Research support for experienced practitioners

Start with what you already know

A useful research tool should fit the way you already practise. Your knowledge of the client, the record and the law helps you ask the right question—and recognise which parts of an answer deserve closer examination.

You may remember an authority without its citation, need to revisit a familiar provision or want to investigate whether a line of argument has support. Lex offers another route into that research. Your knowledge helps you frame the enquiry and assess what comes back.

Use it for a defined task

• Return to an authority. Begin with the case name, subject, passage or surrounding issue you remember, then verify the source you locate.
• Investigate a research trail. Follow a cited provision or judgment and examine related material.
• Explore a less familiar area. Establish a starting framework before reading the primary sources.
• Test an argument. Look for qualifications, competing authorities and factual distinctions that deserve attention.

A narrow task makes the result easier to assess. You can judge whether the material answers the question, where it falls short and what further work remains.

Keep judgment visible

A research response does not carry your knowledge of the client, the record, the commercial pressures or the practical choices ahead. Those considerations belong in your analysis.

Read cited passages in context. Check the legal framework, court, date and later treatment. Where the material is persuasive rather than binding, make that distinction explicit. If the answer is uncertain, preserve that uncertainty in the work you produce.

Make it part of a shared research habit

When working with colleagues, ask for the research question, key authorities and unresolved issues alongside any summary. This keeps supervision focused on reasoning and gives less experienced researchers something concrete to discuss.

Lex can be one part of that process. Familiar sources remain central: Sri Lankan legislation and case law, the Roman-Dutch tradition and relevant comparative materials. The archive explains the source categories and their coverage limits.

Evaluate the tool on the work

Start with a question you know well. Compare the sources Lex suggests with the authorities you would ordinarily consult. Look at relevance, context and the work needed to verify the response.

That gives you a practical basis for deciding where Lex fits into your own workflow. Keep the approaches that help, and use your usual research methods to investigate any gaps.