It's easy when you have a foundation

I am horrible at math.  Just really suck at it.  And word problems?  Forget about it.  Yeah, I can do simple math but division and fractions have me stumped. 

My dad was Mr. Awesome at all things math and he could never figure out why I sucked at it.  Heck, it took me three years just to get through high school algebra with something better than a "D."

Is it any wonder, then, that I picked a profession that does not require math?  While I may see applications for algebra and calculus all around me, I do what I can to avoid having to do it because, well, I suck at math.

I suspect it's that way for many people when it comes to legal research.  Yeah, there are some out there who think Librarians are outmoded dinosaurs who just push big, dusty books around (yeah, I'm looking at you Mr. know-more-than-a-Librarian).

Fact is, when I started teaching people the how of legal research, I had to do some major soul searching to derive how I learned so that I could understand where non-lawyer persons were coming from.

As it turns out the two things that everyone uses are the two things that most every attorney uses to conduct legal research: the Table of Contents and the Index.

Heck, but darn near all law books use these same two features to help people find what they're looking for: the Table of Contents and the Index. 

The Table of Contents often lists big concepts or major subjects and the specific section or page they are listed on. When using the Index, look for key words or concepts you need and then note the page(s) they are located on.  Pretty simple, huh?

Now don't get your undies in a bunch - knowing how to use the Index and the Table of Contents may be pretty basic - but they can be critical when it comes to research.

Anyway, once you get the concepts of how Index and Table of Contents go, it just a matter of knowing what resource(s) go with what topics.  For instance, say you are looking for resources dealing with Slander of Title. Where would you go?  What resources would you use?  More importantly, what you look for in the index?

The two resources that pop in my mind are Am Jur Proof of Facts and Am Jur Trials.  So, grabbing the index for Proof of Facts Index (S-Z), I looked under "T" for "Title" then "Slander."  The Index suggested I look at Slander of Title (this index).  

Just a minute, do you know what it means when an index says "this index?"  In this case, it means, look in the index in that same resource under "S" for "Slander of Title" in the Am Jur Proof of Facts book. 

This is important but for the fact that I had a lady in here the other day asking the same thing.  She was looking in the the index for resource X but when it said "this index" she went and got an index for resource Y and couldn't figure out why she couldn't find what she wanted?  

When it says, "this index," don't go and grab an index for a whole other book.  Apples to Apples, Bananas to Bananas.  Don't be grabbing a pineapple when what you need is a banana.

Anyway, using the same Proof of Facts index (S-Z), I flipped from the "'T's" to the "S's" and Slander of Title which noted that I should be looking in Volume 55 of Proof of Facts, 3rd Series, page 509.

Easy peasy, huh?

So, let's work on Am Jur Trials.  If Proof of Facts suggested I go to "Slander of Title," I figured, why not same of time and just jump to "S" for "Slander."  Yeah, it doesn't always work like that.  

So, going to AmJur Trials General Index (O-Z), I looked in the "S's" for "slander" but this time it said, Libel and slander (this index).  Funny thing that both of these resources are published by the same publisher (Thomson Reuters) but they don't order their indexes the same.  I wonder why?

Regardless, pulling out Trials General Index (F-N), I look under Libel and Slander, then under "S" for "slander of title" and the index tells me I should be looking in volume 103, AmJur Trials, page 1.

So simple that someone should write a blog called Legal Research is Easy.  Ooops, I already did.  And do you know what?  You do this legal research stuff enough times and you'll realize that legal research really is easy.

Table of Contents and Index.  Attorney's have been using them for years (and in most cases, that's all attorneys use because that's all they ever used in law school).

Sure, there are other research tools out there that'll help you get where to need to be faster but get these two under your belt, first.  When you're ready to move on to advanced legal research, I'll be here to help you step up your game.