Dear 1L, When you are doing legal research into case law, there will come a point when you wonder,
“Have I done enough?”
Follow these 7 Steps to make sure you don’t miss a key case.
🔹 1. Find, pull, and skim 3 relevant cases (found from secondary sources, sample briefs, searches under keywords & headnotes, etc.).
🔹 2: Pull and review every case cited within the applicable headnotes of the 3 cases.
🔹 3: If you find new relevant cases, add them to your first 3.
🔹 4: Repeat steps 2 & 3 on the added cases. Soon, you should start to see the same case names reappearing.
—> Keep repeating steps 2 & 3 until you’re no longer turning up any unfamiliar case names.
🔹 5: Shepardize every relevant case you’ve amassed (filtered by applicable headnote(s)).
🔹 6: Repeat the above steps until you are familiar with every relevant case.
🔹 7: To be extra, super-duper safe, Shepardize all your relevant cases in whichever of the two databases (WL/Lexis) you didn’t first use.
—You should already be familiar with all the case results, but occasionally I pick up another stray on Lexis.
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👉 There will come a point when:
—you see all the same cases cited in the cases and Shepard’s results;
—no more unfamiliar case names pop up within those cases or results; and
—there are no more cases to Shepardize.
When that point comes, you should have peace of mind (or as much of it as any lawyer ever feels).
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It can be a laborious process, this “exhaustive” research thing—hence, the name, “exhaustive.”
I am sending energy and extra hours in the day to all!
🗳️ What are your reserach tips to save the 1Ls some time?
Anyone have a different “exhaustive” process you use successfully? Please comment and share!
Fondly,
💌 Amanda
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