If you’re not familiar with the area of law in question, find one or more secondary sources to get grounded in the language and basics.
Plan, and physically write out, your search strategy. Define your issue(s) and jurisdiction(s), as well as the types of documents needed. Pick out keywords for electronic searching or searching a print index.
Use your firm’s library, as well as other accessible law libraries. Does your firm belong to the Florida Library ASSOCIATION? Are you near a law school library? The AMSL LAW Library offers LexisNexis Academic, as well as other databases and of course, the print collection. Does the public library have useful databases available remotely, such as Gale Legal Forms in Collier County list of e-resources?
Find out what databases (i.e. LexisNexis, Westlaw) your employer provides. Remember, even if you are still enrolled as a student at Ave Maria Law, you may not use your student LexisNexis or Westlaw passwords to do work for your employer. (But you can use your law school Bloomberg Law account.) Get training and a password under your employer's contract. Find out the terms of the database contract. What files are available? Do you pay by transaction or time? More on this in the LexisNexis / Westlaw section of this guide.
Keep a research log so you can retrace your steps.
Know when to stop researching. Are you starting to find the same items and analyses? Do you really need every possible case, statute, regulation, treatise, or periodical article?
Update your research at the time you find items, and again when you’re finalizing your memo or brief. Set up an Alert so you will be emailed any new results.
