The Research Log
Administrator’s note: thanks to Karen Sawatzky for this guest tip!
Today’s tip is courtesy of Melanie Bueckert, legal researcher extraordinaire at the Manitoba Court of Appeal via Brian Roach, articling student at Tapper Cuddy LLP.
The Research Log (well deserving of its capitalization) is a deceptively simple template that forces the legal researcher to document all sources consulted and note what about that source was of importance. You can also include anything that wasn’t important so you know not to review it again. If used properly, your research memo practically writes itself. I can vouch for its usefulness – the first time I used it, my memo flew off its pages. It’s a simple, three column document:
I now open one for every memo I write. If I need to return to the topic, I have a draft of what my process was, so I can get up to speed quickly. It always amazes me that sometimes the simplest idea is pure genius. Thanks Melanie and Brian, for showing this to me.
—Karen Sawatzky, Tapper Cuddy LLP
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