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The legal world is based on cases, so case studies are a mainstay of law. Lawyers and judges are constantly referring to case law when needing to make decisions and plan legal strategies.

The process of developing legal case studies is similar to that of other case studies, and follows the next four steps. Lawyers use them throughout the entire trial process, from opening statements to closing arguments.

1. Decide on the case. When choosing a case, look to past events involving legal issues for ideas. Look for ideas in newspapers and case dockets. The case you select should be the most appealing case possible, that will be most interesting to the legal audience. Remember, you want interesting cases, not necessarily famous or infamous cases.

2. Initial research. Review all secondary sources, and make observations. Once you have done all the preliminary research, conduct interviews, as necessary. Be sure to have the cooperation of all participants.

3. Write first draft of case. This is where you should decide if you want to enhance objectives or the characters. This is the step where you want to get as much information down on paper as possible. You can return later to fix spelling and grammatical errors.

4. Supplemental research and final drafts. At this point you must do whatever secondary research is required to fix any inconsistencies, or to clarify objectives or conflicts. Clear the first draft with your participants and get approval to publish.