Speaker 1: In this video, we will be exploring a step-by-step approach to legal research projects. Our strategy will consist of six steps. Usually, you'll start your research because someone presented you with a problem or a story about a series of events. So you'll start your research strategy by first engaging with the information you were provided. If you were given something in writing, make sure to read the fact pattern thoroughly, focusing on important facts and legal issues that stand out to you. At this point, you're likely already becoming aware of and analyzing some concepts you recognize and some that are unfamiliar to you. Begin assessing what you know and what information you'll need to continue pursuing answers to the legal questions. Often, you'll be given a few places to start or resources to orient yourself around. Note primary law that's provided and where the events take place. You'll likely generate and revisit some search terms throughout your research, but here you'll begin to generate just a few to get you started. Legal rules will vary depending on where geographically your legal question will be answered. When you first read a problem, always remember to orient yourself in place and time. Think about where and when events happen, in what states, and in what courts. Next, we're going to consult some secondary sources. You might be thinking, I'm going to have so many cases to read. Do I really need to add a bunch of secondary literature? This is a useful place to reframe your thoughts early about legal research to save yourself time and avoid unnecessary reading. Secondary literature is used by savvy researchers to quickly compile a list of citations to the most important primary sources. In many cases, experts have written accessible and well-researched analysis of legal questions. Those experts had to read through numerous statutes and cases to figure out which ones were most important, and then they published articles telling you what those most important cases are. Why start the process from square one when someone may have already done the work for you? Next, you're going to search for statutes and administrative regulations, if they're applicable. Cases are likely to be interpreting that authority, so you'll want to know what the statute says first. Also, with legal research databases, finding the statute can help connect you to the most relevant cases quickly and efficiently. Finally, you'll begin to look for case law to support your argument. If you followed the previous steps, you probably already have a good list of cases to start with, and you're going to maximize those resources to boost your efficiency. You'll need to check that every case you plan to cite is still good law, and you'll update your list of cases accordingly. While doing this, you may find important cases you hadn't yet identified, which means you may have to jump back to earlier steps in the process. As you become more experienced, the search process is going to look less cyclical and more like the jumble of arrows where your experience helps to guide your process. This step-by-step strategy, however, will help you to gain that experience and to make sure you're not missing important materials or wasting your time. Stick with it, follow the legal research checklist, and ask us if you have any questions.