Research RefresherMarch 19, 2013

Catherine Cotter

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Approach your topic / issue / question / task strategically

– not as how to use a particular product.

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Leverage the effectiveness of editorial

enhancements!

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1. Can we register a builders’ lien against a building partially owned by the federal government?

2. Draft the builders’ lien.

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1. Can we register a builders’ lien against a building partially owned by the federal government?

2. Draft the builders’ lien – Use a form or precedent (handout available)

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1. Can we register a builders’ lien against a building partially owned by the federal government?

WHAT DO YOU DO?

2. Draft the builders’ lien.

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Strategy:

1.Think about the question

2.Plan your research

3.Choose your sources

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The legal research process starts very early – before you actually sit down to do the research

Five steps (FILAC):analyze the factsdetermine the legal issuesfind the relevant lawanalyze the law and apply it to the factscommunicate the results of your research & analysis

From: Maureen Fitzgerald, Legal Problem Solving: Reasoning, Research and Writing, 4th ed (Markham: LexisNexis, 2010), chapter 1.

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Once you’ve spent a bit of time thinking about the issue and developing a plan, how should you start your research? Where do you begin?

By using secondary sources!

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Two types of secondary sources:

1. Those that explain the law

2. Those that help you find the law

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Example types of secondary sources to help you understand the law:

• Encyclopedias• Loose-leafs• Books (beware of casebooks) – look

at the bibliography in The Practical Guide to Canadian Legal Research

• Annotated statutes (if any)• CLE materials (often overlooked) –

for example: http://www.lawsociety.mb.ca/

• Bar ad materials (often overlooked)• Dictionaries/Words & Phrases

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• Journals • Law Reform Commission

materials (often overlooked)• Newspapers, magazines, &

newsletters• Conference papers• Law blogs• Law firm websites• Etc.

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Example sources to help you find the law

• Canadian Abridgment• Canada Digest (within QL)• Maritime Law Book key number

system• Law Reporter Indexes• Other specialty digests/indexes

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Remember – you have to read the legislation /cases the authors have referenced! So find them and read them.

Then start searching for legislation/cases yourself. Author will never reference everything.

Note up all legislation/cases to find other legislation/cases and find out their history!! VERY IMPORTANT!!

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When using QL or WC:

Always remember – the costs you rack up searching in these systems OFTEN get passed on to your client!! This will be on top of the time you are billed out at.

These systems are EXPENSIVE - $$$$$$!!

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LexisNexis Quicklaw cost saving tips:

• The homepage is the least expensive way to get a document or information.

• Browsing – much more cost effective than searching.

• Whenever you click on a blue hyperlink, a cost will be incurred.

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LexisNexis Quicklaw cost saving tips con’t:

•Start with a broad search then use ‘Narrow Search’ to refine it.

•If you conduct a search and get no results, that results in a cost. So watch your spelling!

•Use the History component of QL

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LexisNexis Quicklaw useful tips:

• Study the Source Directory

• Use document segments

• Use ‘My Bookshelf’ for sources you use frequently

• Don’t print out each document separately

• View your results by keywords or terms in context

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Westlaw Canada cost saving tips:

• The homepage ‘Find/Keycite’ search is the least expensive way to a document.

• Limit using the “All __Source Content’ search – these searches are extremely expensive.

• Browsing is much less costly than searching.

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Westlaw Canada cost saving tips con’t:

• Start with a broad search then use ‘Locate in Result’ to refine it.

• You can run a search from your Research Trail up to 2am for no extra cost.

• If you conduct a search and get no results, that results in a cost. So watch your spelling!

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Westlaw Canada useful tips:

• Get used to using the directory to find sources.

• Beware – they do not house regulations for all statutes.

• Boolean searching is more dynamic than the search template WC provides. Use natural language searching as a last resort.

• Use their concordances and thesaurus

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Research Refresher

Input my chart.

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Input my chart.

A space in Quicklaw means a different thing in Westlaw.

Compare the ‘Phrase’ example in QL with the ‘Or’

example in WC

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Statutory Research

• To find older versions of statutes, you will likely have to use print products.

• CanLII, QL (only the bigger jurisdictions), Department of Justice, Ontario’s e-Laws, etc. allow you to look at an act as it appeared on a certain date in the past, but only for the last few years.

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Statutory Research: Two things you may need to do:

1.Find an act as it was first passed and printed in the annual volumes.

2.Find what an act looked like at a certain point in time.

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First thing you should do when you start working (in terms of legal research):

• Check out your firm’s library and resources.

• Know where the local law library is – academic or law society or courthouse library.

• Learn about the free resources to which you have access online.

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• Ask what portion of your research costs will be passed on to the client.

• Pool your resources with your fellow articling students.

• Join the local public library.

• Read newspapers and blogs!

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TIPS• Always ask to see the file

• Take a notepad and pen (or iPad) everywhere

• Have your checklist/research plan close at hand and have several copies available

• Know how to conduct legislative research

• Check out academic law library & law society library websites (for example: http://www.courthouselibrary.ca/training/links.aspx).

• Check out various law-related apps that may be helpful; eg: WiseLII - http://www.wiselaw.net/wiselii.html

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Finally:

DON’T BE AFRAID TO ASK QUESTIONS!!!

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Websites Blogs and tweets:

• www.slaw.ca• www.thecourt.ca• www.lawtweet.ca• www.lawblogs.ca• http://micheladrien.blogspot.ca/  Law Reform:• www.worldlii.org/int/special/lawreform• www.bcli.org/search/law-reform

Searching law firm websites (and more):• www.feefiefoefirm.com/ca• http://tinyurl.com/canadianlawfirms (appears that

you now have to sign in)

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Websites

Other helpful sites:• http://rc.lsuc.on.ca/library/research_periodicals_pra

ctice.htm

• www.legaltree.ca• http://legalresearch.org• www.courthouselibrary.ca/training/AskedAndAnswe

red.aspx• http://www.courthouselibrary.ca/training/videos.asp

x

• http://fli.canadalawbook.ca• http://www.legalresearchandwriting.ca/index.htm

(includes the custom Google search engine mentioned in last slide – the tinyurl reference)

• http://scholar.google.ca/ (click radio button to search legal documents – is mostly American, though)

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Websites

Other helpful sites continued:• http://eco.canadiana.ca/?usrlang=en Early Canadiana

Online (has historical legislation and cases from some jurisdictions; may have other documents such as Hansards)

• http://archive.org/index.php - Internet Archive (has some legislation & cases; may have other law-related documents. Also has the WaybackMachine so one can look at an older version of a website)

• http://www.aplic-abpac.ca/aplic_home.html GALLOP (provides access to over 320,000 provincial, territorial, & federal government publications and legislative materials dating back to 1995)

• http://www.ssrn.com/lsn/index.html (access to free journal articles/working papers; some will have a cost but many are free)

• www.parl.gc.ca (can search & trace federal bills & access Hansards)

• www.mlb.nb.ca (a cost efficient way to access cases; even if your firm does not subscribe, they offer a free version – Raw Law)

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Websites

US and Foreign law:• www.law.justia.com - US• www.findlaw.com/casecode - US• www.lexisnexis.com/community/portal/content/lexi

sonelandingpage.aspx - US

• www.law.cornell.edu - US• www.commonlii.org - laws from commonwealth

countries, including the English Reports • www.worldlii.org – most countries listed here• www.nyulawglobal.org/Globalex • http://www.un.org/depts/dhl/index.html - UN

library• http://www.legislation.gov.uk/browse - UK

legislation• http://scholar.google.ca/ (click radio button to

search legal documents – is mostly American)

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Links to Handouts Available on Law Library Website:

• Determining Authoritativeness of Websites

• Legal Writing Resources at the UNB Law Library

• Forms and Precedents

• Westlaw Canada Search Tips

• LexisNexis Quicklaw Search Tips

• Tracing a Statute Historically Using Print Products

• Boolean, Proximity, and Frequency Operators

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Where you can find this PowerPoint:

http://www2.unb.ca/lawlibrary/documents/ResearchRefresher2013PPdartforwebsite.ppt