Demystifying Research Memos: 5 Tips for Articling Students

One of your most common tasks as an articling student is going to be writing a research memo to inform a lawyer about a particular issue. These are going to be different from your law school research assignments. Your memos at a firm will be more grounded in the law as it is (as opposed to policy arguments), and they must advise the lawyer of likely outcomes and caveats. Here are my five tips to (hopefully) demystify these assignments a bit and help you get started on your first few memos. 

1. Think about where your work fits in 

Not all memos are created equal. Sometimes the lawyer needs a broad quasi-treatise on every trial issue for future reference. Sometimes the lawyer just wants a summary of 1-2 cases to slot into a footnote. Think about the file before you start writing and adjust the complexity and length of your memo accordingly. 

2. Read a book! 

If your firm has access to hard-copy or virtual textbooks or treatises, ALWAYS start there. A quick look at a relevant chapter will lay out the primary issues much quicker than aimlessly poking around on Canlii. 

3. Be as direct (and reader-friendly) as possible  

As a memo-writer, you are going to live and breathe the complexity of the topic for a few days. Your reader might not have that luxury. Have a summary on the first page or two that touches on all the major points, and have clear headings for each of those in case the reader wants more detail on one aspect. 

4. Try to find an answer (even when there isn’t one) 

It happens to all of us: the lawyer asks you to find a slam-dunk case, and you realize that no court has really grappled with the issue. Don’t panic! If there really is nothing out there, briefly explain the steps you took to the lawyer (e.g., by describing the terms you have been searching for). Then, spend a paragraph or two writing up the closest analogous situation that you did find. Even if it’s not a direct answer, it will still help the lawyer understand what’s out there and inform their follow-up questions and next moves. 

5. You’ll know when you’re done 

It’s hard to be 100% sure that you’ve found every relevant case, and that can be stressful. However, once you’ve put some time into the research, ask yourself: “If there was a secret case that was perfectly on point, wouldn’t one of these decisions have mentioned it by now?” Once you feel like that answer is “yes,” you can start winding down your research and focus on the drafting.