Covering Legal Issues
Author | Mark Bourrie |
Pages | 51-62 |
51
chapter four
Covering Legal Issues
A. LEGAL RESEARCH
ere are two very dierent ways to do legal research in Canada. One
is expensive and easy; the other is much less expensive but a bit more
dicult.1
e easiest way to do legal research is to have an account with one
of the big online database companies. Westlaw (owned by the Canadian
company omson Reuters) andLexisNexis are the two largest. Not
only are these databases up to date with caselaw, they also have expert
commentary. eir customer support sta can train you to use these
databases eectively and help when you run into snags. However, it’s
very unlikely that your media organization will pay for a subscription
to one of these services.
You may be able to get access to these databases at a county law asso-
ciation library or a municipal library, but that will depend on where you
work. If you are a reporter on the justice beat, it’s imperative that you
befriend a law librarian. Legal research is extremely complicated, since
it requires a knowledge of legal concepts, current issues, and an under-
standing of the places where data is stashed. Even if your publication is
1 I am very grateful to Brenda Lauritzen, librarian with the County of Carleton Law
Association, for her generous help with this section. Researchers should under-
stand that librarians are their best friends and allies, and she has made my life
much easier.
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Advanced search capabilities with precise filtering and sorting options
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Comprehensive legal content with documents across 100+ jurisdictions
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Trusted by 2 million professionals including top global firms
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Access AI-Powered Research with Vincent AI: Natural language queries with verified citations

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Transform your legal research with vLex
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Complete access to the largest collection of common law case law on one platform
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Generate AI case summaries that instantly highlight key legal issues
-
Advanced search capabilities with precise filtering and sorting options
-
Comprehensive legal content with documents across 100+ jurisdictions
-
Trusted by 2 million professionals including top global firms
-
Access AI-Powered Research with Vincent AI: Natural language queries with verified citations

Unlock full access with a free 7-day trial
Transform your legal research with vLex
-
Complete access to the largest collection of common law case law on one platform
-
Generate AI case summaries that instantly highlight key legal issues
-
Advanced search capabilities with precise filtering and sorting options
-
Comprehensive legal content with documents across 100+ jurisdictions
-
Trusted by 2 million professionals including top global firms
-
Access AI-Powered Research with Vincent AI: Natural language queries with verified citations

Unlock full access with a free 7-day trial
Transform your legal research with vLex
-
Complete access to the largest collection of common law case law on one platform
-
Generate AI case summaries that instantly highlight key legal issues
-
Advanced search capabilities with precise filtering and sorting options
-
Comprehensive legal content with documents across 100+ jurisdictions
-
Trusted by 2 million professionals including top global firms
-
Access AI-Powered Research with Vincent AI: Natural language queries with verified citations
