Clerkship Interviews - Research

Over the years, we've collected some research questions that students were asked during clerkship interviews.

So we've compiled this list of possible clerkship questions that require legal research knowledge to answer effectively.

Below each question are some strategies to help you prepare for the particular line of questioning.

1. To determine this, you need to find the current consolidated version of the Act which governs the court itself.

2. Bring a copy of the Act with you. Highlight and ensure that you are able to articulate the relevant portions of the Act pertaining to:

• Jurisdiction

• Appellate jurisdiction

• Special jurisdiction

3. The court’s website may also have a summary that may provide a simpler description.

*Learn about the organizational structure of the court including:

• the number of judges

• the number of judges required to sit / hear a particular matter

• the Chief Justice, role and appointment process, etc.

This information may be available from the court website and/or the governing Act.

How are courts organized in this jurisdiction, generally?

*The Court website will often have an organizational chart or commentary explaining how the courts are organized.

Visit the consolidated legislation website for the jurisdiction in question.

Use the name of the court as your search term (eg “Court of Appeal”).

Best choices are:

1. Review the enabling Act itself.

2. Locate a current consolidated version of the Rules of Court (these would normally be passed as a regulation made pursuant to the enabling Act).

3. You may be able to find a loose-leaf service, textbook or annotated rules collection in the library which specifically sets out the rules of procedure, with commentary for some courts.

Here are some ideas:

• RSS feeds are also available for some courts – this allows you to receive new judgments directly to your inbox. 

• Visit the relevant court website and look for any available news feeds/newsletter subscriptions.

• All three major caselaw databases allow you to narrow any search by court and by date of decision.

• They also allow you to filter your results to “most cited” to get an idea of what the most significant cases are.

• Textbooks on a particular area of law will also list significant decisions.

• If a significant recent amendment to an Act occurred within the past 3-5 years, there may be some good law journal articles on the subject matter. 

• For very recent amendments, try blog postings, law firm newsletters and legislative summaries provided by the Legislature website.

The steps that are normally taken are:

1. Review the problem.

2. Isolate the jurisdiction(s).

3. Determine whether the problem is common law or statute based. You may need to review secondary sources, such as a legal encyclopedia, a textbook or loose-leaf service in order to do this.  Maintain a research plan and log in order to keep yourself organized.

Common Law

• Locate a relevant loose-leaf or textbook to understand the governing case(s) on point.

• Note up all relevant cases to isolate the most recent comprehensive cases on point that are still good law.  When doing this, look for any recent cases, especially those from higher levels of court, which have cited the case, to see if they summarize the current state of the law.

• Also look for any recent cases, especially those from higher levels, which further elaborate on the area of law or the particular point being addressed; or which enhances/advances the particular test being applied.

Statute Based

• Locate a relevant loose-leaf or textbook to understand the governing Act(s) on point.

• Review the governing statute section carefully. Cross-reference with other related statutes sections (such as penalties, procedures, etc); and with related regulations.  A statute section may include the word “prescribed” as an indicator that one should review regulations for further instruction.

• Note up the governing statute section to find out whether there are any relevant cases which interpret the statute section.

When preparing your notes for the interview, be sure to include specific database names, depending on the jurisdiction you are in. 

• Review the ministry/office/tribunal website to locate a summary.

• Locate the current consolidated version of the enabling Act and related regulations.

• Review related questions in this document.

What enforcement mechanisms does the director/office have?

• Review the enabling Act and any procedural rules.

Use an alternate source like CanLII, or visit the law library of a local university or court house.

They provide most relevant textbooks, loose-leaf services, encyclopedias, journals and primary source materials.