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Summer and Post-Graduation Access to Legal Research Databases

Do your summer or post-graduation plans include legal research? Whether you are on a journal, taking summer classes, or working at a law firm, you can continue to take advantage of the major legal research platforms. Bloomberg Law, Lexis Advance, and Thomson Reuters Westlaw all permit summer and post-graduation use, at least for certain purposes. Bloomberg does not have an “academic use only” policy and encourages use for any summer or graduate research. Lexis also does not have an “academic use only” policy and will continue to provide free printing. Westlaw permits limited use for education-related or non-commercial purposes. For more details, see the Moritz Law Library’s Research Assistant Resources Guide or ask a reference librarian.

Fastcase is another legal research option for summer or post-graduation use. Fastcase provides a quick and easy way to search federal and state cases and statutes, state constitutions, administrative opinions, regulations, law reviews, and legal forms. The Columbus Bar Association offers members free access to Fastcase, and a number of firms and solo practitioners in town use it. Moritz has an institutional account, which you can access here.