Legal Research Process - FILAC Explained

Legal research is the process of identifying and retrieving information necessary to support legal decision-making.The purpose of legal research is to find the legal documents that will aid in finding a solution to a legal problem. Whether you are a Lawyer, a paralegal or a law student, it is essential that Legal research is done in an effective manner. Before you actual research do, you need to think about and analyze the problem. By taking a systematized, logical approach, you can minimize the risk of inadvertently overlooking something.

The legal research is a 5 step process which is known as FILAC identified by Maureen Fitzgerald. .


F stands for FACTS:
The facts describe the events that led to the controversy in question. All that is required is a brief statement of the acts, physical events, and other matters that caused the parties to seek relief from the judicial systems. Should be no more that six sentences..

I stands for ISSUE:
This issue is the reason why the parties are in court. It is a one sentence statement followed by a question mark. The issue is what the court must answer in granting or denying relief.

L stands for LAW:
In reaching a decision, the court must apply the law. In each case, the student must find the applicable law. In a full text case, the law will be explicitly stated. However, in the text, these are partially briefed cases and sometimes the authors omit the law. In this instance, please refer to the preceding section to find the law. Remember, when reading a case there will be references to other cases, principles. However, the cases and other references in the case assist the court in applying the law. Remember, write the applicable law (code, constitutional provision, treaty etc).

A stands for ANALYSIS:

The analysis is the application of the facts to the law in deciding the case. The analysis will include the courtís rationale in deciding the case. The analysis will include a review of cases, distinguishing past cases from the current case, acknowledgement that a certain case is applicable and is the governing principle in applying the law. Think of an analysis as where the court combines the facts to the law to reach a conclusion. This section should be no more than five or six sentences.

C stands for CONCLUSION:

The conclusion is only who won the case. In many instances the case has been appealed and the original plaintiff is now the defendant and the original defendant is the plaintiff. Remember, determine which court you are in (superior, appellate, supreme) and if it is the appellate court, determine who the original plaintiff was and whether the case has been appealed.