SKILL ROADMAP 8 · CORE LEGAL SKILLS
Legal Research
Frame the question → Primary sources → Secondary sources → Verify → Research memo → Independent complex research
Track your progress
- This roadmap has 6 steps, 7 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
Legal research is the process of finding the law that answers a question, confirming it is current and organising it into a usable answer. It is a foundation skill across almost every legal career.
2 Who this path may suit
Everyone. It matters most in litigation, research, policy, academia and advisory work.
3 The roadmap, step by step
- Frame the research question.
Learn: to turn a messy set of facts into a precise legal question.
Practise: by rewriting vague questions such as "is this legal" into specific ones. - Start from primary sources.
Learn: to begin with the Constitution, the statute, the rules and the judgments.
Practise: by answering a small question using only primary sources. - Use secondary sources well.
Learn: how commentaries, articles and reports help you understand and find primary law, without replacing it.
Practise: by using one commentary to find leading judgments, then reading those judgments yourself. - Verify everything.
Learn: to confirm amendments, commencement dates and whether a judgment has been overruled or distinguished.
Practise: by verifying every authority in an old assignment of yours. - Write a research memo.
Learn: the memo structure of question, short answer, law, analysis and conclusion.
Practise: by writing a memo on a question a senior or teacher gives you. - Handle complex research.
Learn: to deal with conflicting judgments, gaps in the law and multiple jurisdictions.
Practise: by researching an unsettled question and reaching a reasoned view.
4 Your levels and checkpoints
Beginner level
- Find the current version of an Act
- Find leading judgments on a topic
Intermediate level
- Conduct independent research on a defined question
- Verify that every authority is still good law
- Write a clear research memo
Advanced level
- Handle conflicting authorities and unsettled law
- Produce research a senior can rely on with light checking
Advanced professional level
You research complex and unfamiliar questions quickly and reliably, and you know when the answer is uncertain.
These checklists are for honest self assessment. They are not an official certification.
5 Build these projects
- A research memo portfolio with three memos of increasing difficulty
- A research note on one unsettled legal question
6 Internship direction
Every internship involves research. Before applying, be able to write a research memo. Bring one as your work sample.
7 Portfolio evidence
Research memos and research notes, with any confidential material removed.
8 Common mistakes
- Starting with blogs and summaries instead of primary law
- Not checking amendments or later judgments
- Giving a long list of cases without a clear answer
9 Go deeper
Legal Research Guidebook. For AI assisted research methods and their limits · see the AI Legal Hub