Practical Legal Research

1
Practical Legal Research
2
PRACTICAL LEGAL RESEARCH

• WHAT IS IT?
• WHY DO WE HAVE IT ON THE BVC?

3
What is PLR?

• How is the research we do any different from LLB
  / CPE?
• Identifying the legal issues from a given set of
  facts
• i.e. the ability to translate facts into legal
  issues

4
Types of PLR question used in SPSs

• Focussed
• Unfocussed

5
Assessment how and when?

• PLR
• Single assessment
• Unfocussed
• Mock December
• Assessment March

6
Why do we have it?

• PLR IS A VITAL SKILL IN LEGAL PRACTICE
• Because it is a skill it requires repeated
  effort throughout the programme you will have
  opportunities to research take them!

7
The problem of legal research sources

• ANNUALLY
• 4000 NEW REPORTED CASES IN CURRENT LAW
• 3,500 NEW SIs
• LEGAL JOURNALS INDEX ADDS 30,000 ITEMS
• TOTAL 150 NEW ITEMS EACH DAY

8
Further problems

• Scope you need to check the prefatory editorial
  content of a source e.g. is it a partial or
  comprehensive treatment of the topic
• Currency (vital!) you must know
• 1. Which source is most current?
• 2. How is the source updated?
• 3. At what date are you operating in your
  research?

9
Help! Is there a technique? Yes!

• First important thing become familiar with the
  sources and how to use them
• Sources include
• Paper sources
• Electronic sources
• (People)

10
Paper sources - examples

• Legal Encyclopaedia e.g. Halsburys Laws of
  England
• Halsburys Statutes and SIs
• Case reports
• Current Law
• Practitioner Texts
• Legal Dictionaries

11
Electronic sources - examples

• Current Law
• Westlaw UK
• Lexis
• All England Direct and Case Search
• Lawtel

12
People

• Learn to make imaginative use of what sources
  are available

13
BUT - Sources

• Two problems
• No single source is comprehensive
• The information available is almost infinite

14
Sources

• This means that you must often use more than one
  source
• and that you MUST follow a research methodology

15
PLR ANSWER TEMPLATE

• Identification of problem/areas for research
• Key words / phrases
• Research Report
• Additional information, if required
• Summary  
• Sources
• Primary source(s)
• Secondary source(s)
• Updating

16
THE ORDER OF RESEARCHTHE TEMPLATEFirst
determine the nature of the inquiry

• What is the area or point of law?

17
THE ORDER OF RESEARCH Second identify key words

• Find key research words BUT!
• Be aware of e.g.
• synonyms tax law / revenue law
• related terms ownership / possession
• changes discovery / disclosure

18
Keywords example

• Question A1
• Boundaries, hedges, ditches, presumption.
•  

19
THE ORDER OF RESEARCHthird identify sources

• Primary sources statute, common law
• Secondary sources practitioner texts
  Halsburys, legal dictionaries, textbooks,
  guides to case law and legislation, academic
  articles
• (Birks, P, Adjudication and Interpretation in
  the Common Law (1994) 13 Legal Studies 178)
• Consider other sources e.g. agencies,
  external sources.

20
THE ORDER OF RESEARCH fourth research the
question

• Keep a personal note of what you are doing so
  that you can retrace your steps
• Use proper references
• Make sure you are applying the research to answer
  the question

21
THE ORDER OF RESEARCHfifth update

• How you do this depends on the source.
• e.g. Case law depends on the case law series
  can check other sources like current law which is
  the most comprehensive
• Statute e.g. Halsburys Statutes current
  service and noter up

22
NB other things to consider e.g. authority?

• see e.g. Practice Direction (Supreme Court)
  1998 1 WLR 825
• The Law Reports
• Weekly Law Reports
• All England Law Reports
• Other authoritative series

23
THE ORDER OF RESEARCHsixth check and edit

• You must check your work marks are easily lost
  through careless errors and inaccuracies.
• You MUST develop the habit of PROOF READING!

24
NB What are we assessing?

• The answer but also how you have found it the
  research report
• i.e.
• Primary sources
• Secondary sources
• References
• Updating

25
Assessment criteria

• Language, fluency and punctuation
• The identification of a legal issue that is
  appropriate in that it requires and justifies
  research
• The identification of relevant and helpful key
  words and phrases for the identified legal issue
• The completion of an accurate, concise and
  focused legal research report that is correctly
  updated and includes the identification of any
  additional further information necessary
• Evidence of use of authoritative legal research
  sources

26
Further requirements

• In regard to the assessment as a whole, you must
  demonstrate knowledge and comprehension of the
  law together with the ability to manipulate and
  utilise that knowledge in the analysis and
  preparation of the case employed. Inadequate
  demonstration of such knowledge and
  comprehension, or inadequate case analysis and
  preparation shall result in you being failed in
  this assessment, irrespective of the marks
  achieved in other components of the assessment.

27
REMEMBER

• MAKE CERTAIN THAT YOUR RESEARCH IS
• THOROUGH
• RELEVANT
• ACCURATE
• UP-TO-DATE
• PROPERLY REFERENCED
• PROPERLY WRITTEN

28
Further reading

• There are two texts particularly to be
  recommended in the area of legal research
• Legal Research by David Stott published by
  Cavendish
• Legal Research Guide by Guy Holborn published by
  Butterworths

29
Finally

• Practical Legal Research on the ELP
• Template
• Guide to using the template
• Guide to using Halsburys Laws (paper version)
• Guide to Northumbria electronic research
  resources