Begin your legal research here.

The first thing to do is obtain a basic knowledge of the area of law involved in your question. This is done by searching a legal encyclopedia (Corpus Juris Secundum or Am Jur 2nd) and the vocabulary words found in a Law Dictionary. You can also read what others have said about the topic. You can do this by using the Google box below. You can really get off to a good start if a law review has been written about the subject. Law reviews contain citations (links called annotations) to cases and statutes. Take notes as you begin searching, because you will want to write down ideas that you may not have previously considered. You also need to understand legal citations.

FACTS

Factual elements -

1. What is the THING or ACT involved? -List everything from the most general to the very specific.

2. Who are the PERSONS involved? -List everyone, and their capacity.

3. What is the PLACE involved? -public or private? Be specific, i.e., home, work, school, etc.

POF (PROOF OF FACTS, AM JUR) -good resource.

ISSUES

Legal elements -

1. What is the RELIEF being sought? -damages,i.e., general, special, compensatory, consequential, punitive, etc...

2. What is the PROCEDURE required?

3. What are the LEGAL THEORIES?

4. Who has the BURDEN OF PROOF? - there are nine different burdens.

5. PRESUMPTIONS -if the COA has presumptions in it, the burden of proof shifts.

6. What are the DEFENSES? -such as, contributory, comparitive, assumption of risk, last clear chance, etc...

COA (CAUSES OF ACTION, Shepards) -good resource.

What is the question(s) you need to research?

RULES

Laws involved -

1. CONSTITUTIONAL?

2. FEDERAL or STATE? -also political subdivisions of each, i.e., administrative agency, municipal, etc...

3. STATUTE or CASE LAW?

4. POLICY or RULE?

Look for MANDATORY authority (Law), as opposed to PERSUASIVE authority.

LAW REVIEWS -are a good resource, if you can find one addressing your question.

UPDATE the law -to insure that it is current law and to identify new developments.