Legal Research and Writing

Legal Research and Writing, 5th Edition is a comprehensive and practical guide to mastering the core skills of legal research and effective legal writing in Canada. Bringing together a wealth of material in a single, accessible resource, it equips readers to navigate both traditional print sources and today’s rapidly evolving digital research environment with confidence, accuracy, and efficiency. The book features in-depth chapters on research and writing malpractice, the acquisition and evaluation of research resources, international and foreign legal research, and knowledge management in legal settings. Lawyer Ted Tjaden addresses essential topics such as legal citation, recovering online research costs, advanced search strategies for major proprietary databases, the digitization of legal materials, and the expanding landscape of free online legal resources. A curated list of leading Canadian legal treatises across forty-eight subject areas offers an invaluable reference. New to this edition is a forward-looking chapter on artificial intelligence, examining how AI tools are reshaping legal research and writing while offering practical guidance on their responsible and ethical use. Written for a broad audience – from experienced practitioners seeking to refine their techniques and adopt new tools, to law students encountering an overwhelming volume of information for the first time – this edition combines foundational principles with current developments in legal practice.