Knowing the Law – Setting Up Research Alerts

A common category of malpractice claims is ignorance of the law. These claims arise when a lawyer does not know or misses a critical aspect of the law, misapplies it, or gives incorrect legal advice. Examples include overlooking a legislative requirement or omitting a necessary step in a transaction. In some cases, the lawyer may not have known about a law or its recent amendment; in others, the law was known but not correctly applied.

The law can change quickly through new statutes, legislative amendments, or judicial decisions, and keeping current is essential in every practice area. One effective way to stay up to date is by setting up alerts through legal research tools. Many platforms, including CanLII, Westlaw, and LexisNexis, allow lawyers to create automated alerts to monitor developments in specific areas of law.

These alerts usually deliver updates by email whenever new cases or legislation appear that match your selected criteria. On CanLII, for instance, lawyers can create “citation alerts” to track how a case is treated over time, or “query alerts” to monitor how particular terms or legal topics show up in recent decisions or commentary. Setting up these systems can be a simple but powerful step in reducing the risk of missing a legal development that could impact your practice.

Learn more about setting up research alerts with CanLII here.

Learn more about setting up research alerts with Westlaw here.

Learn more about setting up research alerts with LexisNexis here.