A couple months back I ran across an article published in the Utah Bar Journal entitled “The Strength is in the Research.” As a law librarian it naturally caught my eye. While most articles about legal research are written by fellow law librarians, it was refreshing to see that this article was written by a practicing attorney, Duane L. Ostler. Hopefully you’ll believe him if you don’t believe us – legal research is a skill you must have.
Ostler says “One of the least appreciated and most frequently overlooked tools in the attorney’s arsenal is that of legal research. While all attorneys know how to do it (or at least think they know how), and frequently engage in it in some fashion during their practice, suprisingly few ever come to understand how powerful it can be.” Duane L. Ostler, The Strength is in the Research, 20 Utah B.J. 42, 42 (May-June 2007).
I hope you can find a minute to read the rest of the article. Here are links to it on Westlaw and LexisNexis (choose your flavor). For those without Westlaw/Lexis access here is a link to the relevant Utah Bar Journal (I couldn’t link straight to the article).