A three-step legal research strategy for case analysis

Legal research as Putman and Albright (2014, p. 335) point out "is the part of legal analysis that involves finding the law that applies to the legal question raised by the facts of a client's case." As the authors further point out, there is no magic formula when it comes to the conduction of legal research. There is no 'one best way' of conducting legal research. It is with this in mind that I develop my own three step legal research strategy.

My Three (3) Step Legal Research Process

Analysis and Planning

As far as legal research is concerned, Elias (2012, p. 69) is of the opinion that one ought to have a clear idea of that which he or she would want to accomplish. In this particular stage, I would concern myself with not only the identification of the case's key facts, but also the establishment of the various legal issues represented therein. This I would do knowing only too well that it is only rarely that legal problems fall into a single category of law, i.e. criminal or contract law. As a matter of fact, legal problems often involve multiple areas of law. Conducting an analysis of the facts of the case and identifying the legal principles represented would, therefore, be of great relevance in helping me to focus on key issues of law. I would also come up with a search strategy plan that keeps my legal research undertaking focused on only the legally relevant material.

Step 3: Application of the Law

In basic terms, this last step would involve the application of legal facts to the case. It is at this point that I would formulate the best course of action, as well as indicate the outcome that would be most likely. This section would also include the concluding remarks that will be drafted to include not only the references but also a brief of the law, as applied to the problem at hand.