Mastering Advanced Legal Research Skills: A Comprehensive Guide

Published on August 31, 2024 | Updated on August 31, 2024
Reviewed by Attorney Raymond Rodis

Romarico Ayson linkedin profile

It’s one thing to know how to engage in legal research, but it’s another to master the same. If you truly want to provide the best legal representation for your client, or perhaps to excel in your studies, having an excellent grasp of legal research is essential for practitioners, legal researchers, and students alike.

 

This guide aims to provide an overview of legal research techniques and how you could fully advance your skills. From my experience as a legal researcher in the college where I’m from, here are three simple, but efficient, things to keep in mind in order to advance your legal research skills:

  1. Understand the Philippine legal framework;

  2. Utilizing primary and secondary sources; and

  3. Mastering online legal databases, libraries, and legal research tools.

 

1. Understand the Philippine Legal Framework

Understand it in its entirety — delve into primary sources first, but don’t forget your secondary sources too!

The most important step in advanced legal research is to understand the structure of Philippine law. The Philippine legal system is a mix of different statutory laws, jurisprudence, administrative regulations, and more. For starters, the Philippine legal framework consists of:

  • The Constitution: The 1987 Constitution is the supreme law of the land, providing the foundation for all legal principles and government actions.

  • Statutory Laws: These are laws enacted by the Philippine Congress, including the Civil Code, the Revised Penal Code, and various special laws.

  • Case Law: Decisions from the Supreme Court and lower courts offer interpretations of laws and provide precedents.

  • Administrative Regulations: These are rules created by government agencies to implement statutory laws. Make sure to keep yourself updated with these since administrative regulations provide further rules for certain provisions of law (e.g. DOLE Department Orders expound on provisions of the Labor Code; BIR Tax Issuances explain how to implement certain provisions of the Tax Code).

Make sure to be aware of these primary resources of law when you engage in legal research, and open yourself to the secondary sources available to you as well — as primary sources of law could only provide you with so much information. From my experience, it’s in the secondary sources where you will expand your knowledge, for example, on a certain provision of law.

Image Source

 

2. Utilizing Primary and Secondary Sources

For me, secondary sources provide as much insight as primary sources.

Necessarily, you will need resources for legal research. While legal research, in general, mostly concerns itself with primary sources (e.g. codified sources of law such as the 1987 Constitution or the New Civil Code of the Philippines, among others) advanced legal research involves a thorough examination of both:

  • Primary Sources: These include the Constitution, statutes, executive orders, and judicial decisions. Accessing these sources often requires using legal databases like the Supreme Court E-Library, Chan Robles Virtual Law Library, or the Philippine Laws and Jurisprudence Databank.

  • Secondary Sources: These provide commentary, analysis, and interpretation of primary sources. They include legal journals, textbooks, and practice guides. Notable sources include the Philippine Law Journal and publications from the Philippine Association of Law Schools.

 

Need a more in-depth discussion finding legal basis in your research? You might want to read A Guide to Finding Legal Basis in Your Research.

 

3. Mastering Online Legal Databases, Libraries and Legal Research Tools

A simple Google search is not enough if you want to advance your legal research skills.

In today’s age of technology, you will not be able to maximize your legal research unless you utilize online legal databases, libraries, and tools to your advantage — efficient use of these tools, such as the Supreme Court E-LIbrary and The Official Gazette, are crucial. With respect to administrative issuances, you will most likely find them in the webpage of the administrative agency concerned.

Legal research platforms — like Digest.PH, of course — provide you, the user, with easy access to thousands of laws and case law, on top of other handy features. In choosing a legal research platform to use, make sure that it is reliable and tried and tested. You wouldn’t want to end up using a wrong provision of law or citing a case that isn’t considered as good law anymore!

 

Conclusion

Mastering advanced legal research skills in Philippine law requires a deep understanding of the legal framework, proficiency in using primary and secondary sources, and effective use of legal databases and tools. By honing these skills, legal professionals can enhance their practice, contribute to legal scholarship, and provide more informed legal advice, while law students can excel in their stay in law school and in their research-related work.

 

________

As a legal researcher myself, Digest.PH has been of great help. Check out our Collection of Free Case Digests!

At Digest.PH, we understand the importance of quality resources for legal research and education. That's why we offer a curated collection of free legal case digests, meticulously selected to aid practitioners, scholars, and students in their pursuit of legal knowledge. Explore our repository today and empower yourself with essential insights into the world of law!

 

With access to reliable sources and online platforms, conducting thorough research has never been easier. Elevate your understanding of the law today with the help of the best legal research in the Philippines!


 

Digest AI