Legal Research and Writing Skills in Ireland

Being a good law student or a good lawyer is about so much more than knowing the law. It is important to be able to find, analyse and articulate that law in a way that can be understood. Research and writing are, therefore, core legal skills that should be developed during, and well beyond, a law degree.

Legal Research and Writing Skills in Ireland offers an easy-to-use and accessible guide on the core legal skills of research and writing. While Legal Research and Writing Skills in Ireland is specifically tailored to developing these skills in an Irish context, much of the information included in this book will be of value to a reader outside of Ireland as well. Using worked examples and practical tips, this book guides the reader through the stages of undertaking a piece of legal writing.

It does this in three parts. Part I condenses and clarifies the research process by discussing research planning and how to find sources of legal information. Part II delves into the writing process and offers advice and tips on good writing generally and effective legal writing specifically. It also includes guidance on how to cite your sources. Finally, Part III combines the skills discussed in Parts I and II and applies these to practical situations in which legal research and writing will be relevant. In doing so it discusses, and provides practical tips on, how to plan and write a dissertation proposal, how to tackle a written assignment, the elements and structure of effective emails and letters, and the written portion of a presentation.