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BOOK REVIEW

LEGAL RESEARCH
A Practitioner’s Handbook
Second Edition

By Peter Clinch

With contributions by Jon Beaumont

Wildy, Simmonds & Hill Publishing

ISBN: 978 0 85490 123 4

www.wildy.com



A COMPREHENSIVE WORK OF RESEARCH REFERENCING:
SPECIFICALLY AIMED AT THE BUSY LEGAL PRACTITIONER

An appreciation by Phillip Taylor MBE and Elizabeth Taylor of Richmond Green Chambers

The second edition of the excellent book on legal research by Peter Clinch will be welcomed by a wide range of lawyers and a more general readership because of its common-sense approach to researching law at a time of turbulent change for the way we do our business. It’s a comprehensive reference work which is specifically aimed at the busy practitioner.

The readership includes solicitors, barristers, clerks and trainees and professional support lawyers at all levels and will be a boon for the newly qualified.

The new edition of “Legal Research: A Practitioner's Handbook” gives us “practical advice on every aspect of effective legal research: problem analysis, selecting and finding the best sources, and presenting results effectively”, and we wish we had it a few years ago, when doing the Bar exams!

The title has now been completely updated for 2013-14 and Clinch has taken account of the expanding popularity of the PLC database which caters for the UK law practitioner although reforms are occurring at a fast pace.

The author has overhauled details of the government and other official sites both national and international. The significant changes from 2013 onwards concerning the approach of the courts towards the conduct and presentation of legal research continues apace with the advent of a new dimension to adjudication: the arrival of the online courts and developing artificial intelligence.

The new material on the use of social media in legal research has also been included although, even today, it’s now in need of further revision as the “social media revolution” amongst the newly qualified emerges as such a strong player in this decade of the 21st century with all the unknowns the facility holds for all of us.

There are four parts to the work which are explained by the author in the follow way. Part A covers problem identification and analysis, followed by advice on how to select the best sources and formats (paper or electronic) for research.

Part B deals with the information most frequently sought by practitioners, listing sources with analytical comments and, for a selection of the most complex, 'how to use' instructions developed to a standard template. Jurisdictional coverage includes England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the European Union, with the addition of information on key sources in European human rights and international law.

Part C details sources on how to make the presentation of the results of legal research more effective.

Part D supplements the first three parts, describing in non-technical language how a practitioner might get the best value for money when buying information, whether print or online, from commercial law publishers.

We found the appendices of great assistance and support for all involved in legal matters. They cover these detailed areas: indexes to abbreviations for Acts, journals and law reports; a glossary of technical terms used in legal research; a summary of the practice directions, statements and decisions of the UK courts relating to legal research; a table of guidance on how to devise more effective searches on the four most popular commercial databases; and finally, a “popular names index” for legislation and cases relating to the UK and the EU.

As Boswell wrote in the “Life of Samuel Johnson” on 18th April 1775: “Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information about it”. Clinch gives us the tools and direction with “Legal Research” … and it is the right direction for all of us!

The publication date for the second edition is 2013.