Where to go for Legal Research

One of the beauties of the legal profession is that anyone can be their own lawyer if they so choose. Of course, there’s the old saying that states a person who represents them self has a fool for a client. This statement may or may not be true, but before hiring a lawyer for a specified matter, one should consider doing a little legal research on their own to better acclimate themselves to their current situation or predicament.

I’m not going to lie. Legal Research can be confusing, tedious, demanding, and exhausting. Believe it or not, there are some practicing lawyers out there who never truly master the art of legal research, present company excluded of course.

When faced with a legal issue and you want to educate yourself more about it, one of the best, if not THE best places to conduct said research in the Capital District is Albany Law School. Albany Law School has arguably every research tool a person can hope for. For an added bonus, the library is open to the general public and their staff is at one’s disposal. A lot of lawyers continue to use the Albany Law School library after graduation due to its vast resources.

When doing Legal Research, one of the most important things to look out for is making sure the law being cited in your research is up to date. All sorts of rulings and legislation are constantly being passed, changed, or amended on a consistent basis. To be sure that you have “good law,” one must Shepardize. To “Shepardize” means to cross reference the material you are citing and to make sure that it is up to date and relevant. There are all sorts of websites that give the ins and outs to Shepardizing. However, if you are new to the wonderful world of legal research, I simply suggest asking the law librarian to help you.

Another place to go for Legal Research is a local library. Most libraries have some degree of legal literature and reference materials that should allow one to at least get the ball rolling, so to speak. Again, if you feel overwhelmed, do not hesitate to ask the reference librarian for help.

An advantage of doing a little Leal Research prior to diving into a personal or professional legal matter is that it puts you on the right course and allows one to have a better feel as to what they are getting themselves into. As another old saying goes, “Knowledge is Power.” The more knowledge you have prior to getting involved in any legal situation will no doubt put you in a better all around position.

Carbone & Carbone LLP, Martin A. Carbone, Esq., Attorney at Law

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