Canadian Legal Research, Drafting & Written Advocacy

Often, very little. You can start with the background, the documents you have, the deadline and the result you are trying to achieve. That may be a specific legal question, a pleading, affidavit, correspondence, client notes, a chronology or part of the record.

If the issues are already clear, we can begin from there. If they are not, part of the first step can be identifying the legal issues, material facts, possible claims or defences and any further information that may be needed.

Yes. You do not need to have reduced the matter to a precise legal question and the assignment does not need to be perfectly framed before you contact us. In fact, helping define a sensible first step is often part of the assistance lawyers ask us to provide.

Therefore, you can come to us with the history of the matter, the materials already available and the result you are trying to achieve. We can work through that material with you to identify the legal and factual issues, possible claims or defences, any missing information and the questions that should shape the research, analysis or drafting. This may then lead to a focused opinion, broader research, a record review or the first document needed on the file.

Yes. You can involve us for one defined part of a matter or for several connected steps. That may mean helping you assess the issues at an early stage, review the record, prepare an internal opinion, develop the research behind a position, or draft pleadings, affidavits, motions, applications, facta, briefs or written submissions.

We work behind the scenes for you and within the role you choose for us. You decide what to send, what we should focus on, how far the assignment should go and how the resulting work will be used. You remain responsible for the client relationship, advice, strategy, court appearances and final decisions.

Yes. We have assisted lawyers with matters from every Canadian province and territory and across a wide range of practice areas, including civil litigation, criminal law, constitutional law, family law, estates, employment, commercial disputes, insolvency, real estate, administrative law, insurance, professional negligence and appeals. The assignment may involve a focused legal question, a broader opinion, pleadings, motion or application materials, affidavits, facta, briefs, written submissions or another document prepared with the relevant court, tribunal or local requirements in mind.

Some assignments come from general practice firms that need help across different areas. Others come from lawyers and specialist firms who already know their field well, but want additional research depth, analysis or drafting capacity on a particular issue. Where local precedent does not provide an obvious answer, we can search more broadly, including other provinces and territories or other comparable common-law jurisdictions, while making clear whether a source is binding, persuasive, comparative or useful only by analogy.

Yes. Time-sensitive assignments are a regular part of what we do, including matters where a lawyer contacts us after hours, needs an answer within hours, or needs a draft turned around within a day. You can send us the materials you have, the task you need completed, the deadline you are working toward and any priority points we should know. We will then look at the complexity, the available record, the research or drafting required and our current capacity, including whether more than one of our team members can assist.

Many non-urgent assignments that are not especially complex are completed within about three to five working days. Some matters require longer. Where timing is tighter, we will tell you what can sensibly be done within the time available. That may mean answering a focused question, preparing a first draft, reviewing the record, narrowing the issues, or moving quickly through a larger research and drafting assignment.

Yes. On this website, you can review lawyer testimonials and follow links to public Google reviews, Canadian legal commentary, CanLII-hosted scholarship, IBISWorld industry research and Grand View Research market reporting. Those sources allow prospective clients to examine LexOutsource from several angles before sending an assignment, including public client feedback built up over many years, lawyer feedback, references in Canadian legal commentary and scholarship, and inclusion in wider industry research on legal-support services.

Yes. Many new clients begin that way. You can start with one focused research question, a short opinion, a draft document, a pleading, motion, application, factum, brief, agreement, record review or another defined task. The first assignment does not need to be large for us to be useful to you.

Starting with a smaller task can also help you see how we think, research, write and work with your instructions before deciding whether to send a larger or continuing assignment. Some clients use us only for occasional focused questions, while others begin with one defined task and later ask us to assist with broader research, analysis or drafting as new matters arise.

You decide how much of the matter to send, how far the assignment should go and how the resulting work will be used. You remain responsible for the client relationship, advice, strategy and final decisions.

We usually begin by talking through what you need, what materials you have, the deadline, how developed the legal questions already are and any budget you want us to keep in mind. From there, we can help decide whether the most sensible first step is something focused and narrow, such as answering a brief research question or preparing a short opinion, or whether to include several connected steps such as research, analysis and drafting.

Where the task can be clearly defined, we can often agree on a fixed fee before we begin. Where the issues, record or level of detail may develop as we go, an hourly arrangement with an agreed limit may be more practical. Prepaid hours are also available where your firm expects to send us research, analysis or drafting assignments from time to time. The aim is to choose an arrangement that fits what you need, keeps the assignment proportionate and gives you clarity before we begin.

Our work remains human-led. We use legal databases, advanced searches, secondary sources and other research tools to locate authorities, organize the search and test the issues. Where an AI-assisted tool may be useful, we may use it as a limited aid, not as the source of the answer.

We do not treat AI output as authority or legal analysis. We locate and read the sources ourselves, verify each proposition and apply the law to the particular record. The final work remains individually reasoned and prepared for the lawyer’s review and use.

Yes. We work for you as the instructing lawyer and remain behind the scenes. You are our point of contact for the assignment, and we do not contact your client, opposing counsel, the court, court staff, witnesses, experts or anyone else connected to the matter.

The materials you send us are kept confidential and used only for the assignment you give us. Your client continues to deal with you, and all advice, strategy, communications, court appearances, revisions, final decisions and use of the work stay with you.