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Legal Research Synopsis
Template
The Legal Research assignment is aimed to help students practice and develop the skills necessary for legal research. This is not a legal memo and point form can be an acceptable way to show your work. Students are expected to use their discretion for how to best present their thinking within each part of this Template and to ensure the content is fulsome enough to effectively convey the required information and clear ideas.
It is recognized that in your own future legal practice you may be able to pick and choose what steps to take when researching and you may choose to skip some of the steps outlined in this Template; however, for the purposes of the LRW course, you are to complete the whole Template. The goal here is to help you walk through the key steps for effective legal research so you can eventually build your own methods.
It is important to be able to refer back to your research as articling students are often asked about their steps and to go back to do further research. A good research documentation process will assist you in saving time when going back and building supervising lawyers’ confidence in the research.
There are three key elements to complete:
· Part 1: Research Synopsis / notes
· Part 2: Case Briefs
· Part 3: Research Outline
You will likely go back and forth between these Parts as you work through your research. This list is not in the order of how each Part is to be completed.
Part 1: Legal Research Synopsis
This Part serves as a summary that you can use when reporting to a supervising lawyer or use as a tool when taking the next step, such as a reporting meeting with a client, drafting a research memo, an advocacy letter, an opinion letter, or a legal argument.
You will likely go back and forth from this Part to Part 2: Case Briefs. For example, some students first do the research objectives, facts and issues in the Synopsis and then start their research. Once the research is done and their case
iefs are complete, they return to the Synopsis.
PART 1: LEGAL RESEARCH SYNOPSIS
The template for the Legal Research Synopsis follows – you can save this document and use it as your template, filling in each section as applicable to your LRW Assignment:
LEGAL RESARCH SYNOPSIS
Research Objective:
(what is the goal of the research)
Facts:
(what are the relevant facts of the matter)
Issues:
(what legal issues are involved in the matter)
Non-Legal Issues:
(non-legal issues focus on external influences on the matter, such as circumstances of the client or client goals. Consider what the file content so far adds contextually to the matter that does not speak to a legal issue)
Research:
(Briefly summarize the key research outcomes you identified and why it may help the client’s position or why it is important to know about).
Application to the Facts:
(Explain how the research applies to the client’s situation. If applicable, outline the legal tests and note how and whether these tests are met based on the client’s situation).
Tentative Conclusion:
(In a few lines or bullets, what legal conclusions can be drawn for the client based on the law you have identified through your research, and its application to the facts.)
Options/Next Steps:
(What are your suggestions to the supervising lawyer of what should be done next on the file or by the client, flesh those out and consider the practicalities of each along with the positives and negatives of each option. Consider any non-legal issues here. Is there a direction you believe
the client should take? Can you indicate if the client’s expectations/goals are realistic or unrealistic?).
Part 2: CASE BRIEFS
In a legal practice, each case you rely on should be
iefed as that helps you and the supervising lawyer decide how relevant each case is, and acts as a quick reference where further research may be needed. For the LRW course purposes, please
ief at least 3 cases. A case
ief is a summary of the case, with a focus on those aspects that relate to your client’s fact scenario or legal issue and should not be a copy of the case note.
Below is a template for one case
ief. Please reproduce the template for each case you are using (minimum of three cases are to be
iefed).
Case Brief Template
Name & Citation:
Facts:
(what happened factually and procedurally, what facts would make this case analogous to the client’s case or distinguish it from the client’s case, and the judgment that is important for the research you are doing)
Issues:
(what is in dispute)
Decision:
(what did the court decide; how was the issue analyzed or what was the legal test developed)
Rationale:
(the why behind the decision – in law)
Part 3: RESEARCH OUTLINE / MAP:
This section is where you provide an outline of the steps you took to conduct your research and provide a list of the cases, statutes and secondary sources relied on. This helps you and the supervising lawyers understand the steps taken by you to do the research. Research maps from LexisNexis can be copied into here, but you can also draft your own web or steps. It helps to include the searches you did on the sites visited (i.e.: terms you searched).
Research Steps Taken / Research Map Template
(include websites/ research tools used, the order you worked through, searches you performed, etc., search terms)
List of Research sources relied on:
(using the Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation, list and properly cite all secondary sources relied on as well as any statutes and case law).
Title | page 1
VERSIONING INFO
TABLE OF CONTENTS
RESEARCH
Legal Research Assessment Criteria
LEGAL WRITING
Advocacy Letter Assessment Criteria
Legal Argument (Brief / Concise Letter) Assessment Criteria
Legal Memorandum Assessment Criteria
Opinion Letter Assessment Criteria
LRW LEGAL RESEARCH ASSESSMENT CRITERIA | PAGE 1
MARCH 2022
LRW LEGAL RESEARCH ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
NA (0) No Competence Demonstrated
NC (1) Nominal Competence Demonstrated
RC (2) Reaching Entry-Level Competence
EC (3) Entry-Level Competence
EEC (4) Exceeds Entry-Level Competence
OVERARCHING GUIDANCE FOR ASSESSMENT
CPLED aims to provide students with authentic assessments (realistic and purposeful).
Assessors are encouraged to review the assignment as if they are the supervising lawyer. The
following may assist Assessors in doing so.
i. The main purpose of this assignment is for the student to demonstrate an ability to:
i. Conduct accurate research;
ii. Rely on appropriate sources (Primary and secondary);
iii. Apply research effectively to the fact scenario, as applicable; and,
iv. Research in a manner that the student could revisit and update research
as required.
ii. Guiding ru
ic for overall competency levels:
This is intended as guidance only and is not determinative when assessing student
assignments. Please see below for the Assessment Criteria.
NA NC RC EC EEC
As a supervising
lawyer, you
would not readily
go back to the
student for
future research
work.
As a supervising
lawyer, you
would have a
considerable
need to meet
with the student
and walk
through the
esearch
process, clarify
points, and show
the student what
is expected
when conducting
the research.
Any future
esearch issues
for this student
As a supervising
lawyer, you
would need to
go back to the
student to ask
for more clarity
and small areas
of research to be
followed up on.
You would ask
the student to
conduct future
esearch but
would expect to
need to set
aside additional
time to review it
and check it
As a supervising
lawyer, you
would be able to
address your
questions or
provide
feedback by
email or
informally within
a
ief period
and this would
not be
considered
urgent. You
would use the
esearch as a
asis for future
work on the file
Overall, as a
supervising
lawyer, you
would have few
follow up
questions or
concerns with
the research
conducted and
would be
comfortable
using for next
steps in a client
file. Based on
this assignment,
you would feel
confident asking
this student for
LRW LEGAL RESEARCH ASSESSMENT CRITERIA | PAGE 2
MARCH 2022
would require
additional up-
front coaching
and support as
well as check-
ins along the
way.
ased on the
concerns arising
from this
assignment.
and would ask
the student to
continue to work
on the file or
other research.
further work with
minimal
oversight.
When assessing, assessors should go through the Assessment Criteria and consider the
objective criteria descriptions provided. If assessors are then having difficulty identifying the
level of competency for the comprehensive assessment for the assignment, for example, where
an assignment is on the cusp or does not fit neatly into one level of competency, the above
considerations may help decide between one competency level and another.
I. Content
Items 3 and 4 hold the greatest weight.
1. Identifies an Appropriate Research Objective & Relevant Facts:
• Identifies a
oad but precise research objective to guide the research based on the
assignment instructions
• Identifies the relevant facts required to conduct the research as requested
• Explains if there are facts required to complete the research that are not provided.
• Explains non-legal facts that are relevant to the situation
NA NC RC EC EEC
Does not
identify the
elevant facts.
Does not
identify a
esearch
objective or the
esearch
objective is not
esponsive to
the assignment
instructions.
Identifies some
of the relevant
facts but not all
OR includes
many i
elevant
facts (ie: all the
facts provided)
without
discriminating
etween
elevant and
i
elevant facts.
Research
objective does
not guide
esearch
effectively,
either too
oad
or too na
ow.
Identifies most
of the relevant
facts but may
include some
i
elevant facts.
Does not
address the
client’s
interests,
objectives and
limits.
Research
objective is
easonable
ased on the
assignment.
Identifies most
of the relevant
facts, may still
include some
i
elevant facts.
Considers the
client’s
interests,
objectives and,
where relevant,
some of the
interests and
objectives of the
other side.
Research
objective is well
drafted,
accurate, and
clearly followed.
Identifies the
elevant facts,
does not include
i
elevant facts.
Where
applicable,
comments on
eliability of
sources for
facts or
considers other
sources of facts.
Considers all
parties’ interest,
objectives and
limits.
Research
objective is well
drafted,
LRW LEGAL RESEARCH ASSESSMENT CRITERIA | PAGE 3
MARCH 2022
accurate, and
clearly followed.
2. Identifies the Issues:
• Formulates appropriate legal and non-legal issues to address the assignment.
• Issues provided in question format.
NA NC RC EC EEC
Does not
identify the
issues or the
issues are not
esponsive to
the assignment
instructions.
Identifies some
of the legal
issues but may
not set issues
out as
questions to be
answered.
May identify
one issue, but
not other issues
that are
necessary to
complete the
equested
esearch.
Identifies most
of the legal
issues but may
not set out the
issues as
questions to be
answered OR
The drafting of
the issues are
not precise or
accurate to
assist the
esolution of the
esearch
question.
Identifies all the
legal issues to
e addressed.
Legal issues
are set out as
questions to be
answered and
are well drafted,
concise, and
accurate.
May attempt to
comment on
non-legal
issues.
Identifies all the
legal issues as
well as sub-
issues for
further
exploration.
Some or all
non-legal
issues
identified.
3. Conducts Effective Research:
• Research Synopsis is complete, including the synopsis, case
iefs and research
outline/map.
• Where applicable