Preliminary and Exploratory Research
You will select a paper topic in consultation with your professor. However, you will likely need to do preliminary or exploratory research to find a topic that meets the requirements.
The criteria for a topic can include but are not limited to, timeliness, uniqueness, historical importance, or a lack of existing discussion or research. Preliminary and exploratory research assists in ascertaining if the topic you're considering meets the criteria and is an integral tool in choosing a topic efficiently.
The resources listed below are particularly helpful for this process:
Stalking the Golden Topic: A Guide to Locating and Selecting Topics for Legal Research Papers