Legal Research by Rufus Rodriguez notes by: Iris Valeriano 09168649597

1 | P a g e

Legal Research chapter 1
I. Legal Research, definition
1. process of finding the laws, rules and regulations that govern activities in human society
that involves the location of both laws and rules enforced by the state and the
commentaries which explain or analyze these rules
2. the investigation for information necessary to support legal decision making.
3. begins with: analyzing facts of a problem; concludes with: applying and
communicating the rules of investigation.
II. Legal Research as a necessity
1. to provide competent representation (which requires the legal knowledge, skill,
thoroughness and preparation reasonably necessary for representation)
2. to implement an effective and efficient research plan
3. to uphold the standards of legal profession
III. Sources of Legal Research
1. Printed sources
a. Constitution
b. Statutes
c. Court decisions
d. Administrative rules
e. Scholarly commentaries
2. Electronic Databases
IV. Sources of Law / Three Broad Categories of Legal Literature
1. Primary sources recorded laws and rules which will be enforced by the state
- May be found in statues passed by the legislature, regulations and
rulings of the administrative agencies and decisions of appellate
courts
- first major primary sources -Products of legislative actions,
codes and statues
- Second major primary sources - Judicial decisions form
Supreme Court and Court of Appeals
- Third major primary sources- administrative law or the
regulations and decisions of government agencies which
sometimes act in a quasi-judicial capacity by conducting hearings
and issuing decisions to resolve particular disputes
2. Secondary sources - not primary in authority but discuss or analyze doctrine
- Ex: Treatises, commentaries, dictionaries, encyclopedias,
academic journals
- Ranges from authoritative treatises by great academic scholars
to superficial tracks by hack writers
Legal Research by Rufus Rodriguez notes by: Iris Valeriano 09168649597
2 | P a g e

- Finding appropriate secondary materials is most often
accomplished through the use of law library catalogues, legal
periodical indexes, and other bibliographic aids
- Frequently provide citations to persuasive treaties and law
review articles
3. Finding Tools - provides access to primary sources
- Ex: SCRA Quick Index-Digest, PHILJURIS and LEX LIBRIS (computer
assisted legal research)

Legal Research chapter 2
I. Four Basic Steps to a Systematic Approach in Legal Research
1. Identify and Analyze Significant Facts
a. TARP Rule is a useful techinique to analyze your facts according to the following
factors
Thing or subject matter controversy or problem may be a significant element
Cause of Action or group defense claim
Relief sought
Parties of persons- may be an individual or a group that is significant to the solution
of the problem or the outcome of a lawsuit (also relationship)
2. Formulate the Legal Issues to be Researched
- Goal is to classify or categorize the problem in general, and
increasingly specific, subject areas to begin to hypothesize legal
issues
- Needs consultation of general secondary sources for an overview of
all relevant subject areas. Secondary sources are used to provide
background information and help you formulate issues. They are
tools, not objects of research.
- Once statements of issues have been drafted, they should be
arranged in a logical pattern to form an outline. Logically related
issues may be combined as sub-issues under a broader main issue
3. Research Issue Presented
a. Organize and Plan.
b. Identify, Read and Update All Relevant Constitutional Provisions, Statutes
and Administrative Regulations through statutory compilations, computer-
assisted legal research, and secondary sources
c. Identify, Read, and Update All Relevant Case Law
Legal Research by Rufus Rodriguez notes by: Iris Valeriano 09168649597
3 | P a g e

d. Refine the Search and expand your argument by using sources that could support
it
4. Update-consult Philjuris or Lex Libris to determine whether the authorities have been
interpreted or altered in any way, or whether new cases, statutes or regulations have
been published
Legal Research chapter 3
I. Case Briefing (Typical Components)
1. Facts describe events between parties leading to litigation (to make something the
subject of a lawsuit) and tell how the case came before the court that is now
deciding it
- Other elements: a. plaintiff (suer) and the defendant (sued) are
b. Plaintiffs suit and the relief plaintiff is seeking
c. Include Regional Trial Court on the case and whether the
Court of Appeals affirmed or reversed the decision
2. Issue(s)- query the court must decide to resolve the dispute between parties in the
case before it. To find this, you have to identify the rule of law that governs
the dispute and ask how it should apply to those facts.
3. Ruling- courts decision on the question that is actually before it. Ruling or holding
provides the answer to the question asked in the issue statement
II. Synthesizing Cases
In cases in which your research for a problem turns up many cases relevant to
the problem, you must relate the cases to each other, that is synthesize them. In that way,
you can understand the applicable area of law and then use the synthesis to analyze your
problem.

The courts will frequently have done some synthesis for you. Often, in reading
cases, you will see definitions of a claim for relief or statements followed by a string of
citations. Usually, these definitions or statements have evolved as courts have put together
the decisions of many related cases. The judges who have formulated those definitions or
statements have worked inductively. They have analyzed the outcome of each case and
then combined those separate analyses into a coherent whole to form general principles
about the area of the law. These general principles are then expressed at a level of
abstraction that encompasses the particular holdings of all the individual cases.

Synthesizing is the step between your research and your writing. You do
research by reading one case at a time. If in your writing you merely report each case, one
at a time, then you have compiled a list of case briefs, but you have not analyzed your
topic.