Background

• Research is fundamental to the practice of law. In today's world, conducting research is especially complex, considering the sheer volume of research materials that exist. These include primary sources, secondary sources, regulatory codes, legal digests and court transcripts, all involving local, state, federal and international law. Legal research plays a role from beginning to end in the lifetime of a case, from preparing early briefs to taking depositions to filing petitions and motions.
  
  

Automatic Searching

• One of the biggest advantages of computerized legal research is that of automation. Lawyers, legal assistants, judicial clerks and others can now search huge volumes of data electronically, rather than manually combing through paper documents. Computerized databases allow searches by keyword, names of parties involved, date, jurisdiction, venue, case type and other criteria. One situation in which electronic searches become especially valuable applies when legal professionals must consider court precedent in working with a case. The importance of precedent (formally known by the Latin term "stare decisis") influences how lawyers argue cases and judges decide them. Computer-assisted research permits efficient location of precedent documents and decisions.
  
  

Remote Access

• Another advantage of computer-assisted research is remote access. Legal professionals are no longer tied to law libraries and courthouse archives. Services such as LexisNexis and Westlaw, which compile and computerize legal documents, can be accessed on the Internet. This can be useful when, for example, a lawyer in court needs instant access to data and can't leave the premises because he has an imminent hearing. Computer-assisted research provides rapid access from a remote location.
  
  

Storage

• The vast quantity of documents and records generated by legal practice represents an enormous use of paper and space to archive it. Computerized research helps minimize paper and storage costs. Law libraries and law firms can devote office and storage space to other purposes. In addition, physical storage of documents is more subject to human error than digital storage. Paperwork can easily be mislabeled or misplaced.