Scope, access, and coverage are agreed with your team.
Practical support. Defined responsibilities.
The day-to-day work
A clear queue. A useful handoff.
Define the recurring work and the evidence your team needs to review it. These building blocks become a role-specific operating plan.
Log research requests and the scope supplied by counsel
Retrieve specifically identified public or licensed reference materials
Organize source links, dates, and citation details
Track follow-up questions for the attorney or paralegal
What comes back to your team
Work you can see and review.
Research request register
A working record with source references, current status, and the person responsible for the next step.
Source and citation index
A focused view of missing inputs, unanswered questions, and items that need your decision.
Reference handoff pack
A dated handoff that distinguishes completed work from pending review and unresolved exceptions.
Put the role into practice
From the first brief to the final check.
Prepare
Give the role a reliable starting point.
Counsel should specify the requested materials, jurisdiction, date range, approved research platforms, and intended reviewer. Agree how source versions and access restrictions will be recorded before retrieval begins.
An example working day
A practical handoff
An attorney needs a set of named court rules and previously identified decisions for a meeting. The assistant retrieves and indexes those materials, flags an inaccessible source, and leaves interpretation and authority checking to the legal team.
Illustrative workflow, not a client case study.Review
Check the work before closing the loop.
Check that each retrieved source matches the requested title, jurisdiction, and publication or retrieval date. Mark missing or superseded versions for review instead of assuming a source remains authoritative.
Your systems, your permissions
Fit the role to your environment.
Tool familiarity is considered when defining the role. Your team approves every platform, access level, and source of truth.
Firm-authorized research subscriptionsMicrosoft WordSharePointNetDocuments
Platform names describe possible working environments, not endorsements or a promise of certification.
Before you start
A few useful questions.
What should we prepare for legal research administration?+
Counsel should specify the requested materials, jurisdiction, date range, approved research platforms, and intended reviewer. Agree how source versions and access restrictions will be recorded before retrieval begins.
How will we know what is complete?+
Check that each retrieved source matches the requested title, jurisdiction, and publication or retrieval date. Mark missing or superseded versions for review instead of assuming a source remains authoritative.
Which decisions remain with us?+
Attorneys and qualified legal professionals analyze law, assess authority, and advise clients. This role supports retrieval and organization; it does not independently conduct legal analysis or draw legal conclusions.
Can the role work in our existing tools?+
We scope the role around your approved systems, including environments such as Firm-authorized research subscriptions, Microsoft Word, SharePoint. Access, training, and the final tool requirements are confirmed before the role begins.