While the library staff will assist researchers to the limit of their abilities, they are restricted in the scope of services they can offer. Library staff can assist in finding or suggesting sources, and can explain their use, but can not provide interpretation of legal materials or attempt to apply them to specific fact situations. If possible, we strongly suggest consulting with a lawyer for any more complicated legal questions.
Additional resources for your research are available at the Shelby County Law Library.
Shelby County Law Library
140 Adams. St., Room 334
Memphis, TN, 38103
Telephone: (901) 527- 7041
Facing legal issues can be disorienting. If you have them available, the best place to start with an unfamiliar legal issue is with any documents provided to you by the courts or the opposing party. These will lay out the major legal claims, and will usually directly cite to relevant statutes for the situation. If you are planning to bring suit as the plaintiff, you will likely begin with less base material. Please ask a member of the library staff, they may be able to direct you to introductory sources that can help you plan out your case, or can help you find materials based on what you already have.
One of the most valuable skills to any legal researcher is the ability to formulate clear and actionable questions.
Legal research is an iterative process. The answers to your initial question may point the way toward still other questions. This can make it difficult to know when you have done enough research. In general, if multiple related searches are returning the same set of relevant results, you have probably found most of the key materials related to that question.