Practical Legal Research for Lawyers Online Course

Practical Legal Research for Lawyers Online Course10 & 11 April 2025 | 13:00 – 16:00
What is academic research and how is it different to applied research

Introduction

The course provides instruction on practical legal research for attorneys, advocates, corporate lawyers and state law advisors, and centers on finding solutions to legal problems through effective and efficient research.

Do you draft particulars of claim and pleas; do you write heads of argument regularly; how about opinions? Are you a motion court practitioner? Are appeals and reviews part of your practice? This is the course for you. Become more efficient in conducting legal research. Find the relevant binding and most persuasive authorities in a shorter period.

The overall view of this course

·         This is a course for practitioners – often legal research takes more time than that which a client can actually be billed for; we show you how to avoid this and research more efficiently and effectively.

·         Manage the billable hours for research in a practical way.

·         Planning legal research is essential and will avoid “hit and miss” type research.

The content

·         A guide to the most important sources of law for a legal practitioner.

·         Identify the sources of law; identify the difference between primary sources and secondary sources.

·         Why are primary sources most important? How to use effective research within the common law system.

·         Learn how to choose the appropriate sources, depending on the purpose of your research.

Practical instruction

·         How to find the relevant law

·         The method of contextualizing the law

·         Establish the jurisdiction and level of authority required

·         Identify what are the most effective sources, based on the context of the legal issue

·         Identify what are the best tools for conducting research and how to use them; there will be practical demonstrations

·         The effective and responsible method of using AI tools for purposes of practical research

·         How to reference AI sourced information

·         The best technique in empowering lawyers to Read, Retain and Recall, as an essential technique for practicing lawyers. There will be a brief demonstration of how to read actively.

·         You will learn how to apply a structured approach and how to think while researching

·         The method involved in making, keeping and using research notes

·         Learn how to identify the legal issues from the facts of your case

·         We show you how to define the legal issue and to frame the questions you need to answer

How to research from primary sources

·         How to read a judgment – the method of reading actively and writing while you research

·         How to work out a cause of action from reading judgements and legislation

·         How to apply the researched law to the facts of your case

·         Working out the ratio of the judgment and how to reference it

·         What is obiter dictum and how to use it

·         How to maintain a record of all the sources you referenced

How to determine relevance of research

·         Instruction on how to carry out relevant research from both primary and secondary sources

·         How to cope with information overload and knowing when to stop

The case law

·         Instructions on the most effective and quickest method of finding the case you need

·         How to reference judgements for purposes of court cases

·         The effective use of electronic law reports, in particular, the effective and necessary use of ANNOTATIONS

·         The most effective methods to obtain the relevant law or legal rule from judgments

·         Determining what are the requirements in our courts, and what judgments must be referenced

·         How to use judgments and legislation in presenting legal arguments

·         The research method based on the requirements and rules of the court you are litigating in

·         Determining what is binding precedent and how it differs from persuasive authority

·         Finding the legal reasoning in a judgment; identifying the Ratio Decidendi.

·         Learn how to ensure that the cases you reference are still valid and binding

Presenter

Ismail Hussain SC is a former Judge of the High Court and Competition Appeal Court. He has been a highly popular LEAD trainer for many years. Mr Hussain SC is an expert in commercial drafting, opinion writing, and litigation and case management. He is also a published author. He is a Professor of law Nelson Mandela University.

Date

10 & 11 April 2025 : 13:00 – 16:00

Closing date for registrations: 9 April 2025

Note: Kindly note that this course might run over the scheduled time. Please do not arrange any other appointments for at least 30 minutes after the scheduled closing time.

Certification
All sessions are mandatory to qualify for a certificate.

Who should register?

·         This course is essential for all legal practitioners (attorneys and advocates), including corporate lawyers not in the practicing role.

·         This course will benefit lawyers working in government at national, provincial and local levels.

·         The course will also assist candidate legal practitioners and pupils.

Registration

Registration fee categories (including VAT):

·         Practising legal practitioners and other staff from legal firms: R 1 650 per person.

·         Non-practising legal practitioners/others: R 2 500 per person.

How to register

Kindly note that registrations are done online. For certification purposes, participants should register individually, using their own email address. This will enable the system to generate a unique username and password for each person.STEP 1:Payment should be made by electronic funds transfer (EFT) only. You are required to upload the proof of payment (PDF) in step 2 – (Online registration form). Should an invoice be required to effect payment, replace the proof of payment document with a note (Word) requesting an invoice.LSSA banking details: Account name: Law Society of South Africa | Bank: FNB Pretoria | Branch code: 251445 | Account no: 6200 9641 079 | Reference: PLR, Surname, Initials

STEP 2:
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER 
STEP 3: Once you have registered to participate, you will receive a system-generated confirmation e-mail that we have received your registration documentation.  Twenty-four hours before the course starts, you will receive an e-mail with the link to the course (Microsoft Teams) as well as your course material . Read the instructions in the e-mail carefully. If you do not receive this said email, please check your Spam / Junk folder, or kindly contact Bettie Lubbe on Bettie@LSSALEAD.org.za or Tel No (012) 441 4670, the day before the course start.  Attendees must ensure that they have access to MS Teams well in advance. Kindly test your link as soon as you get it.
For more information about this course contact Bettie Lubbe:

Email: Bettie@LSSALEAD.org.za | (012) 4414670

Please take note

·         The LSSA will not accept liability if the fees are not paid into the designated LSSA bank account.

·         The course is conducted in English only.

·         The course will be delivered through MS TEAMS. Please ensure that you have MS TEAMS installed on your computer prior to the commencement of the course.

·         According to Company Policy and copyright protection, no recordings or the PowerPoint presentation will be made available after the course.

·         You will receive the material as well as the link to the course via email, +-24 hours before commencement of the course. Test your links as soon as you receive these links.  If you do not receive the said email, look in your junk mail folder. If it is not there, contact Bettie Lubbe on Bettie@LSSALEAD.org.za.

·         No cancellations will be accepted after the course material and link have been shared. Participants who do not cancel timeously and/or fail to attend the course will forfeit the amount paid towards this course.

·         Should you need to cancel your registration, you need to do so in writing before the course link and material are shared. No cancelation will be accepted after it has been made available and failure to comply with this will result in the full fee being charged.

·         LSSA/LEAD shall have the right in its sole discretion to postpone or cancel tuition in any programme initially advertised and offered based on insufficient demand. Should LSSA/LEAD cancel the proposed training, registered delegates will be given reasonable notice of the cancellation and all fees paid by the delegate will be refunde.

LEAD’s training offers

LEAD is one of the largest providers of legal professional education in South Africa and has been accredited as a legal education provider by the Legal Practice Council. LEAD provides access to quality learning that is relevant, accessible and affordable. LEAD offers an extensive range of learning activities and training options.

Course Dates

Registration fee categories (including VAT):

•    Practising legal practitioners and other staff from legal firms: R 1 650 per person.
•    Non-practising legal practitioners/others: R 2 500 per person.

Online course