LEGAL RESEARCH - The Importance of Legal Research for Lawyers
Last updated: 18 Dec 2025
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Within the scope of an advocate's work, legal research is generally described as the process of identifying and searching for information needed to support legal decision-making on complex issues, presenting specific facts and legal precedents that enable advocates or their law firms to provide specific and comprehensive answers and useful legal considerations/advice to clients.
A common misconception that still persists is that legal research is only conducted by lecturers and researchers, not by corporate lawyers or litigation lawyers. In fact, to win a case in court, lawyers must be able to understand the facts of the case, which may be multidisciplinary in nature. A good litigation lawyer should not only be skilled in the courtroom with a command of procedural law. The complex nature of cases requires lawyers (in a team) to also be proficient in formal and substantive law in various aspects.
For example, in handling cases in the coal industry, lawyers need to know more than just procedural law and Law No. 3/2020 on Amendments to the Mineral and Coal Mining Law. There are also several government regulations, such as Government Regulation No. 96/2021 on the implementation of business activities; as well as numerous regulations from the Minister of Trade, such as those concerning production, export-import; mineral and coal mining permits (IUP), value addition, and many more. Not to mention if it is related to industrial relations that may be related to labor law; inter-corporate agreements; or disputes arising from them.
It is therefore clear that to seek formal and material truth, it is not enough to master just one rule, but rather various related legal rules or regulations, the number of which can be unlimited. Understanding the facts of a case also means analyzing the legal issues at hand. Knowledge of jurisprudence and primary legal sources must also be accompanied by adequate secondary legal sources.
In fact, including quotes from experts and senior judges can often be a secret weapon for winning cases. To that end, it would be wise to spend your lunch break every day reviewing secondary legal sources, such as legal proceedings, practice guides, law review articles, scientific legal journals, legal news, and, of course, legal dictionaries and encyclopedias.
In connection with the research process, which involves perseverance in sorting, reading, and analyzing various documents, ultimately a lawyer is required to have proficiency in writing, rather than verbal or oral skills. Why is that? Almost all documents that must be prepared for a trial are in written form. For example, in civil cases, there are complaints, answers, replies, rejoinders, evidence deeds, and conclusions, all of which are in written form. The same applies to preparing exceptions, pleas, or clemency in criminal cases.
A common misconception that still persists is that legal research is only conducted by lecturers and researchers, not by corporate lawyers or litigation lawyers. In fact, to win a case in court, lawyers must be able to understand the facts of the case, which may be multidisciplinary in nature. A good litigation lawyer should not only be skilled in the courtroom with a command of procedural law. The complex nature of cases requires lawyers (in a team) to also be proficient in formal and substantive law in various aspects.
For example, in handling cases in the coal industry, lawyers need to know more than just procedural law and Law No. 3/2020 on Amendments to the Mineral and Coal Mining Law. There are also several government regulations, such as Government Regulation No. 96/2021 on the implementation of business activities; as well as numerous regulations from the Minister of Trade, such as those concerning production, export-import; mineral and coal mining permits (IUP), value addition, and many more. Not to mention if it is related to industrial relations that may be related to labor law; inter-corporate agreements; or disputes arising from them.
It is therefore clear that to seek formal and material truth, it is not enough to master just one rule, but rather various related legal rules or regulations, the number of which can be unlimited. Understanding the facts of a case also means analyzing the legal issues at hand. Knowledge of jurisprudence and primary legal sources must also be accompanied by adequate secondary legal sources.
In fact, including quotes from experts and senior judges can often be a secret weapon for winning cases. To that end, it would be wise to spend your lunch break every day reviewing secondary legal sources, such as legal proceedings, practice guides, law review articles, scientific legal journals, legal news, and, of course, legal dictionaries and encyclopedias.
In connection with the research process, which involves perseverance in sorting, reading, and analyzing various documents, ultimately a lawyer is required to have proficiency in writing, rather than verbal or oral skills. Why is that? Almost all documents that must be prepared for a trial are in written form. For example, in civil cases, there are complaints, answers, replies, rejoinders, evidence deeds, and conclusions, all of which are in written form. The same applies to preparing exceptions, pleas, or clemency in criminal cases.
So, for those of you who are just starting your career as a young advocate, paralegal, or working in a law firm or other legal field, start researching and honing your writing skills again. By doing so, you will become accustomed to conducting sharper and more careful legal analyses, which may no longer be possessed by senior legal practitioners who are now reluctant to conduct research and hone their analytical skills. At the very least, by diligently reading journals and observing existing legal cases, you will not fall behind in terms of information, legal knowledge, and the latest developments in the field.
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