Are you preparing for a class assignment? writing your dissertation or any other form of scholarly writing?
If your answer to any of the above questions is yes, then Legal research is a skill you cannot afford to overlook.
Strong legal arguments, persuasive analysis, and credible conclusions all rest on the quality of the research undertaken.
This article will give you a systematic, complete and practical framework on how to conduct legal research effectively.
It brings together the what, why, and how of legal research in one place making it a reference point you can return to at any stage of your academic or professional journey.
Let’s get started!
A Summary on How To Conduct Effective Legal Research
The process of conducting legal research can be summarised as follows;
- Understanding the legal problem
- Identifying the applicable jurisdiction and law
- Consulting secondary sources of law
- Analysing primary sources of law
- Keeping track of your sources
- Writing and refining your findings
- Finishing the Research Process
The sections below break this process down into seven clear and practical steps which are explained further in detail later.
Table of Contents
Who This Guide Is For?
Before we go further, it is important to understand who this article is best-suited for. This guide is written with the following persons in mind:
- Law students i.e LLB and LLM candidates
- Early-career lawyers, legal interns and paralegals
- Researchers and academics
- Legal practitioners handling complex legal issues.
Whether you are researching for the first time or refining your approach, the steps below will help you work with clarity and confidence.
What Is Legal Research?
Legal research is the systematic process of identifying, analysing, and applying legal authorities in order to support legal decision-making or resolve a specific legal problem or question.
In practice, it involves locating relevant laws, cases, treaties, and scholarly commentary, interpreting them correctly, and using them to answer a legal issue in a clear, reasoned, and authoritative manner.
Step-by Step Process on How to Conduct Legal Research
Step 1: Understand the Legal Problem, Issue, or Question
Every legal research exercise must begin from a problem-based perspective.
Before you search for cases or statutes, you must be clear about what you are researching.
Ask yourself the following questions. What is the specific legal contradiction here? What is the core issue in focus?
What is the specific problem you intend to solve? Is there a contradiction between judicial decisions? Is there an unresolved or emerging legal question?
It could be a complex set of facts, a conflict between two cases, or an answer to a long-unresolved question. Name it.
Regardless of the task, the common ground is that there is a problem requiring a legal solution.
At this stage, your task is to frame the guiding questions for investigation precisely.
This calls for critical analysis and assessment of the specific issues you are tasked to investigate.
This is also where you define your scope. You need to decide how wide your search needs to be and exactly how deep into the “rabbit hole” you need to dig.
Setting these boundaries early prevents you from getting lost in a sea of irrelevant information later on.
Step 2: Identify the Applicable Jurisdiction and Legal Framework
Different rules apply in different legal systems and geographical settings. Once you understand the problem you are investigating, the next step is to identify the applicable legal framework you’ll use to solve it. .
Consider:
- Is the issue governed by domestic law or international law?
- Which jurisdiction applies?
- Are multiple legal systems involved?
Answering these questions will help you find the appropriate laws to apply in the legal research process.
Additionally, understanding the applicable jurisdiction helps you determine which courts, statutes, and legal instruments are relevant.
Understanding and Distinguish Legal Authorities
Legal research relies on two main categories of sources: primary and secondary sources of law.
Primary Sources of Law
Primary sources are binding legal authorities. This means that if they are relevant to your jurisdiction, the courts are legally required to follow them when deciding a case.
They include:
- Constitutions
- Statutes and legislation
- Case law
- Treaties and international instruments
Courts are obliged to apply these sources when resolving disputes.
Secondary Sources of Law
Secondary sources explain, analyse, or critique the law. They offer guidance and clarity, but a court is not “bound” to follow the opinions found within them.
They include:
- Textbooks
- Journal articles
- Commentaries
- Law reform reports
Both categories are necessary. Effective legal research draws from each in a complementary manner.
Step 3: Start with Consulting Secondary Sources
While research styles differ, starting with secondary sources is often helpful, particularly at the early stages of your research process.
Secondary sources help you understand:
- The development of the law
- Competing scholarly views
- Existing controversies and gaps
As you dive into these sources, pay close attention to the citations. For instance, an article might quote a specific extract from a case.
When you pull that case to read it in full, you’ll find it provides the necessary context for your own legal problem.
Furthermore, that case will likely point you toward other authorities and specific statutory provisions that are relevant to your research.
It also helps you confirm whether you have identified all relevant legal authorities by cross checking with what other authors have written about the topic in focus.
This “top-down” approach saves you from reading hundreds of irrelevant primary sources before finding the one that actually matters.
A reliable starting point is Google Scholar, which allows you to access academic writing rather than relying solely on general internet information.
Step 4: Analyse Primary Sources Thoroughly
Once you have identified the relevant primary sources, careful analysis is required.
The secret under this step is to read in layers or phases.
Start by reading the law in full to gain a general understanding of its structure and purpose. This provides a broader, satellite view of the legal framework.
On subsequent readings, narrow your focus to provisions that directly address your legal problem.
Some statutes group related provisions together, while others contain relevant provisions scattered across different parts of the statute.
As you dig into these sources, don’t just read passively. Highlight key phrases, take concise notes, and extract the specific provisions that provide the answer to your research question.
By the time you finish this stage, you should have a set of legal provisions ready to be applied to your facts.
Step 5: Organise and Track Your Sources
One of the most common academic and professional pitfalls is plagiarism. In many cases, it arises from poor referencing of sources rather than intention to avoid doing so.
To avoid this:
- Record every source consulted in a legal citation tool or word processor application i.e Google Docs, Word etc
- Note the page numbers and sections relied upon
- Maintain a running reference list right from the start.
Proper organisation makes writing easier and strengthens the credibility of your work. Your reference list or bibliography should reflect the full breadth of your research.
Step 6: Start the Writing Process
Having gathered the necessary sources, read through them thoroughly, you are now equipped with the necessary background knowledge.
You know the basics, the issue in focus, and now ready to write down your research..
Structuring your Research Findings
The way you present your findings depends entirely on the task at hand. Generally, legal writing takes one of these forms:
- Problem Solving. Common in coursework, this involves gathering the necessary laws to solve a specific case problem and organizing them in a systematic manner to reach a conclusion.
- Exploring Contradictions. This often applies to dissertations or law review articles, where you explore a contradiction or an emerging problem and suggest solutions based on the laws you have analysed.
- Forming an Opinion. Lastly, your research should lead to you forming your own informed legal opinion, moving beyond just summarising what others have said.
Regardless of your task, the secret to a professional finish is organisation.
Arrange your writing into structured headings that flow seamlessly from one point to the next.
This not only makes your work easier to read but also ensures you are laying forth your ideas logically, leading the reader clearly toward your final conclusion.
Step 7: Finishing the Research Process
Legal research can be incredibly lengthy. You can consult numerous sources before you ever feel like you’re ready to stop.
Don’t be surprised if you find a source on the day of your deadline that never crossed your path during the actual research phase. It is possible.
This leads to the most frequent question researchers ask: “When is my research actually sufficient?” “When do I stop researching?”
While there is no hard and fast rule for when to close the books, the following indicators can help you know you have done enough:
- The Point of Redundancy. If you keep finding the same information, cases, and arguments in every new source you interact with, you have likely reached the saturation point.
- Answering the Research Question. You have found a direct answer to the questions you were searching for.
- Identifying Compelling Positions. Remember that in law, a “conclusive” answer doesn’t always exist. Sometimes, your research is complete simply because you have identified a compelling position on an issue.
Once you start seeing these indicators, you can be confident that you are now done with the legal research process.
Common Mistakes to Avoid in Legal Research
- Starting research without a clear issue
- Relying exclusively on internet sources
- Ignoring jurisdictional limits
- Failing to distinguish binding and persuasive authority
- Poor citation and source tracking
Avoiding these mistakes will significantly improve the quality of your work.
Tools That Can Support Legal Research
Legal research can be enhanced by using appropriate tools, such as
- Academic databases and journals i.e Google Scholar
- Case law repositories such as Legal Information Institutes
- AI tools for summarisation and organisation (used responsibly)
These tools should support your analysis, not replace critical thinking.
Conclusion
Legal research is a structured, deliberate, and problem-driven process.
By understanding the issue, identifying the correct legal framework, analysing authoritative sources, and writing with clarity, you can conduct effective legal research in both academic and professional settings.
If you still have questions about how to conduct legal research, feel free to leave a comment below and I will be glad to assist.
At JurisPilot, we support students, legal professionals, and practitioners with legal research and writing. If you require structured guidance or hands-on support, you are welcome to book a free consultation to explore how we can assist you.
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