or Diminishing Return Rule
– When you are investing more in your research than you are getting in
return
• The Zen Rule
– When you have been working in an area of the law for a long time, you
will be so familiar with the primary and secondary law you will have
become an expert and will know when to stop.
1JOHNSON,
ET AL., WINNING RESEARCH SKILLS, West Group, 2002
Conclusion
• Now you can write a persuasive memo or brief.
• This was just one potential path through the legal research process.
• Every research process will differ. You could have competently explored
more or less legal resources depending on what is at stake and the time
and money available.
• You’ll be a successful researcher if you understand how to use the many
resources that are available in a flexible and efficient manner.
Thank You…
We hope that you have found this lesson helpful.
If you have more Westlaw education or training needs,
please contact your Academic Account Manager or
call the Reference Attorneys at 1-800-WESTLAW.
If you have feedback on the Instructional Aids Series,
please contact Erin Jensen.