Overview - 4. Legal Research

Question 1

How long is the legal research assessment?

Answer 1

60 minutes

Question 2

What is the most basic description of the task in the legal research assessment?

Answer 2

Sent a task by partner, and must research provided sources, and produce a report explaining the advice the partner should give

Question 3

What is the assessment objective for the legal research assessment?

Answer 3

Demonstrate ability to conduct legal research from a variety of resources and produce a written report

Question 4

What are the assessment criteria for the legal research assessment?

Answer 4

• Advice is client-focused
• Identify and use relevant sources of information
• Clear, precise, concise, and acceptable language
• Legal content is correct, and professional conduct issues identified

Question 5

What are the two sections of the written report?

Answer 5

• Part 1: Advice to the client
• Part 2: Legal reasoning of the advice, including sources/authorities

Question 6

Assessment criteria: client-focused

How should part 1 be written?

Answer 6

In a way the client will understand, without unnecessary technical detail

Question 7

Assessment criteria: client-focused

Although you should be provided with enough information/source material to provide definitve advice, if further factual investigation is required, what should you do?

Answer 7

State it in the report

Question 8

Assessment criteria: relevant sources of information

What do you record in part 2?

Answer 8

The primary sources and authorities you rely on in formulating the advice given in part 1, e.g. statutes, statutory instruments, reported cases

Note that whilst secondary sources can be useful to answer the question in part 1, only primary sources underlying the position should be cited in part 2

Question 9

Assessment criteria: relevant sources of information

How should you cite a source in part 1 and part 2?

Answer 9

• Brief reference to the source is enough in part 1, e.g. Sale of Goods Act
• Part 2 requires a full reference, e.g. s.14(1) of the Sale of Goods Act 1979, and if a case, the full citation, e.g. Smith v Manchester City Council [1974] 17 KIR 1

Question 10

Assessment criteria: relevant sources of information

How much detail of a statute or case should you provide in part 2?

Answer 10

Enough detail so the partner can be satisfied that you have applied the sources correctly

E.g. if a statute: definitions, relevant provisions, and any exclusions/defences

Question 11

Assessment criteria: clear, precise, concise, acceptable language

What type of English should the advice in part 1 be drafted in and for what purpose?

Answer 11

Plain English, so that it could be copied and included in a letter to the client without much amendment

Question 12

Assessment criteria: legally correct/comprehensive

What does legally correct mean?

Answer 12

You need to apply your knowledge of substantive law to determine the relevant area of law applicable to the issue

Question 13

Assessment criteria: legally correct/comprehensive

What does legally comprehensive mean?

Answer 13

You need to deal with all the issues raised by the instructions

Question 14

Assessment criteria: professional conduct

What should you do if you realise your client has come under an obligation to disclose documents which are unfavourable to their case?

Answer 14

Advise them of their obligations

Question 15

Assessment criteria: professional conduct

From the perspective of acting in the best interests of the client, how comprehensive should the research be?

Answer 15

You must cover sources which support your client’s case, as well as those which are unfavourable

Advice should be objective, covering any weaknesses in your client’s case. Not making a client aware that a claim/defence is unlikely to succeed is not acting in their best interests.

Question 16

Approach

What is the best way to approach?

Answer 16

• Read the facts to ensure you do not miss any issues
• Use knowledge of the law to determine the legal topic
• Once topic is identified, skim the sources to see which are relevant

Question 17

Approach

What should you do once you have identified enough material in the sources to answer each issue?

Answer 17

Paste it into the report on an issue-by-issue basis rather than wait until you have completed all the research before drafting

Question 18

Approach

How should part 1 and part 2 be made up?

Answer 18

• Part 1: Simple answer to the questions that could be sent to the client, without detailed referencing to sources
• Part 2: Detailed cross-referencing to, and reproduction of, the relevant parts of relevant primary research so the partner can check the adequacy of your research

Question 19

Tips

When you copy from the sources into part 2, what two things should you ensure?

Answer 19

• Only copy what is relevant
• Conform the font and formatting

Question 20

Tips

Where a piece of legislation appears relevant, what should you check?

Answer 20

That it is still in force

Question 21

Tips

What part of a case should you read first to check if it may be relevant?

Answer 21

The head note

Question 22

Tips

What is the suggested approach from a timing perspective?

Answer 22

• 5 minutes to read question and set out sub-questions
• 15 minutes to read through the sources
• 30 minutes to paste relevant authorities into part 2 and write the advice in part 1
• 10 minutes to check and edit

Question 23

Template

What is the header used for part 1?

Answer 23

Advice to the client

Question 24

Template

How do you set out the advice in part 1?

Answer 24

A series of short paragraphs with a clear and succinct answer to the client’s question, summed up with a clear conclusion

Only if necessary should you make brief reference to sources

Question 25

Template

What is the header used for part 2?

Answer 25

Legal reasoning

Question 26

Template

How do you set out the sources and authorities in part 2?

Answer 26

Verbatim

Question 27

Template

Do you need to actually set out the legal reasoning in part 2?

Answer 27

No, as it is implied that the sources in part 2 support the legal reasoning and conclusion in part 1

However, briefly set out how each source relates to the issue in part 1

Question 28

Template

If you use sub-headings to break up the issues in part 1, what should you do?

Answer 28

Use the same sub-headings in part 2