SKILL ROADMAP 6 · CORE LEGAL SKILLS
Case Analysis
Case brief → Critical reading → Case comment → Comparing judgments → Publishable analysis
Track your progress
- This roadmap has 5 steps, 6 checkpoints and 2 projects.
- Open the interactive version to tick checkpoints and projects. Your progress is saved in your browser.
1 What this path is
Case analysis goes beyond understanding a judgment. It means evaluating the reasoning, placing the decision in the wider law and forming your own view.
2 Who this path may suit
Students who enjoy thinking critically and writing, and anyone aiming for research, litigation, academia or journalism.
3 The roadmap, step by step
- Write a structured case brief.
Learn: a fixed brief format of facts, issues, arguments, held and reasoning.
Practise: by briefing every leading case in one subject. - Read critically.
Learn: to ask whether the reasoning is consistent with earlier law, whether the court addressed every argument and what problems the decision creates.
Practise: by listing three strengths and three weaknesses of one judgment. - Write a case comment.
Learn: how a comment states the decision briefly and then offers a clear argument about it.
Practise: by writing a comment of about fifteen hundred words on a recent judgment. - Compare judgments.
Learn: to trace how a legal question has developed through several decisions.
Practise: by writing a short note on how courts have answered one question over time. - Produce publishable analysis.
Learn: what journals and blogs look for in case notes.
Practise: by submitting a polished comment. The Legal Research and Publication Roadmap explains how.
4 Your levels and checkpoints
Beginner level
- Write an accurate case brief
- Explain what a court decided and why
Intermediate level
- Write a case comment with a clear argument
- Compare two judgments on the same issue
Advanced level
- Analyse a line of judgments and their development
- Write analysis good enough to publish
Advanced professional level
Your analysis is used by others, whether in arguments, advice, teaching or publications.
These checklists are for honest self assessment. They are not an official certification.
5 Build these projects
- A case brief portfolio of at least twenty cases
- Two published or publication ready case comments
6 Internship direction
Research roles, chambers and law firms often need case notes and research memos. Bring a case comment as your work sample.
7 Portfolio evidence
Case brief portfolio and your best case comments.
8 Common mistakes
- Summarising instead of analysing
- Copying arguments from other commentaries
- Ignoring the facts that shaped the decision
9 Go deeper
Case Analysis Guidebook · Citation Guidebook