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How can I effectively conduct legal research on a specific area of law, considering the vast amount of information and varying resources available?
The concept of "good" law refers to legal authorities that are still valid and applicable, as opposed to outdated or overruled laws.
A 3-step process for legal research involves recording the facts of a case, gathering primary and secondary law, and checking for good law.
Secondary sources, such as law journals and treatises, can serve as a starting point for legal research because they often provide an analysis of primary laws.
Law librarians are trained to assist with legal research and can be a valuable resource for lawyers and law students.
Boolean search operators, such as AND, OR, and NOT, can be used to refine search terms and improve search results in online legal databases.
The asterisk (*) is a wildcard operator that can be used to search for variations of a word or phrase in online legal databases.
Developing a research strategy is crucial for effective legal research, including refining search terms and using a variety of sources.
Online legal databases, such as LexisNexis and Westlaw, often have tutorials and guides to help users optimize their search results.
Print resources, such as case law reports and legal encyclopedias, can still be valuable sources of information for legal research.
Legal research involves not only finding relevant laws and cases but also analyzing and evaluating the credibility of sources.
The process of cite-checking involves verifying the accuracy and validity of legal citations and ensuring they are correctly formatted.
Legal research is not just about finding information, but also about evaluating the relevance and persuasiveness of that information.
Effective legal research requires understanding the specific legal issue or problem being addressed and identifying the key concepts and keywords related to that issue.
A "research plan" can help guide the legal research process by identifying the specific tasks and steps needed to complete the research.
Legal research is an iterative process that involves refining search terms, re-evaluating sources, and revising arguments based on new information.
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