STEP 1: GET STARTED
- READ what you’ve been given
- ANALYZE the facts and frame your legal issues
- ASSESS what you know and need to learn
- NOTE any primary law you have been given
- GENERATE potential search terms
STEP 2: IDENTIFY JURISDICTION
STEP 3: GET AN OVERVIEW
- Web Searches: Google or Wikipedia (yes really!)
- Legal Dictionaries: Ballentine's Law Dictionary (online: Nexis Uni), Black's Law Dictionary (@Fant Library: KF156.B6276)
STEP 4: CONSULT SECONDARY SOURCES
- WHAT the rule is - discussion of its application
- WHERE to find it - citations to primary authority
- Consult:
STEP 5: FIND PRIMARY AUTHORITIES
- Case law (decisions from state and federal courts)
- Legislation / Statutes (as passed by state legislatures and the U.S. Congress)
- Regulations (from both state and federal agencies)
- Constitutions (both state and federal)
- Treatises
STEP 6: ANALYZE THE CONTROLLING LAW
- READ the law
- Determine which law is RELEVANT & BINDING
- APPLY law to your facts
STEP 7: UPDATE THE LAW
Use citators (Shepherdizing in Nexis Uni) to make sure the law is still "good."
