Introduction

Good research can help avoid malpractice claims. Several courts have held attorneys liable for insufficient or incomplete research. A few others have stated that computer-aided legal research is the norm in modern legal practice because it can save clients money. So it’s important to research well and keep abreast of changes.

The advent of computer assisted legal research ("CALR") - Westlaw, Lexis, the Internet, and CD-Rom products -- has been a great boon to attorneys, especially small firms and solo practitioners who have neither the money nor the space to house a library. However, on-line research does not replace print research, it is merely a good complement. Furthermore, on-line research poses challenges as well. Now practitioners must understand how to research on-line and in print as well as each research tool’s advantages and disadvantages. In order to conduct efficient and cost-effective research it is important to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the available products.

Computer assisted legal research is a very powerful research tool, but it has one very significant weakness: the design of computerized research retrieval systems may result in CALR missing relevant documents and at the same including irrelevant ones. CALR is based on matching the words contained in the query against words contained in documents in the database. The computer matches words lexically, not conceptually, which makes constructing a good search very difficult. It is nearly impossible to construct a query that will recover all relevant documents and will not retrieve irrelevant documents, especially when researching common legal concepts or terms that have many different meanings. Statutes and regulations are particularly difficult to research on-line. CALR can also be unwieldy, and expensive, in terms of connection charges and time. Finally, studies show people have difficulty reading on a computer screen and read text on computer screens more slowly than printed books.

One of CALR’s weaknesses -- key word indexing -- is also one of its advantages. Key word indexing is good for locating documents that contain unusual words, names, specific fact patterns, narrow legal topics, and words not used in a print index. For example, I wanted to find cases dealing with FOIA requests for NADDIS records, which is federal database on drug crime investigation. I ran this search on Westlaw-- NADDIS /p (FOIA or priv!)-- and retrieved seven cases, all of which were on point. From start (logging on) to finish (logged off and cite list printed) this search took fewer than two minutes. Because the term NADDIS is not indexed in a digest, it would have been very difficult and time consuming to find these cases using print tools such as a digest or annotated code.

Westlaw and Lexis also allow researchers to narrow their search in ways that print tools do not. For instance, you can require your search terms to appear in certain parts of the retrieved documents, such as the party name. Westlaw and Lexis also allow searches to be restricted to certain dates. Too few researchers take advantage of these features.

The area where CALR has been the biggest boon is Shepardizing-- both on CD-Roms and Lexis/Westlaw. On-line Shepard’s and Westlaw’s alternative to Shepard’s, Keycite, are much faster, cheaper, and more current than using the books; each service costs just $3.75 per case. On the other hand, a single hardbound volume of Shepard’s costs several hundred dollars. Shepard’s on-line and Keycite are also cheaper in terms of time. On-line, it took me less than a minute to Shepardize this case, restrict the search to 5th circuit cases only and print the cite list whereas it took me five minutes to Shepardize Daubert in print. Plus, on-line Shepard’s and Keycite are updated within a few days of an opinion’s release (within 24 hours for U.S. Supreme Court cases, two to three days for Mississippi cases).

CALR’s other strengths are currency and convenience. On-line sources are usually much more current than print sources because unlike books, you don’t have to wait for them to be published, distributed, and processed. Currency is especially important in unsettled areas of law. On-line research is also more convenient; you can do it anywhere you have a computer with Internet access and you don’t have to worry about space limitations.

The weaknesses and strengths of CALR exist for Internet research as well as the traditional CALR sources, Westlaw and Lexis. However, the Internet also has a few additional weaknesses: it can be slow, state law coverage is spotty, little or no historical information is available, and the sources are not always reliable. It is important to check who maintains the site and when it was last updated.

Furthermore, the amount of information on the web is overwhelming and there is no catalog of the entire web so it can be more difficult to search than Westlaw and Lexis are. Without a powerful search tool, finding a specific web site can be as difficult as finding a book in a library that has no card catalog and a completely random method of storing its books. First, try a directory of web sites such as FindLaw which has organized legal web sites by subject and category. A list of web directories is located at http://library.law.olemiss.edu/library/other/engines.shtml. If you can’t find what you need through a directory, try a search engine.

Recommended web sites: Ole Miss Legal Resources page (http://library.law.olemiss.edu/library/law_lib_research.shtml) FindLaw (http://www.findlaw.com/) Yahoo: Law (http://dir.yahoo.com/Government/Law/) Mslawyer (http://www.mslawyer.com) This is a subscription web site that contains many unique Mississippi resources such as Mississippi Supreme Court briefs. The site’s search engine is very good. However, the site can be difficult to use. The Virtual Chase (http://www.virtualchase.com/) and LLRX (http://www.llrx.com/) both are excellent sources for research guides and tips. Recommended search engines: Google (http://www.google.com/) is an excellent search engine, extremely accurate and fast. Google uses new technology to produce the right results fast with every query. It returns relevant results because it responds to your query using an automated method that ranks relevant web sites based on the link structure of the Internet itself. Unlike many other search engines, Google only produces results that match all of your search terms, either in the text of the page or in the link anchors pointing to the page. Google also analyzes the proximity of those terms within a page and prioritizes results according to the proximity of search terms. Finally, instead of web page summaries that never change, Google excerpts the text that matches your query -- with your search terms highlighted -- in the search results. Northern Light (http://www.northernlight.com) has indexed more web sites than any other search engine (which shockingly is still only about 16% of the total number of web sites). Northern Light combines a document delivery service with a search engine. It can search its proprietary database of documents at the same time it searches the web. Hotbot (http://www.hotbot.com) allows researchers to parse queries in more ways than any other search engine. Researchers can also limit their searches to sites that contain images, video, or sound and by date and language. Evaluating the Quality of Information on the Internet Determine objectivity. Identify the site's owners and, if relevant, its sponsors. Use Whois (http://www.networksolutions.com/cgi-bin/whois/whois), a database of domain name registrations. For sites registered outside the U.S., connect to the registrar in the respective country. Locate and read a site's purpose statement and beware of advertising that influences content. Read site documentation. Data source Differences between Web and print editions with same or similar titles Extent, if any, of editorial enhancements Method of conversion Updating schedule and method Individuals or entity responsible for information supplied by the site Note: If you can’t find site documentation, that’s a sign the site is not reputable. Ascertain author or publisher credentials and creation and revision dates. If the site revised its data, does it reveal what it modified? Are the changes substantive rather than cosmetic? Record the date on which you visit a page. Web pages come and go. Later you may have to document the availability of information that no longer resides where you found it. Identify citation data. Where did the author(s) obtain their information? What sources are relied upon? Verify the document’s completeness and accuracy. Be alert for technical trickery. Learn from news stories about fraudulent, rogue or questionable Web sites. (List reproduced from http://www.virtualchase.com/quality/checklist.html)

• Can browse.

• Can researh by concepts.

• Perfect research technique is not as important.

• It is very expensive to house and maintain a law library.

• Books can be cumbersome to use.

• It can take a while for a book to be published, distributed and processed.

1. First analyze the facts of your case and frame the issues. At this stage, you want to: learn the jargon, identify legal elements (relief sought, required procedure, legal theories) and factual elements (who, where, what, where). Make a list of terms that describe your case. Secondary sources such as legal encyclopedia, nutshells, and hornbook will help you. Note the citations of key cases and statutes cited in the secondary sources.

2. Stop to evaluate your research. Have you already found the answers to some of the questions? Do any of the legal theories need to be modified? Have you identified new legal issues? What facts appear to be crucial? Which descriptive words seem to trigger the applicable law? What is the most important legal theory emerging?

3. Read the cases and statutes you found in the secondary sources.
   1. When reading statutes, use an annotated code and scan the annotations for relevant cases. Remember to check the supplement.
      
   2. For cases, pay attention to what West topics and key numbers were assigned to the cases you like. Then consult the appropriate print digest to find more cases with those topics and key numbers and read any pertinent statutes and the annotations. (Using digests is made much easier if you already have a few cases because it is easier to use digests after you understand the outline of the law.) Check the outline of your topic for other relevant key numbers.

4. Know when to stop! Research can go on forever, so you have to know when to stop. If your research continues to identify the same materials, or if it identifies new materials that contribute nothing further to the theories of the case, those are good signs you should stop.

5. ALWAYS update the sources you rely on. If you did it once at the beginning of your research, do it again at the end because you don’t want to be surprised. Check the latest digest, code, and Shepard’s supplements, including the supplement to the index volumes. You can set Westlaw’s Keycite and Shepard’s on Lexis to notify you as soon as a new opinion is released that cites your case.

6. Always check for relevant statutes and regulations.

7. Research separable questions separately.

8. Research dispositive issues first.

9. Maintain a record of your research, listing what search terms you used and what you found with applicable citations.

10. On Lexis and Westlaw, take advantage of the advanced search techniques they offer! Use the print directory before going on-line. Consult scope notes. Use field searching, date restrictions, features such as ALLCAPS, etc. Call the reference attorneys.

11. Start with the fast and easy; save most difficult and comprehensive sources until last.

12. Remember that librarians are great resources for research assistance.