Cost Effective Lexis & Westlaw and Alternatives to Lexis & Westlaw Prof. Bouvier’s Legal Writing Class, Spring 2011

Topics Covered The Cost of Lexis & Westlaw Frugal Lexis and Westlaw Use WestlawNext Cost Effective Use Low cost databases Free Internet Sources

Flat Rate Plans Still care about cost effectiveness because: client charged Item maybe outside of plan Greater Usage = Greater Cost for Flat Rate Plan next year

Figures are from a Local Law Firm, 2008

2010 Westlaw Law Firm Costs File/ServicesHourly (Per Minute) Transactional (Per Search) All Federal Cases$19.05 Ohio State and Federal Cases $23.08 Sixth Circuit Cases $8.60 All Ohio Cases$8.60 Get a Document/Find (primary), $24.00 (secondary) Keycite$6.25

Computing Westlaw Costs Hourly or Transactional Charge for Database use PLUS Communication Charge (per minute) PLUS Downloading or Printing Charge (sample computation)sample computation

Cost-Saving Tips for Lexis/WL CALI Lesson – Cost of Legal ReseachCost of Legal Reseach Cost Effective Legal Research C|M|LAW Library GuideCost Effective Legal Research Lexis – Conducting Efficient Research tutorialConducting Efficient Research Westlaw - Cost Effective Research » PowerpointCost Effective Research »

BEFORE you search Ask librarian/managing partner about price plan. Use print or lower cost databases Plan your search before you go online Call the Reference Attorneys

Cost Effective Searching-Lexis & Classic WL Narrowest Source Broad Search, then Focus/Locate Table of Contents Book Browse on LEXIS (not Westlaw) History (L) or Research Trail (W) – (next day) Westlaw – search transactional or hourly?

Will charge for another search

Use Locate instead

Does not charge for another search

Charges a “find”

Does not charge

Classic Searching, Cont’d Alerts Use Shepards or Keycite for Research instead of a search Search by Topic/Headnote (L); KeyNumber/ Keysearch (W) Get a Document (L), Find (W) 50 state surveys

But can’t do alert on a Focus search

Cost Effective Printing Westlaw decide per line or per document Print from browser Copy with Reference Get and Print, Find and Print

Copy with Cite

Copy with reference

Keycite/Shepards Brief Check or LexisNexis for Microsoft Office to Shepardize; Westcheck to Keycite Brief CheckLexisNexis for Microsoft OfficeWestcheck

WestlawNext Flat rate plan When view a document, charged if that document is off-plan (will get warning). Save document in folder - access forever. Document updates for one year for free. History saved one year (but does charge again if after 2 am next day)

WestlawNext - Cost Recovery =charging back to client $60 per search PLUS a find charge for items clicked on (Transactional Mode) OR per minute charge (Hourly Mode) Cost chart – Click on Tools tab, then Subscriber Pricing Guide (non-discounted rates)

Cost Effective WestlawNext Some SEARCHING hints are different than Classic Westlaw

Cost Effective WestlawNext Preferences link – pick Hourly or Transactional. Begins charging when click on Document. Broad initial search Narrow using filters or search within results (as many as desired)

Cost Effective WestlawNext Searching - Transactional Pull up (Click on) the least amount of documents needed Show the most detail Documents ranked by relevance Use Folders (forever, updated 1 yr and History (until 2 am following day)

Show Less or More Detail

More WestlawNext Searching hints Use Table of Contents instead of Book Browse Alerts Use Find

Reference Attorney Phone Nos LEXIS REF-ATTY ( ) (Westlaw) for law students (Westlaw)

Low Cost Databases

Stripped down versions of Lexis/WL Casemaker –Free w/ free student OSBA membership Fastcase – Free w/ Cleve Metro bar membership. Lois Law – C-M has, CLL has Versus Law – Free to Law students

Access to Low Cost Databases Library Website, Electronic Resources Page. Library Website Casemaker: ohiobar.org. Free with FREE student membership to the Ohio State Bar AssociationFREE student membership

Stripped Down Versions of Lexis/WL What does Lexis/Westlaw have these do not? Editorial features – headnotes, annotations Practice Books (except Loislaw) Law Review articles Better search mechanisms and coverage

Stripped Down Versions of Lexis and Westlaw Casemaker – best coverage for Ohio. Odd search syntax Fastcase – Natural Language, Visual Charts Loislaw - Best terms and connectors, field searching. Treatises. Alert searches. VersusLaw – Cheapest, worst coverage

Fastcase Webinar Thursday, 3/24, 4:30pm-5:30pm –– LB Room 208 or remotely via your own computer Contact Laura Ray to register

Primary & Secondary – Specific Subjects BNA CCH See Law Databases page for links.Law Databases NOT low cost, but not charged back to clients Have primary and secondary sources, current awareness

BNA Libraries ex. Labor Relations Reporter/Labor and Employment Law Library, Intellectual Property Library or ABA/BNA lawyers' manual on professional conduct Labor Relations Reporter/Labor and Employment Law LibraryIntellectual Property LibraryABA/BNA lawyers' manual on professional conduct

CCH Intelliconnect Topics Covered: Antitrust Banking Corporate Governance Health Care and Medicaid/Medicare Labor & Employment, Pensions Securities

CCH Boolean searching, w/n etc. Federated Searching Indexes Known for their fifty state charts

Benefits of Low Cost Databases Over Free Internet Better Search Mechanisms Coverage May be more current Trustworthiness Aggregated Info – One stop shopping

What’s on the Free Web All US Supreme Court Cases Reported Federal Appellate from 1882 Some Unreported Fed App, Fed District State cases: reported – unreported - early-mid nineties

What’s on the Free Web, cont’d Statutes & Regulations- federal and states Municipal Ordinances Law Review Articles Forms Dockets, Briefs & Pleadings LOTS more!

Start with a Good Internet Portal From the Library Home Page – Legal Research on the WebLibrary Home PageLegal Research on the Web Public Records & People Finders Cornell Legal Information Institute (LII)

Case law Google Scholar – state reported 1950-, fed circuit/ district Google Scholar Ohio Supreme Court LexisOne – Last 10 yrs, Lexis searching LexisOne Legal Research on the Web - Cases

Search = “birth certificate” marriage transsexual OR transgender OR “sex change”

Why don’t we get the Nash case?

Google Advanced Operators AROUND –ex. constitution AROUND(5) "home rule“ ~ searches for synonyms and related words ex. ~constitutionality - searches for constitutional, unconstitutional, etc. * placeholder for a word. Ex. sexual * abuse picks up “sexual misconduct abuse”, “sexual child abuse”, etc.

Web Sites to Know Thomas.gov – Federal Legislative History Thomas FDSys - Fed’l Govt. FDSys PACER – Federal Court dockets PACER Martindale Hubbell Law Digest

Finding Dockets, Pleadings, Motions LLRX or Resources for Online Court Dockets to find docketsLLRXResources for Online Court Dockets Some dockets have full text documents ex. Ohio – Montgomery & Summit Counties, federal PACER – Federal Court dockets PACER

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