Remember when Westlaw looked like this?:
And Lexis looked like this?:
These images are what Westlaw and Lexis used to look like. Each database has
changed in a number of ways over the last decade, and more change is coming—ready
or not. Lexis Classic (as it’s now known) became Lexis
Advance and featured a “carousel” designed to help you navigate your “workspace.”
The carousel was not well-loved, and after a few more changes, Lexis launched
the Lexis Advance platform you’re familiar with today. Westlaw Classic became WestlawNext,
which became Thomson
Reuters Westlaw, and next semester you’ll see another change: Westlaw
Edge.
Do you know the differences between all these
permutations? Have you simply gone along for the ride sticking with your same
old searches for case law (or avoiding Westlaw all together because you “like Lexis
more” (and they give you free printing and rewards for prizes))? Are you aware practicing
attorneys have a duty
to be technologically competent, and that duty might
include having a meaningful understanding of how these databases work, the
scope of content you’re searching, and how the database returns results to you?
If this is all news to you, consider
registering for a 1-credit Advanced Legal Research course taught by one of the
Moritz College of Law’s reference librarians. Each ALR course is focused on a
specialized practice area or jurisdiction, but all will help you to further
develop the legal research skills you were introduced to in your LAWI & II
courses. The following courses will be taught in the spring semester:
- Business and Tax Legal Research (taught by Matt Cooper) provides an introduction to business and tax related materials as well as training and advanced research strategies for finding and effectively using these materials for legal research. Topics covered include business forms, company filings and SEC research, and foreign and international business research. In-class work will include working through research problems to resolve legal questions.
- Advanced Legal Research: Litigation and ADR (taught by Stephanie Ziegler) focuses on finding and using materials related to litigation or ADR practice, covering formbooks, court rules, trial technique, arbitration rules and decisions, as well as research strategies and resource evaluation.