The Research Process – How to analyse and communicate what you have learned
Analysing and communicating the law involves applying the relevant legal principles to the issue(s) in an effort to achieve a desired outcome.
Effective legal analysis is arguably the most important part of the legal research process. In short, it involves a determination of the relevance of certain cases and statutes within a particular context.
When conducting your legal analysis, you must:
- compare, contrast, and synthesize relevant cases;
- read and interpret statutes; and
- apply the law, as you understand it, to the facts of the case.
Finally, you will need to communicate your findings.
Depending on the research context, you may need to communicate the law orally in court or you may need to submit your arguments in the form of a written factum. Alternatively, you may have been asked to prepare a legal memo that explains the law on a certain issue.
Regardless of the context, proper communication requires solid advocacy and writing skills. One of your aims while at law school should be to develop and perfect these skills!
For more information on legal analysis and communication, refer to Chapters 10 and 11 of Legal Problem Solving: Reasoning, Research and Writing.
Maureen F. Fitzgerald, Legal Problem Solving: Reasoning, Research and Writing, 7th ed, (Markham: LexisNexis Canada, 2013) c 10-11