The Research Process – 1.1 Evaluating the Legal Problem
Legal research requires a methodical approach.
- Legal research is a process which should take place in a number of stages.
- It is essential to begin by evaluating the legal problem before you. Doing so will enable you to determine the specific legal question or issue you need to answer. Since this will be the focus of your attention, identifying it will put your research on the right path and will help you choose the best research tools and key word strategies.
- You will save time and improve your end result if you develop the legal question(s) before you even pull a book off the shelf or access an online database.
How do we do this? Evaluate the legal problem using a model such as the FILAC method
- FILAC stands for, "Facts, Issues, Law, Analysis, and Communication”.
The focus of this course will be on skills related to the facts, issues, and law steps. These elements of the FILAC method will help you to:
- analyse the facts in depth;
- properly identify the legal issues;
- understand the problem in legal terms;
- locate the relevant law (precedential and statutory authorities);
You can find a more comprehensive explanation in chapter 1 of Maureen F. Fitzgerald's Legal Problem Solving: Reasoning, Research and Writing, 7th ed. (Markham: LexisNexis Canada, 2013) c 1.