A law assignment can have correct statutes, great cases, and a lot of citations, but not be strong on the analysis. It’s not that they aren’t knowledgeable in the law. It is the lack of understanding about the functioning of the legal principles in particular cases. Students will show the different ways in which they can go beyond memorizing judgments and become legal researchers by engaging in case analysis. This stage may be rushed, and arguments become descriptive, conclusions seem unsupported, and important distinctions go missing. A good analysis, on the other hand, will ask why the court decided to decide in that manner, what facts were relevant, how the court interpreted the rule, and whether another argument could be made. Knowing about these weaknesses can help you create a more effective and persuasive legal argument when tackling a law assignment.
A Case is not an Analysis
A frequent issue that is encountered in law assignments is mixing up facts from the case with the analysis of the case. A student can give a correct statement of facts, opinion, and law but not demonstrate the importance of the case to the question.
The case should not be presented just because it is well known and/or relevant to the topic. It must be a part of the argument that is clear. Ask, “What legal proposition does it give? Has it been limiting? What are the facts of this case similar to, and different from, the facts of the case under discussion?
Reasoning is, according to the American Bar Association, the “portion of the case analysis that correlates legal rules and facts in front of the court. That link often is the nub of the analytical importance.
When Case Summaries Take Over the Assignment
Case summaries, which can be lengthy, may appear to be a form of research, but it is not necessarily a presentation of an argument. Often a student will explain the events of a judgment for several paragraphs and then use only a single sentence to tie it to his/her assignment.
This creates a discrepancy.
Useful case summaries should offer enough background to the reader to comprehend the legal issue. Next, the discussion should progress into a discussion on reasoning. Give meaning to the approach of the court for your question and compare with other authorities if suitable.
Pupils who need to find Law coursework help uk might be trying to find methods of coping with troublesome law tasks (BAW, 2022). But the best academic help should be geared toward grasping the way in which the law is reasoned, and not to generating pages and pages of case summaries.
Clarifying the relationship between rules and facts
If a rule is stated, but then not properly applied, then legal analysis will be weak.
For instance, a student could explain the elements of negligence and provide examples of some authorities. However, when the assignment is directed to a specific factual context, the reader should be provided with a sense of the relationship between each of the elements referred to and the facts.
This is why these types of questions can prove to be helpful:
- What details help to prove your argument?
- What are the facts that are causing problems?
- Are the circumstances related to the authority the same?
- Is there any other interpretation of the facts that the opponent could make?
- What is different about the current situation as compared to the precedent?
This can be done in the IRAC format. According to the University of Monash, legal problem solving involves problem identification, explanation of relevant law, application of the law to the facts, and making a conclusion.
Strong Analysis Notices What Other Arguments Miss
Case analysis doesn’t only mean seeking out authorities that will back your side. This means being able to identify stress in the legal material.
There can be a variety of interpretations for a judgment, and a different authority may have a different opinion. A Court may interpret a specific provision of statutory language and make it seem more complicated than it is. A precedent in an earlier case can set a precedent, and a later case can restrict the precedent.
This can be particularly useful when it comes to legal research topics like International criminal law research topics, where the legal issues may overlap or have several different interpretations, or be complicated by factual situations.
Distinguish the Holding From Everything Else
One other problem is that pupils equate all statements in a judgment, making them equal.
Background principles, hypothetical situations, policy considerations, and general observations are topics that frequently are discussed by courts. All sentences are not created equal.
In making this distinction, a careful analysis of the holding made by the Court distinguishes it from any comments that may have been made by the Court and takes into account the context in which a statement was made. The American Bar Association’s case-briefing guidance also divides the legal issue, the governing rule, the reasoning, and the holding in a discussion of how the court arrived at its decision.
Develop paragraphs to answer legal questions
Good, strong law assignments tend to be easier to follow through when they all have an analytical purpose in each paragraph.
Use a legal premise. Introduce who it is that people are going to hear from. Explain how this authority has an impact on the issue under discussion. If an alternate meaning is possible, discuss this before proceeding.
Don’t start and/or end paragraphs with case names. Your argument ought to be noticeable throughout the discussion.
Conclusion
Weak case analysis: When case analysis is not good, then the most significant reasoning is not explained in the law assignment. Authorities > Knowledge of authorities, but purpose of authorities > knowledge of purpose! Very good law writing correlates rules with facts, differentiates holdings from commentary, looks for alternative interpretations, and explains why certain authorities support the argument. As students progress beyond describing cases and start to analyze their reasoning, their cases are clearer, more focused, and truly analytical.
