Statutory Research

1. Analyze your legal problem and come up with relevant search terms.
2. Pinpoint the timeline. If the statute has been amended since the time in question, consider the likely possibility that the prior version is the relevant one for the problem.
3. Use a secondary source on the topic to get started. If there's one specifically written for the topic in the jurisdiction at issue, choose that one as a starting place. A good secondary source should alert a researcher to relevant statutory sections.
4. A full-text search and/or index search in the relevant statutory code should also be performed to lead to pertinent statutory provisions; generative legal AI tools like Lexis Protégé and Westlaw's CoCounsel can be useful for identifying relevant provisions. Note: if you're looking for a NY statute, browse into the NY statutory code instead of searching all of them. This will be much more efficient. 
5. Read statutory sections carefully, including nearby definitions, exceptions, and so on. Be sure to read the correct version of the statute (see step #2 above).
6. Look for interpretive case law. Statutes mean what courts say they mean, so use tools like Notes of Decisions and Citing References to dig in to how your statute has actually been interpreted and applied by the courts in that jurisdiction. 
7. Update the statutory section, if dealing with a current issue, to make sure you're aware of recent changes or relevant pending legislation (bills). 
8. Review secondary sources, if needed, for a better understanding of the legal issues and to point you to other relevant primary law like cases and regulations. 

If you have a citation: 

1. Google it to find the statute in a free statutory code, ideally from a .gov site in your jurisdiction. Be sure to check how current the resource is. 
2. Westlaw: browse into Statutes & Court Rules from the main page and then choose your jurisdiction. Type in the citation or use the Find Template on the right under Tools & Resources to quickly pull it up by citation. Pulling U.S.C. citations is simple, but state statutes are trickier to pull by citation since there's a lot of variation in format.
3. Lexis: Browse into Statutory Codes from the main page's Content Tab and then choose your jurisdiction. Type in the citation or browse for your provision. Another tactic for tricky citations is to search for the title or chapter number within three characters of the section number, e.g., 265 /3 14 to find Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 265 §14. 

If you don't have a citation: 

1. Secondary sources like treatises, practice guides and practical guidance, 50 state surveys, ALR articles, law reviews, and news sources can point you to relevant statutes on your topic. Make use of the Secondary Sources / Secondary Materials entry points on Westlaw and Lexis, as well as Westlaw Practical Law and Lexis Practical Guidance. An on-topic secondary source from your jurisdiction is usually the best starting point. 
2. Full-text searches in a statutes database can lead you to on-point statutory law. Remember that legislator's typically don't use colloquial terms when drafting statutes, so think about the language that might appear when constructing your search (e.g., news stories might talk about junk fees charged by landlords, but the actual statute probably won't use that phrase—you probably need to search more broadly for provisions that mention landlords or tenants and fees.) 
3. AI Legal Research Tools: Specialized AI tools like Lexis Protégé and Westlaw's CoCounsel could be useful for identifying whether there's a statute on-point in your jurisdiction, as long you remember to actually go read and verify what they say and that they are still good law (similar to secondary sources). 

Popular Name Tables are what they sounds like: they help you locate a statute by its popular name, e.g., the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Westlaw, for example, provides popular name tables in the Tools & Resources box associated with the statutory code for most jurisdictions. A good popular name table will give you:

1. The public law number;
2. The session law citation (e.g., to the Statutes at Large or relevant state session law publication);
3. Where the provisions of that act were codified in the U.S. Code; and
4. Citations to subsequent acts that amended your act. 

The image below shows the Westlaw Popular Name Table result for the ADA. You can quickly see the Public Law Number, where the ADA appears (as passed in 1990) in the Statutes at Large, and then the chart shows where the various sections of the act (session law) were codified in the U.S. Code. At the bottom, it provides a list of subsequent acts that amended the ADA of 1990.