Legal Research

Ms. JD has a helpful post from a new associate offering advice to other new attorneys after her first trial.  She has two items on her list that are worth repeating in full here (emphasis mine):

1. Ask questions of the assigning attorney.  More likely than not, the person giving you the assignment knows more about the subject matter than you do.  Yes, we all took civil procedure.  However, if you?ve been asked to research some highly technical aspect of waiver with respect to challenges to attorneys? fees in insurance coverage litigation, a general Westlaw search may not be the best place to start.  By asking the assigning attorney if he/she has any suggestions on where you might start, you may save yourself a lot of time and unproductive effort.  

2. Get to know your research librarian.  Though you might have been able to get through three years of law school without ever having to rely on your research librarian, I wouldn?t advise continuing that practice as a young lawyer.  If you happen to work in an office or firm with a research librarian, he/she may be your new best friend.  Research librarians generally have a mastery of what?s out there in general and, more specifically, what?s in your library and what?s not.  They can also point you to sources of which you simply aren?t aware.  Who knew there was an entire treatise on insurance practice or patent litigation?  I can almost guarantee that your research librarian does.

In my class, Advanced Legal Research, we spend a lot of time talking about the importance of asking questions.  Asking questions can be scary.  You want to look poised and knowledgeable during your first weeks on the job, and some fear that asking questions will make them look bad.  But I always tell my class that asking some questions about good research starting places and seeking clarification when you need it from your supervisor is preferable to flailing around without direction and turning in work product that your supervisor cannot use.  

And, of course, you can always ask a research librarian at USF for a little guidance!  As this post points out, librarians usually have a good sense of how difficult and time-consuming research will be and, most of the time, we can recommend sources and strategies that can help you research more efficiently.