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To become a great lawyer, there are various preparations that one needs to make as soon as one steps into the law school. These developments require one to come up with their problem solving techniques that allows one to be unique and to get the clients satisfaction. Problem-solving is the informed method application. The new layer must be able to adopt a systemic approach that entails prior and proper planning, extensive background reading as well as the formulation of strategic search terms[1]. The lawyer should come up with the best systematic approach that is easy to understand, remember and practical. The model should involve various steps that should be taken to solve a legal issue. These measures should enable the lawyer to consolidate the information and skills learned in the law school as well as skills and experiences acquired in the practicing years[2]. These steps include; Gathering and identifying the relevant facts, coming up with strategies to be used in the identification of various legal issues, formulation of processes that are to be used for researching the most relevant law which is up to date, implementation of the legislation to the facts as well as communicating the advance in the most appropriate way to the client. Some modifications also can be made in the FILA technique. FILA means that one should determine the materials that are legally relevant which represents the facts. The particular legal issue is identified by applying the most relevant facts. The applicable laws are also recognized. The law should be implemented in the legal problem. Then a conclusion is reached and finally advice to the client.
Statutes, cases and the various legal authority and the facts of the case are to be determined. The purpose of the research should be understood before commencing in any investigation. The legal problem should be fully understood to enable the lawyer gather and identify relevant information[3]. Only the various facts which are pertinent to that specific legal problem are to be extracted. The lawyer should have a clear understanding of the presented problem statement which is aimed at guiding one on the general field that is to be researched[4]. If the problem statement is carefully followed, the investigation will be completed and will yield the quality desired results since the most relevant facts will be extracted[5]. The best model is a modification of the IRAC which enables the lawyer to follow a step-by-step procedure in solving various legal problems as it breaks down the components of the legal issue[6]. The most important feature of IRAC is that it is simple, clear as well as structured step by step procedure. The major weakness of the IRAC approach is that it usually presumes that the individual using the method already know so much on the relevant facts and even the related areas of the law to determine the particular issue[7]. This process, therefore, do not cover the extensively any preceding steps. This method is very rule-oriented as well as legalistic in its structure.
The modules should for gathering information should be specific so that the most relevant facts are identified[8]. Then the most relevant facts on the legal problem should be determined, and the facts are to be only from credible sources. The information and fact gathering process is important as these facts are the basis of any legal problem[9]. These facts are to be used in the planning of your argument. The primary process of solving problems is carried out in steps as discussed below which enables the student to be capable of applying the knowledge and skills learned in the Legal Analysis as well as the Communication courses that are used to supplement the parts of the problem-solving process.
Define and try to articulate the given legal issue. The legal rule should also be determined and articulated. The study of how the rule has been applied in similar situations in the past is to be done. The low is to be applied to various facts, and a conclusion should be arrived at. The conclusion is as a result of the use of analogy and also distinction[10]. Determine the other alternative arguments and state the reason why these arguments are not as strong as the case that is being applied.
Identification of legal matters is not an easy task. Therefore, a proper plan has to design that helps one to identify legal issues correctly. There are alternative methods to the core technique of problem-solving. The first task is to determine and identify the question as well as identifying the subject and evaluate why it is important. Reading of the materials and information given is the first and the most important step in determining the legal issues[11]. The facts should be analyzed to frame legal matters. The lawyer should then assess what he knows and needs to learn. It should be noted that any primary law that is given is noted. The lawyer should then generate the potential search terms available. The jurisdiction of the legal issue presented should be determined.
The basic legal strategies of problem-solving should be identified and their weaknesses and strengths put forward. The process of identifying the strategies, the legal problem solving is to be carried out in a structured way. Identification of strategies can be difficult especially in instances where different issues arise from various area of law that results from a set of facts that is somehow complicated. The structured approach enables one to fully analyze the problem, identify the different relevant issues, research extensively on the law that relates to these given issues. The laws need to be applied to the various facts hence enabling us to reach a legal conclusion and finally make the recommendation.
To get an overview of the law under scrutiny, one needs to get an overview. One should use various web searches like Google. Legal dictionaries which include Black’s (Westlaw), Barron’s (Bloomberg) and Ballentine’s (Lexis) should also be consulted[12]. The secondary sources should be consulted to know what the rule is all about and to determine its application. These sources will also show where the law is found as it cited the primary authority. The secondary sources should be used to find primary sources. Code annotations, citators, and case digests.
There is the various component of a useful application of the rules to the facts. These components include fats, critical language among others. The fact should be correctly interpreted and should always satisfy a portion of the law. There should be a specific language from the rule that the fact satisfy. The question why the fact satisfies the rule should be answered. One should clearly know that a fact never occurs in a lone sentence since the sentence only states the presence of that fact[13]. There should give the explanation of a fact by use of other appropriate facts to support the interpretation. Therefore, the explanation of the meaning of the fact is usually linked to the application of the particular rule to the other applicable facts.
An excellent problem-solving tool kit should contain various mechanisms in which the lawyer describes the guidance in the most suitable way to the customer. While communicating information and advice to the client, as a lawyer you need to listen to your customer actively and make sure that the customer is aware you are listening to them[14]. Negative questions should be avoided because asking negative questions usually creates confusion. The lawyer needs to be sensitive to the differences in the technical knowledge. The clients have reduced technical expertise, in particular on the law terminologies. The lawyer is supposed to be careful when explaining things to the clients. Excellent communication uses positive statements instead of negative statements. The lawyer knows that some technical problems involve emotional reactions. These emotions range from very simple annoyance to panic depending on the importance of the advice given. A suitable communication method should expect questions and objections from the client. The lawyer is always supposed to keep the client informed on the developments of the case[15].
There should be a logical proof as well as the support for the conclusion that is reached. One should always move from general to specific while articulating the supporting reasons. For each and every reason there should be a list of further supporting evidence, data or even grounds.
For the new lawyers and students to be able to solve legal problems efficiently, they need to develop their problem-solving toolkit that helps them from the initial process of identifying a legal issue up to the final stage which involves advice to the client[16]. Various models and approaches guide this process but all of them are inadequate hence needs to be integrated to come up with a strategy that suits the legal problem at hand. This article has incorporated the IRC method and the FILA technique to come up with the steps that should be involved in the most practical and fruitful problem-solving toolkit. The procedure should always start with the gathering and identification of the relevant facts then connecting the gathered information, then come up with strategies for identification of legal issues and developing the processes for researching the most relevant law that is up to date. These steps are followed by applying the law to the facts, communicating advice in the way most appropriate for your client and finally articulating the conclusion.
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