Summer Lexis and Westlaw Access

Once summer arrives, you'll be heading out to your externship or a summer job or possibly bar review sessions ... but will you be bringing Lexis and Westlaw with you?

Lexis

* If you need Lexis for your externship, faculty research, or law review projects, have no fear: Lexis has automatically authorized your summer use. You don't need to fill out any forms or anything. Just remember that if you print to the Lexis printer, you'll be sending it to ASL's campus, which may not be where you want to send those documents!

* If you are graduating, apply for Lexis' law school graduate access program. You'll then have access to Lexis for bar review this summer, and for job searching through December.

Westlaw

* Westlaw reduces your allotted hours during the summer. To get "full" access to Westlaw during your summer externship (or faculty research or law review), visit Westlaw's password extension page. (There's a banner link on your personalized Westlaw page when you sign in.) Fill out the form and you'll be immediately approved.

* For our 2014 graduates, apply for Westlaw's "Graduate Elite" extension, which also appears as a banner link on your personalized Westlaw page.


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If you don't fit into one of the listed categories, stop by Chris' office to verify if you're eligible to use these educational services for your particular need.

Have a great summer!

Westlaw Training - Sept 30 and Oct 1

Westlaw will be on campus on Monday, September 30, and Tuesday, October 1, for training. All mandatory 1L training will be held in the Library Seminar Room.

Monday, September 30
* 10:30 - 11:30 am: Loudenslater §2
* 11:45 - 12:45 pm: Kiser §1
* 4:00 - 5:00 pm: makeup class

Tuesday, October 1
* 9:00 - 10:00 am: Kiser §4
* 12:30 - 1:30 pm: Bowers §3


Westlaw will also offer 2L/3L training on Monday, September 30, from 9:00 to 10:00 am in the Trial Courtroom. Learn about advanced Westlaw searching and nibble on breakfast at the same time!

Summer Access - Lexis and Westlaw

Now that finals are almost over, you're ready for the summer. One last thing before you go: make sure you still have access to Westlaw and Lexis!

1Ls and 2Ls

Lexis.com -  The folks at Lexis are doing big upgrades over the summer, so you may have limited access to the original Lexis.com during this time. If there's something you can't get on Lexis Advance, check with Chris.

Lexis Advance - This year, Lexis has automatically extended your Advance account during the entire summer. 1Ls can use their access for their externships. New this year: 2Ls can use Advance for their summer jobs.

Westlaw- Students who do not extend their access will have limited hours on both Westlaw Classic and WestlawNext. 1Ls doing externships can extend their password by clicking on the "box ad" after logging in to http://lawschool.westlaw.com/. 2L students who are working for a professor or on law review can also extend their passwords via the same method. 2L students working for a firm are not eligible to extend their passwords.


Class of 2013

Lexis.com - As mentioned above, graduates will have very limited access to Lexis.com (the original service).

Lexis Advance - Graduates will have full access to Lexis Advance until July 31, 2013.

Westlaw- Graduates will have 5 hours of access on Westlaw and 5 hours of access on WestlawNext for June and July.

Get REAL!: Cost-Efficient Legal Research

Our final "Get REAL!" (Research and Electronic-Assisted Learning) tutorial of the semester is coming soon! Recap some of the great tips you've learned over the semester, and learn how to put them together for the most cost-effective ways of doing legal research. This new class will be held on Monday, November 12, at 11 am at the Reference Desk.

Get REAL!: Finding Statutes

"There oughta be a law!" It's a common phrase, but now that you're about to be a lawyer, you should probably know whether the law exists or not! Learn how to find statutory laws (both state and federal) in this week's "Get REAL!" (Research and Electronic-Assisted Learning) tutorial. This short class will be held on Monday, November 5, at 11 am, at the Reference Desk.

Get REAL!: Finding Secondary Sources

Sometimes you just don't know where to start on your legal research projects. When you're stuck, a great starting place might be a secondary source. Why start with secondary sources (and why aren't they called "primary sources" if you should start with them)? Find out on Monday, October 22, at 11 am, when we discuss these great treasures. Class will meet for about fifteen minutes by the Reference Desk.

Get REAL!: Finding Treatises

We'll be offering our first "Get REAL!" (Research and Electronic-Assisted Learning) tutorial on Monday, October 15. Learn how to find treatises -- those mammoth learned works on major topics. Join us at the Reference Desk on Monday at 11 am for a short introduction to our online catalog, which helps us keep track of all our treatises (plus other legal research materials too!).

Summer 2012 Lexis and Westlaw Access

During the summer months, both Lexis and Westlaw put students into a more limited class of service (usually around five hours of access time per month).

If you fall into a special category -- like participating in our Externship program, working on law review, or working with a professor as a research assistant -- you are eligible to extend your database privileges if you re-register your passwords.

For (original) Lexis, use the "Registering for Summer Access" page. (They provide two ways to do the same thing; you only need to pick one.)

If you've already converted to Lexis Advance, you do not need to do anything. You have automatically received an extension throughout the summer months.

Westlaw and WestlawNext users should go to the Summer Extension page and follow the directions there.

If you have questions, stop by the Reference Desk and ask for Nick or Chris.

Get REAL!: Finding Administrative Law

Now that Spring Break is over, bring your sun-tanned bodies into the Library for our final "Get REAL!" (Research and Electronic-Assisted Learning) tutorial of the semester! This week's topic is "Finding Administrative Law," and Nick will cover where regulations tend to hide from newly-minted attorneys (and interns). The class meets at the Reference Desk at 12:30 pm on Wednesday, March 14, and should run about fifteen minutes.

Get REAL!: Finding Cases

Before rushing off to Spring Break, stop by the Library for a quick tutorial on "Finding Cases." Nick will outline some tips and tricks for finding relevant case law in your legal research projects. The fifteen-minute "Get REAL!" (Research and Electronic-Assisted Learning) class will meet on Wednesday, February 29 (Leap Day!), at 12:30 pm at the Reference Desk.

Get REAL!: Finding Statutes

There's The Thinker by Rodin. There's David by Michelangelo. Oh, wait: those are statues. This week's tutorial is on statutes, those legislative acts that we call law! Learn some tips and tricks to finding the statutes that apply to your legal research problem. Meet Nick at the Reference Desk on Wednesday, February 22, at 12:30 pm for a short (under fifteen minute) presentation. We won't ask you to stay as still as a statue the entire time!

Get REAL!: Finding Secondary Sources

Sometimes you can't attack a problem head on. When that problem deals with legal research, that means looking for cases and statutes first may not always be the best strategy. In those cases, you need to rely on secondary sources. Join Nick as he traverses the wide range of secondary legal sources in our weekly "Get REAL!" (Research and Electronic-Assisted Learning) tutorial. He'll be at the Reference Desk on Wednesday, February 15, at 12:30 for a short (fifteen minute) class.

Get REAL!: Finding Topics for Seminar Papers

We're kicking off the semester with a "Get REAL! (Research and Electronic-Assisted Learning) grand premiere: how to find topics for your seminar paper. Join Nick as he details the steps of the preemption check, and talks about some valuable Library resources that can help you during all parts of the seminar paper-writing process. The class will be held on Wednesday, February 8, at 12:30 pm, near the Reference Desk.

Get REAL!: Finding Updates (Citators)

It's our season finale: the last of this semester's "Get REAL!" (Research and Electronic-Assisted Learning) tutorials. This week, we'll learn how to make sure the research you did some time ago -- be it days, weeks, or even years -- is still valid. Join Nick at the Reference Desk on Wednesday, November 16, at 1:30 pm for a short presentation on using citators and finding updates through other means.

If you missed any of our tutorials this semester, we'll be running them again next semester.

Get REAL!: Finding Law Review Articles

One of the hidden treasures of legal research is a law review article -- usually written by a brilliant professor who had time to do all the research you don't currently have the time to do! How can you find one of these great time-saving articles? Stop by the Reference Desk on Wednesday, November 9, at 1:30 pm, and Nick will tell you the many ways to start your treasure hunt. We'll cover both print-based and electronic-based searching. The class only runs about 15 minutes, so don't be late!

Get REAL!: Finding Statutes

Our short tutorial series continues on Wednesday, November 2, with an installment on "Finding Statutes." Sometimes the laws are written down clearly, and that can be a great starting point in the legal research process. Join Nick at 1:30 pm at the Reference Desk for this short "Get REAL!" (Research and Electronic-Assisted Learning) class to learn more.

Get REAL!: Finding Cases

Don't listen to people who tell you, "Don't make a federal case of it"! If you want to find more cases to support your legal research, stop by our short tutorial on Wednesday, October 26. Our "Get REAL!" (Research and Electronic-Assisted Learning) class this week is on finding cases. Nick starts the show at 1:30 pm at the Reference Desk; it should last only about fifteen minutes.

Get REAL!: Finding Treatises

It's time to review your legal research skills! We'll be kicking off our tutorial series -- we call them "Get REAL! (Research and Electronic-Assisted Learning)" classes -- beginning on Wednesday, October 19. Join our new Reference Librarian Nick Stump at 1:30 pm at the Reference Desk as he reviews the best ways to find treatises on a particular topic. We aim for short classes, so we won't run over 15 minutes (unless you want us to). To see what other classes we'll have this semester, check out the Library classes page.

Summer 2011 Lexis and Westlaw Access

Beginning June 1, both Lexis and Westlaw will drop most students into a "reduced mode" capability, generally meaning that students can only search five hours each month on the legal services.

For those students participating in our Externship program, or those doing research work for professors, extend your privileges throughout the summer by updating your profile information.

For Lexis, go to the Registering for Summer Access page. The instructions provide two different ways to do the same thing; you only need to do this once for it to take effect.

For Westlaw, go to the Summer Extension web page and follow the directions there.

If you have questions, feel free to send Chris an e-mail at cking AT asl.edu.

Get REAL!: Finding Updates

It's our last tutorial of the spring semester! Don't miss our class on finding updates (ie, using citators), held at the Reference Desk at 3:30 pm on Monday, March 28. We'll be covering electronic sources rather than the books. The class should run under 15 minutes.