Before we discuss our lawsuit in three systems, we address basic legal methods. What we say may seem obvious, but our experience suggests that that which is obvious in one legal system may not be in another. We consider what it means to “think like a lawyer” and we look at “sources of law,” that is, principally statutes and court decisions.

Deciding according to law requires determining applicable rules, finding facts, and applying rules to facts. This is considerably more difficult than is generally supposed. The legal rule cannot always be read from a single statute or precedent. It often is necessary to search statutes and precedents, analyze them, compare them to facts, revisit statutes and precedents in light of the facts, and again examine facts in light of the law. The end result is to bring facts and law together.