Legal Research

Understandably, attorneys are sometimes reluctant to take on a particular client or case, even after conferring in depth with the person, before researching the issue enough to warrant confidence in moving forward. I’ve worked with clients for a number of years who have relied on me for my seasoned expertise and come to me as their “go-to” first step.

In my twelve years of experience I have performed thousands of hours of research in both state and federal cases for a number of jurisdictions, drafted hundreds of memoranda, and have a mastery of citation formats, winnowing majority from minority lines of jurisprudence, distinguishing primary from secondary sources in terms of their authority, and factoring in such subtle and granular legal filters as standards of review, conflict of laws, legislative intent, and statutory construction.

I have had a couple clients who primarily used me for research and then had their own legal staff draft the documents. Still, the legal skills, knowledge, analysis of cases found, and search engines employed to conduct thorough, comprehensive research and then draft a succinct memorandum on the findings are the same as those utilized to draft a complaint, a motion, or a response. I bring the same intense focus and clarity to all legal research. I will also provide all key cases used in the research, free of charge.

Finally, more frequently than one would think, the issue needing research may be a case of first impression, where the research will inevitably be more time consuming than on issues where established lines of jurisprudence govern. I always strongly recommend that you provide a budget of maximum hours, including the memo, and if the case law—or lack of it—demands more time, I will always reach out to you first for authorization.