A well written brief, based on quality legal research, can be the difference between winning and losing a case. But research and writing take time that you may not have. As an attorney, you face a myriad of challenges. Work overloads and difficult deadlines are facts of life. Unfamiliar legal issues may be critical to your client's case.

Wouldn't it be nice to have available a good research attorney to help out when time is short? Someone experienced in the issues you need researched, and who can provide high quality legal research, analysis and writing at reasonable costs? Someone with access to a vast array of legal resources but whom you pay only for work performed?

You can have that research attorney. In fact, you can have the assistance of an entire multidisciplinary law firm. The Barron & Stadfeld Legal Research and Writing Service can provide the research you need and help you continue to provide the highest quality service to your clients, all for less money than you might expect.

Barron & Stadfeld's Legal Research and Writing Service provides outstanding, yet cost effective, legal research and writing to attorneys in private and corporate practice throughout the United States. We offer the powerful combination of expertise in legal research, including extensive knowledge of Westlaw and the Internet, and specialization in the areas of law involved in your case.

Use our Legal Research and Writing Service with confidence. All attorney-client privileged information given to the Legal Research and Writing Service remains privileged because you seek our services as an aid in providing legal advice to your client. The work product privilege also applies to communications between the attorney and the Legal Research and Writing Service in many cases.

Who We Are

Barron & Stadfeld is a midsize law firm, offering a broad range of legal expertise. The firm's attorneys specialize in diverse areas of law.

When you work with Barron & Stadfeld's Legal Research and Writing Service, you benefit from the collective knowledge and varied specializations of a multidisciplinary law firm. Every research project is handled by a team consisting of an expert researcher and an attorney who specializes in the relevant field of law.

Our senior research attorney, Roger T. Manwaring, has more than 16 years of experience in private practice focusing on legal research, writing and the handling of appeals. A magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, graduate of Brandeis University, Mr. Manwaring received his J.D., cum laude, from Boston College Law School. He served as an Articles Editor of the Boston College Law Review and has been a Contributing Editor of a Boston area newspaper.

Mr. Manwaring has drafted hundreds of legal memoranda, pleadings and appellate briefs in diverse areas of law, often covering multiple issues. As a full-time researcher, he is able to keep abreast of the latest developments in legal research.

Benefits of Using the Legal Research and Writing Service

• You use our services only when you have a need.
• You control every aspect of the job, defining the scope of research, timetable and budget.
• You obtain expertise in unfamiliar legal areas.
• You get the highest quality research and writing, without the expense of hiring and training a full-time associate.
• You gain access to a wide variety of legal resources.
• You pay only for work performed at our competitive hourly rate or at an agreed upon fixed price.
• You free more time for family, friends and the rest of life.

What We Provide

The Barron & Stadfeld Legal Research and Writing Service can provide anything and everything from a simple list of citations to an appellate brief. At your option, research results can be communicated by telephone or we can produce a short letter report, a detailed internal memorandum, or a formal pleading. Our products and services include:

• Appellate briefs. We can draft your appellate brief and produce it in accordance with applicable court rules.
• Trial court pleadings such as:
  • Complaints;
  • Memoranda in support of or in opposition to motions to dismiss and for summary judgment;
  • Pretrial and discovery motions and related memoranda including motions to compel, for protective order, for attachment and for injunctive relief;
  • Post-trial motions and related memoranda, including motions to vacate judgment, for new trial and to remove default;
  • Pleadings supporting or opposing motions in limine.
• Internal memoranda. We can provide objective analysis of the legal issues in your case.
• Analysis of potential claims. Based on facts you supply, we identify possible claims and defenses, and objectively analyze their likelihood of success.
• Arguments and/or citations to be inserted into a brief you write. Even if you will be doing most of the work, it may be helpful to delegate a discrete issue to our research attorneys. We can also locate cases to support propositions set forth in a brief you write.
• Updates of your existing research, or current awareness on topics of your choice.
• Initial Westlaw searches to highlight avenues for your further research.
• Judicial and expert witness profiles.
• Articles for publication. We will help you draft articles for publication or edit your drafts.
• Legislative history research and bill tracking.
• Jury verdict and settlement research. We can electronically search nationwide reports of verdicts and settlements to locate those with similar facts to your case.
• Legal ethics/professional responsibility research. Sometimes you need an objective analysis of the ethical issues you face.
• Legal editing. A "second set of eyes" almost invariably improves legal writing. Our attorneys, many of whom were law review editors, will review your draft legal documents, suggest edits, and discuss with you any substantive or stylistic problems which may undermine the effectiveness of your argument.

How We Handle a Research Request

You can submit a research project by phone, e-mail, or using our online order form.

The first step in any project is a free reference interview to determine the precise issues to be researched, the work product desired and your budget. This interview will always involve both a research attorney and an attorney who specializes in the relevant field of law.

You then select either a fixed price or hourly billing option, execute a retainer agreement, and we start working.

If the fee is hourly, the researcher will conduct three to four hours of work before providing you initial findings and an estimate of the costs of completing the project. Depending on the nature of the project, and your preference, the research attorney may contact you at other times as the project progresses.

Quality Control

We guaranty your satisfaction with the our service. Barron & Stadfeld has established strict procedures to ensure that the research and work product we produce is dependable and of the highest quality:

• All projects are handled by a team consisting of an expert researcher and an attorney who specializes in the relevant field of law.
• All work product produced by the research attorney is reviewed and edited by attorneys specializing in the relevant subject area(s).
• All cases, statutes and other authorities cited in our work product are electronically updated.
• We always obtain your agreement as to any limitations on the scope of the research or the extent of updating.

Our Fees

Our attorneys know the importance of operating within an agreed-upon budget. We never exceed a research budget without your permission. We will work with you throughout the research process to develop a research plan tailored to your needs and resources.

For most projects, you can choose either hourly pricing or a fixed fee. Fixed pricing depends upon the number of issues, their complexity and the type of work product requested. Your bill for the agreed upon services, including disbursements, will not exceed the quoted price. Hourly fees are based upon an hourly rate plus disbursements. Our attorneys' normal billing rates apply to projects with turnaround times of 21 days or more, and increase as the timeframe grows shorter. Although the nature of legal research makes it impossible to predict how long a project will take and thus exactly what it will cost on an hourly basis, the research attorney will provide you an estimate of the anticipated total cost. Usually, the research attorney will conduct three to four hours of work before providing you initial findings and an estimate of the costs of completing the project. The budget may be further refined as the research progresses, but you maintain control.

In the event that you decide to alter or expand the scope of research during the project, you may again choose either fixed or hourly pricing for the additional work.

Order Research

To begin the research process, you may:

• Complete the online order form;
• Call Roger T. Manwaring, Esq., at (617) 723-9800 ext. 584; or
• E-Mail: RTM@barronstad.com
• However you contact us, please identify all parties involved on all
  sides of your case or transaction prior to providing any confidential
  information so that we may check for conflicts.
  

Contact Us

For further information about the Barron & Stadfeld Legal Research and Writing Service, please contact Roger T. Manwaring, Esq.

• By Telephone: (617) 723-9800 ext. 584
• By Mail:
  Roger T. Manwaring, Esquire
  Barron & Stadfeld, P.C.
  50 Staniford Street, Suite 200
  Boston, MA 02114
  
• By E-Mail: RTM@barronstad.com