CHAPTER 1

Legal Research- is the process of finding the laws, rules and regulations that govern
activities in human society.

The Need for Legal Research- A lawyer is required to provide competent

representation to a client. Competent representation requires the legal knowledge, skill,
thoroughness and preparation reasonably necessary for the representation. Clearly, a
lawyer must be able to research the law to provide competent representation

Sources of Legal Research- Legal research involves the use of a variety of printed and
electronic sources. The printed sources include the Constitution, statutes; court
decisions, administrative rules and scholarly commentaries. Computer databases
containing these and other materials have dramatically changed the nature of legal
research and improved its effectiveness.

SOURCES OF LAW

1. Primary Sources- Primary sources of law are those recorded laws and rules
which the State will enforce. They may be found in statutes passed by the
legislature, regulations and rulings of administrative agencies and decisions of
appellate.
2. Secondary Materials- Publications which are not primary authority but which
discuss or analyze legal doctrine are considered secondary materials. These
include treatises, commentaries, and encyclopedias. Some of the most influential
legal writings are found in the academic journals known as law reviews of law
schools, or in publications like the IBP Journal and the Lawyers Review.
3. Finding Tools- Our legislative, executive and judicial branches of government
have been enacting and promulgating codes, statutes, rules, regulations and
court decisions and these have grown into a large body of law. Therefore, The
researcher needs search materials or tools to locate these legal sources. Without
a topical approach to legal sources, researchers could not find existing statutes or
decisions on point.

Finding tools do not persuade, nor do they themselves have any primary or
persuasive authority. Finding tools are only a means for locating primary sources.

CHAPTER 2

SYSTEMATIC APPROACH TO LEGAL RESEARCH

a. Identify and analyze the significant facts

b. Formulate the legal issues to be researched
c. Research the issues presented
d. Update

A. IDENTIFY AND ANALYZE THE SIGNIFICANT FACTS

 T - Thing or subject matter;

 A - Cause of action or group of defense;
 R - Relief sought;
 P - Persons or parties involved.
The thing or subject matter in a problem or controversy may be a significant element.
For example, when a party claims that there is a violation of the terms of a contract, the
contract becomes an essential fact in the dispute.
The next thing to be done is to identify the claim or cause of action of the plaintiff and
the defense that the defendant might put up. In a dispute over a contract, the cause of
action may be breach of contract.

What is the relief sought? It might be a civil action for damages to answer for the injury
caused by the breach of the contract or an action for specific performance to compel the
other party to perform a specific act as mandated in the contract or to enjoin the other
party from doing a specific act probably in violation of the contract.

The parties or persons might be individuals or might be a group that is significant to the
solution of the problem or the outcome of the lawsuit. Similarly, the relationship between
the parties, _ such as exists between lessor or lessee in a contract of lease will be of
special importance to the case.

B. FORMULATE THE LEGAL ISSUES TO BE RESEARCHED

This is the initial intellectual activity that presumes some knowledge of the substantive
law. The goal is to classify or categorize the problem into general, and increasingly
specific, subject areas and to begin to hypothesize legal issues.

Consult general secondary sources for an overview of all relevant subject areas. In the
example above, if the legal issue involves a violation of a contract, the research could
start by reading the textbooks or treatises on obligations and contracts by noted
authorities. At this stage, these secondary sources are used to provide background
information and to help you formulate issues; they are the tools, not the objects of
research.
Writing a clear, concise statement of each legal issue raised by the significant facts is an
important and difficult task.

C. RESEARCH THE ISSUES PRESENTED

a. Organize and Plan. Good legal researchers, as a rule, are systematic, methodical,
and organized; and they keep good records. For each issue, it is important to decide
which sources to use, which sources not to use, and the order in which sources should be
examined. The best practice is to write down all sources to be searched under each issue
to be researched, even if sources are repeated.

b. Identify, Read, and Update All Relevant Constitutional Provisions, Statutes,

and Administrative Regulations. These primary sources can be identified in several
ways.

 Statutory Compilations - Statutory compilations almost always have tables of

contents and indexes that list the subjects and topics covered by the statutes.
Because relevant statutory provisions are often found in several places in the
compiled statutes, consult both the table of contents and the index.

 Computer-Assisted Legal Research. The Constitution, statutes and

administrative regulations are available on PHILJURIS and LEX LIBRIS. It is possible
 to search the full text of these documents for statutes and regulations that apply
to your problem.

 Secondary Sources. Secondary sources such as treatises and commentaries

and law review articles, commonly cite relevant con- stitutional provisions,
statutes, and administrative regulations.

c.Identify, Read, and Update All Relevant Case Law. After identifying and reading
the relevant constitutional provisions, stat- utes and administrative regulations, you must
identify, read, and update the case law that has interpreted and applied those forms of
enacted law, as well as other case law that is relevant to your fact situation.

d. Refine the Search. After you have identified, read, and organized the primary
sources, go to secondary sources to refine the search and expand your argument. If the
problem involves a statute, the legislative history might suggest the legislature's intent
in passing the act and the problem the law was intended to remedy. Historical, social,
economic, and political information can put legal arguments in their proper context and
can support policy arguments.

D. UPDATE
Law changes constantly. Our Congress passes new statutes and modify old ones. Our
Supreme Court either refines the law or reaffirms the law or even changes the
interpretation of the law. Consult the 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.

CHAPTER III

A.Case Briefing
A law school case brief is a student's digest or condensation of a reported case. There
is no one "correct" form for a case brief since it is a document that is created to meet
the student's needs, i.e., to serve as a reference in class and, together with class
notes, the major tools of course review at the end of the semester.

Most important is to keep your case brief. Keep your summary of the court's
reasoning to a useful length, but don't shortchange the facts. When the case deals
with statutes, it maybe helpful to quote keywords from the statute verbatim.

Typical Components of a Case Brief

1. Facts- The facts describe the events between the parties leading to the litigation
and tell how the case came before the court that is now deciding it.

2. The issue is the question that the court must decide to resolve. The dispute
between the parties in the case before it. To find the issue, you must identify the
rule of law that governs the dispute and ask how it should apply to those facts.

3. The ruling is the court's decision on the question that is actually before it. The
court may make several legal statements, but if they do not relate to the question
actually before it, they are dicta. The ruling or holding provides the answer to the
question asked in the issue statement. If there is more than one issue, there may
be more than one holding. The ruling is supported by the court's reasoning
explaining the court's decision.