Recently, a member of the Family Law Listserv of The State Bar of Michigan asked how one should interpret a court rule that 
contains the word "shall" rather than "may." I remembered using a Boolean search strategy to research that very question perhaps thirty-odd years ago to get a case citation for a brief. I remembered from my previous brief-writing that interpretation of statutes is linked to the intent of the Legislature when the statute was enacted, made clear by history of the legislative act. I also remembered that, under Michigan law, case law held that interpretation of court rules followed the same precept as that of interpretation of statutes and also that the word "shall" dictated that "shall" should be interpreted as being mandatory. This was my Boolean search query:
Michigan AND statute AND "rules of statutory interpretation" AND mandatory AND shall
I remember getting thousands of returns to the above Boolean search. I also remember that the first case I opened and reviewed was perfect for my brief. Several years ago, I wrote a blog post titled Effective Computer Research Strategies Using Boolean Techniques This Blog Post and a subsequent one found here https://tinyurl.com/y8vjdnr2 will help everyone research and find relevant information to simple or complex questions. I encourage members of the Listserv and other readers of my Blog to bookmark or use these valuable tools to help find the answer to your legal questions no matter which tool (website, database) you choose.
Knowledge is Power: This is my Number One shibboleth. It is important for you to know how to perform legal research or any other kind of research. You can readily do research into complex issues even if you don't have Lexis Nexis, West Law, The LawNet, or CaseText (free to members of the State Bar of Michigan). You can do a lot of research just by using Google Legal Scholar. However, to narrow down the search and obtain an answer quickly, one needs to use a keyword search--ideally a Boolean research query. Truly, practice makes perfect.
How important is it to do your research yourself? First, you're far more likely to remember the answer to your question if you've worked on parsing out the research. Second, sometimes you may have an emergency and you might need the answer right now. For example, (a) Your brief is due to be filed tomorrow, and it's the middle of the night with no outside mentor available,
OR (b) Michigan State (for example) is playing in the National Basketball Championship and no one is paying attention to anything except the GAME. Second, your paralegal is less likely to appreciate the fine nuances that one or more particular facts may present in the analysis of how your fact pattern fits into the scheme of things. In other words, a legal conclusion may be highly dependent upon specific facts and lack of one fact may preclude the legal conclusion desired for your client.
"It is what it is." This is Shibboleth Number Two. [Mind you, it has a rather different meaning in the Netflix Movie "The Irishman."]
Many years ago, I saw a small wooden plaque saying "It is what it is" in it in the chambers of a certain E.D. Michigan Federal District Court Judge. I pointed to it and said: "Now, that's interesting." He replied, "I must say that a lot because a lawyer once gave it to me for my office." I now have a long wooden plaque saying "It is what it is" that hangs over the door to the French doors leading out of my office. Every time I leave the office I see it, and thus have many reminders every day. Keeping this principle in mind allows you to take charge of your practice and to live a more balanced life. Every family law concept has its own specific facts and you / your client is stuck with those facts. Depending upon the specific facts, there will be specific law that applies to that particular factual pattern. You can leave your office at the end of the day, knowing that you've done your best job in light of those specific facts and the applicable legal authorities that you have had to work with.
Why you should subscribe to Updates in Michigan Family Law: Remaining current with existing and emerging case law in your area of practice will help you answer questions about related to your clients' specific concerns.
In the area of family law, the specific facts of your case when analyzed together with existing law, will dictate the results in cases having issues such as interstate, intrastate, or international child abduction, relocations of minor children, child support, spousal support, property distribution, LBGTQ issues, and more. In this Blog, I attempt to make readers aware of current legal precepts and emerging legal constructs in those areas and more.
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Best regards, Jeanne M. Hannah
Traverse City, Michigan
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