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Title 700, 333 – 11th Avenue SW Calgary, Alberta T2R 1L9 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 briefs 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 briefed 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 brief at least 3 cases. A case brief 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 brief. Please reproduce the template for each case you are using (minimum of three cases are to be briefed). 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 rubric 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 research process, clarify points, and show the student what is expected when conducting the research. Any future research 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 research 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 brief period and this would not be considered urgent. You would use the research as a basis 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. based 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 broad 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 relevant facts. Does not identify a research objective or the research objective is not responsive to the assignment instructions. Identifies some of the relevant facts but not all OR includes many irrelevant facts (ie: all the facts provided) without discriminating between relevant and irrelevant facts. Research objective does not guide research effectively, either too broad or too narrow. Identifies most of the relevant facts but may include some irrelevant facts. Does not address the client’s interests, objectives and limits. Research objective is reasonable based on the assignment. Identifies most of the relevant facts, may still include some irrelevant 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 relevant facts, does not include irrelevant facts. Where applicable, comments on reliability 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 responsive 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 requested research. 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 resolution of the research question. Identifies all the legal issues to be 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 briefs and research outline/map. • Where applicable