Say farewell to Westlaw Classic

Starting July 1, Westlaw Classic will no longer be available on your law school password.  If you have not embraced WestlawNext already, here are a few resources to help you make the transition:

• Comparing Westlaw Classic and WestlawNext - a quick table comparison
• WestlawNext Learning and Support - a collection of instructional videos and pdfs
• Introduction to WestlawNext (for Westlaw Classic users) - a 12 minute "highlights" YouTube video by one of your favorite Reference librarians

As always contact one of those favorite Reference librarians if you have any questions.


Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Thomson Reuters News & Insight

Thomson Reuters, the company that brings you Westlaw and WestlawNext as well as Reuters worldwide news services, has a new web site combining Reuters legal and business news with commentary and related source documents from Westlaw. Thomson Reuters News & Insight includes national legal coverage, with specific coverage of New York, California, bankruptcy and securities law developments. The news and some Insight articles on the site are free. Law students and anyone with a Westlaw OnePass account may access the Westlaw documents featured on the site by using their Westlaw password. This is a good source to keep in mind for news and analysis on fast-changing legal issues for class and for legal practice.
Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Searching Outside Your Contract: WestlawNext Example

Attention WestlawNext users:

While we pay for access to a lot of content on WestlawNext here at Hofstra, it is common for a law firm to pay for access to specific content (often content relevant to the firm's practice areas), and then pay high per-document or per-minute charges for items that are not including within that subscription (this is true for both Westlaw and WestlawNext, as well as Lexis).

WestlawNext now provides examples of such charges for students to view. (On WestlawNext, click on Tools, and then "subscriber pricing guide." Or just view the PDF here.) Some databases are $55 per minute.

We say it often here: if you have access to Westlaw, WestlawNext, or Lexis after law school, know and understand your firm's contract.


Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Appellate Advocacy Students

Just a reminder for Appellate Advocacy students. If you have not had Lexis and Westlaw training for Appellate Advocacy yet, it may be mandatory for your class. There are separate classes for Lexis and Westlaw (if your professor is making the training mandatory, you are probably required to attend both) and sign-up is online. Some instructions for signing up are here.




Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Lexis and Westlaw Training for Appellate Advocacy

Appellate Advocacy students:

To register for Lexis and Westlaw training sessions, go to lexisnexis.com/lawschool and lawschool.westlaw.com.

For Westlaw, go to http://lawschool.westlaw.com, log in, click on “training,” then “on-campus trainings,” and then “in-person at my law school.”

For Lexis, go to http://www.lexisnexis.com/lawschool/, log in, and click on “access training calendar.”

Some Appellate Advocacy professors have made this training mandatory. If you are unsure whether this training is mandatory for you, check with your professor.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Cats on Westlaw

This video, made by an Arizona Law student, makes for a good study break.


It is a cautionary tale about avoiding extra charges on Westlaw and Lexis. No word from PETA yet.


Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Who You Gonna Call?

West's Reference Attorneys have now been around for 25 years. Reference Attorneys are the people who answer Westlaw's 1-800 helpline, and almost every law student or attorney needs to call them at one point or another. Librarians use their services too. See them talking about their work on West's blog here.



Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Westlaw Points for Haiti

On Jan. 17, we pointed out that students can donate Lexis points to the Red Cross to assist with the relief effort in Haiti. Well, this can also be done with Westlaw points--donating to the Red Cross is an option in the Westlaw Rewards catalog.



Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

New Westlaw and Lexis Platforms

Both Westlaw and Lexis plan to unveil new platforms this year (Westlaw's will appear first). Both have been designed to be easier to use. This marks a big change for both systems, and it is partially a response to newer competitors like Fastcase and Bloomberg. This ABA Journal article does a good job of explaining this situation.

Hopefully the new Westlaw and Lexis platforms will not be much more expensive to use than the current systems.



Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Making Headnote Sausage

Many of Hofstra's 1L students are currently learning about headnotes, digests, and the West key number system. The Law Librarian Blog recently linked to the video below, which uses the Heller case to show how West makes headnotes and indexes cases (it requires an army of attorneys in a large building in Minnesota).

For those who are interested in reading about Thomson/West, an article about the company appeared in the Minneapolis CityPages last spring.




Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

1L / Legal Writing Lexis and Westlaw training

As a virtual being, of course I think doing research online is great. But, learn how to do it effectively and efficiently. For all of you taking Legal Writing, sign up for Lexis and Westlaw training at the Library Circulation desk. Get there early to get your preferred days and times. Your Legal Writing professors agree with me and have made this a mandatory part of your Legal Writing class.

Training takes place in the Lower Level Computer lab in the Library and will start on August 31 and run through September 18th. Click here for the schedule. And . . .

***MAKE SURE TO BRING YOUR REGISTERED LEXIS AND WESTLAW PASSWORDS***




Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Opinions in Westlaw and Lexis

According to this Law.com article, a settlement provision in an Amtrak case called for the judge to "vacate eight of his published opinions and to "direct" Lexis and Westlaw to remove them from their databases." Can a judge really "direct" Lexis and Westlaw to remove published opinions from their databases? Take a look at the article to find out more.
More commentary can be found here at the Volokh Conspiracy.



Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Summer Lexis/Westlaw access

For those of you taking summer classes, doing research for a class or working as a research assistant, you may extend your Lexis and Westlaw passwords for the summer. To do this, use the links for each service in this post and look for the summer access links.



Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Westlaw and Lexis Directories

Law students often have trouble transitioning from the "free" (flat-rate) Westlaw and Lexis access they receive in law school to using these systems at firms where charges must be justified and clients don't like to see large bills for online research.

A common problem clerks and new attorneys who use these systems have is spending too much time looking for the right database (this can be especially costly if your firm is paying for access by the minute), and searching in the wrong database before finding the right one (assuming there is a right one).

Both Westlaw and Lexis offer free searchable directories of their databases, which can help you reduce your searching costs by finding the right database before you've even entered your ID or password.

They are:

Westlaw

Lexis

Of course, over-reliance on Westlaw and Lexis is a problem too, when so much legal information is available online for free.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat