IMPORTANCE

OF
LEGAL RESEARCH
 Meaning and types of Legal Research
Legal Research usually refers to any systematic study of legal rules,
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principles, concepts, theories, doctrines, decided cases, legal institutions,

legal problems, issues or questions or a combination of some or all of
them.

lLegal research is generally the process of finding an answer to a legal

question or checking for legal precedent that can be cited in a brief or at
trial.
l Sometimes, legal research can help determine whether a legal issue is a

"case of first impression" that is unregulated or lacks legal precedent.

lTypes of legal research are :

l- Descriptive and Exploratory Research

l- Explanatory Research

l- Analytical and Critical Research

l- Historical Legal Research

l- Comparative Research
 IMPORTANCE OF LEGAL RESEARCH
l 1. Legal research as an essential lawyering skill

The ability to conduct legal research is essential for lawyers,

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regardless of area or type of practice. The most basic step in legal

research is to find the leading case governing the issues in question.

Our courts have set the standards they expect of counsel appearing
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before them. Counsel cannot discharge his duty by not bothering to

determine whether there is a relevant authority. Ignorance is no
excuse. Any lawyer appearing before the court must be full aware of
the cases on point I.e cases which decide the same point of law.

The law is constantly changing. Decisions of the Supreme Court

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clearly show the fluidity of legal doctrine. Even where there is a

recent decision of the Supreme Court , split decisions of the court
make it difficult to determine how the next case will be decided.
As a result, legal research will be needed to advance the
lawyering skill along with the change in society.
In many areas there are conflicting decisions, or no binding
authority. You must then research the law of other jurisdictions,
and apply creative analysis to the existing case law or create an
argument based on first principles.
For example : You’ll experience the importance of legal research
when a client seeks your help to modify a child custody order, to
sue for misappropriation of trade secrets, or to defend them in an
insider trading case.
l 2. Legal Research helps build confidence

A lawyer’s understanding and analysis of a case often begins in the

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research stage when she identifies the relevant facts and determines the
legal issues that must be researched. This analysis continues and is refined
as she decides where, how, and what to search. As she finds seemingly
relevant legal materials, she must understand them and how they apply to
the facts of her case.

This research provides a crucial analytical foundation that will inform her
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decisions for the remainder of the case. When viewed in this light,
research can be seen as a critical, enduring component of representing a
client that will ultimately build confidence while pleading as well as while
giving advice to the clients. Confidence in not only lawyering skills but
also in day to day life will be built where one can put forward their
perspective and opinion on the basis of the quantity and the quality of the
the research they have conducted.
l3.Helps to arrive at conclusion
lThe method used in legal research involves the
obtaining of information on systematic basis and then
examining and evaluating it in order to arrive at some
conclusion. For example: broken-homes, poverty,
illiteracy, unemployment, loose parental control, abuse
and neglect, peer pressure are the major cause of
violence and illegal activities in the society such as
theft, robbery, rape, murder, kidnapping etc, may only
be a mere assumptions. They maybe entirely correct or
entirely incorrect, or correct only in certain fact-
conditions. Empirical research provides hard evidence
and data which obviously are basis of conclusions in
any theoretical research including legal research.
l 4. Basis of welfare of the state as a whole
Law is an instrument of development and legal research is one
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of the important medium . Researchers advance their way of

critical thinking, legal reasoning, judicial process, which
ultimately results in advancing the state as a whole. The more
the research, the more advanced the state will be. We are living
in the world of laws where inter disciplinary approach of
research is used that makes it easier to do research smoothly
and effectively whereas during the 60's there were mono-
disciplinary research used where researchers only focused on
one principle and their conclusions were based on one principle
only. However, due to varied research principles the
researchers have developed their varied perspectives in the
field of law as well as transport, communication, education,
medical science etc. Resulting in welfare of the state.
l 5. Enhances problem solving capacity
lIn a research the researcher observes a social/legal
phenomenon, discovers and collects the relevant facts, makes
conclusions and generalizations and finally tests the hypothesis
to see whether the conclusions and generalizations support and
prove the hypothesis or not. This enables the researcher to
determine, at least with some measure of certainty, as to why or
how something happens or why human beings behave in a
certain way under certain conditions.
lIf a study contains, wholly or partly, some analysis of facts and

opinions gathered by the researcher by using any reliable tool

or data collection and the researcher's conclusion and
generalized statements are founded upon such facts and
opinions, the study may truly achieve the status of 'original'
research, and attract a greater recognition in terms of academic
contribution to knowledge, usefulness, reliability and as a
source of reference for others.
lConclusion :
l Legal research helps you find, understand, and

apply the law. Performing good legal research

will provide you with the foundation you need to
proceed confidently and achieve the best result
for your client. Despite the importance of legal
research in legal practice,legal research also
requires more hands-on work, which rarely
evokes endearment from law students.