Legal Research Navigator

Welcome to the Legal Research Navigator. This resource teaches you how to find, verify, and use legal authorities effectively — from traditional database research through AI-assisted tools. Whether you're writing your first memo or preparing for a summer position, this guide provides the methodology and practical skills you need.

What You'll Learn

This guide covers the essential skills for legal research in the modern era:

• Research Methodology — An 8-step iterative process organized into three phases: getting your bearings, exploring sources, and verifying your research
• Secondary Sources — How to use treatises, legal encyclopedias, ALR, law reviews, and practice guides to understand legal issues before diving into primary law
• Case Law Research — Finding relevant cases using digests, headnotes, key numbers, and natural language searching
• Statutory Research — Navigating annotated codes, understanding legislative history, and tracking amendments
• Regulatory Research — Working with the Code of Federal Regulations, Federal Register, and agency materials
• Citators — Using KeyCite (Westlaw) and Shepard's (Lexis) to verify authorities and expand research
• Platform Comparison — Understanding the differences between Westlaw, Lexis, and Bloomberg Law
• AI Legal Research — Evaluating AI tools like Lexis+ AI, Westlaw AI, and CoCounsel, including their limitations and ethical considerations
• Free Resources — Researching effectively when premium databases aren't available

How to Use This Guide

This guide is designed for both sequential learning and quick reference:

• If you're new to legal research, start with the Research Process and work through the sections in order.
• If you need to find specific information, use the navigation menu to jump directly to the relevant topic.
• If you're preparing for practice, pay particular attention to the AI Legal Research and Platform Comparison sections.

Key Principles

Start with Secondary Sources

Experienced legal researchers almost always begin with secondary sources rather than jumping directly to cases or statutes. Secondary sources provide context, explain the current state of the law, and point you to relevant primary authorities. This approach saves time and produces more thorough results.

Research Is Iterative

Legal research is not a linear process. You will cycle back through steps as you learn more about your issue. Finding one good case often leads you to better search terms, which leads to additional authorities, which may reshape your understanding of the issue entirely.

Always Verify

Before relying on any authority, verify that it remains good law. Cases can be overruled, statutes amended, and regulations withdrawn. Using a citator (KeyCite or Shepard's) is not optional—it is an essential step in any research project.

Know When to Stop

Research is complete when you start seeing the same authorities repeatedly, when you can predict what search results will return, and when you have found controlling authority that directly addresses your issue. Knowing when to stop is as important as knowing where to start.

Getting Started

Ready to begin? Here's your roadmap:

1. Learn the Process — Understand the three phases of legal research and when to move between them
2. Master Secondary Sources — Know which sources to consult for different types of questions
3. Know Your Platforms — Understand the strengths of Westlaw, Lexis, and Bloomberg
4. Verify Everything — Learn to use KeyCite and Shepard's effectively