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Law

Online Legal Research

Westlaw is a comprehensive online legal research platform developed by Thomson Reuters. It serves as an indispensable tool for law students and legal professionals alike due to its vast collection of legal resources and powerful research capabilities.

Contents of Westlaw UK:

  • Case Law: Extensive coverage of UK case law, including decisions from all major courts and tribunals, with headnotes, summaries, and citators for easy navigation and analysis.
  • Legislation: Up-to-date collection of UK legislation, including statutes, statutory instruments, and EU legislation (retained EU law).
  • Legal Journals and Commentary: Access to a wide range of legal journals, textbooks, and commentary from leading legal experts, providing in-depth analysis and interpretation of legal issues.
  • News and Current Awareness: Latest legal news and updates, keeping users informed about developments in the legal landscape.
  • Practical Law: Practical guidance and resources for legal practitioners, including precedents, checklists, and how-to guides.

Why Law Students Need Westlaw:

  • Essential for Legal Research: Westlaw is a primary tool for legal research, allowing you to find relevant case law, legislation, and commentary quickly and efficiently. This is essential for assignments, dissertations, and exam preparation.
  • Developing Research Skills: Learning to use Westlaw effectively equips you with valuable research skills that are transferable to their future legal careers.
  • Keeping Up-to-Date: Westlaw's current awareness features help you stay informed about the latest legal developments, ensuring your knowledge remains current and relevant.
  • Practical Experience: Familiarity with Westlaw prepares you for the legal workplace, where it is a standard tool used by most law firms and legal organisations.

These videos will give you an introduction to using Westlaw for legal research. Watch these videos and then try Westlaw for yourself!

Lexis (formerly LexisLibrary) is a comprehensive online legal research platform developed by LexisNexis. It serves as a crucial tool for law students and legal professionals due to its extensive collection of legal resources and powerful research capabilities.

Contents of Lexis:

  • Case Law: Extensive coverage of UK case law, including both reported and unreported decisions from various courts and tribunals. It offers headnotes, summaries, and the ability to view cases in their original context.
  • Legislation: Up-to-date collection of UK legislation, including statutes, statutory instruments, and retained EU law. It provides access to historical versions and annotations to track legislative changes.
  • Legal Journals and Commentary: Access to a wide array of legal journals, textbooks, and commentary from leading legal experts, providing in-depth analysis and interpretation of legal issues.
  • Halsbury's Laws of England: A comprehensive legal encyclopedia covering virtually every aspect of English law, offering a detailed overview of legal principles and relevant case law.
  • Practical Guidance: Practical guidance materials like precedents, checklists, and how-to guides to assist legal practitioners in their daily work.
  • News and Legal Updates: Latest legal news and updates, keeping users informed about developments in the legal landscape.

Why Law Students Need Lexis:

  • Essential for Legal Research: Lexis is a fundamental tool for legal research, enabling you to efficiently find relevant case law, legislation, and commentary. This is crucial for assignments, dissertations, and exam preparation.
  • Developing Research Skills: Mastering Lexis equips you with valuable research skills that are transferable to your future legal careers.
  • Understanding Legal Principles: Lexis offers a comprehensive overview of legal principles through resources like Halsbury's Laws of England, aiding you in grasping complex legal concepts.
  • Practical Preparation: Familiarity with Lexis prepares you for the legal workplace, where it's a standard tool used in law firms and other legal organisations.

This video will give you an introduction to using LexisLibrary for legal research. Watch the video and then try Lexis for yourself!

HeinOnline is a comprehensive online database specialising in legal and scholarly materials. While primarily focused on US law, it also offers a vast collection of international English-language legal journals, surpassing the range available on Westlaw or Lexis.

Contents of HeinOnline:

  • US Law: Vast collection of US primary and secondary legal sources, including case law, statutes, regulations, legislative histories, and classic legal treatises.
  • Law Journal Library: Extensive collection of over 3,000 law and law-related periodicals from around the world, with many full runs available. This is an enormously useful resource for comparative law research and accessing international legal scholarship.
  • Historical Materials: A large collection of historical legal documents, including session laws, government documents, and classic legal treatises, essential for understanding the evolution of law.
  • Other Collections: HeinOnline also offers collections on international law, foreign relations, and other disciplines, providing a multidisciplinary perspective on legal issues.

Why Law Students Need HeinOnline:

  • Comparative Law Research: The Law Journal Library offers the best resource for comparative law research, enabling you to access a variety of international legal journals not available elsewhere.
  • Access to US Law: For students interested in US law or comparative legal studies, HeinOnline provides comprehensive access to US legal materials, essential for understanding the American legal system.
  • Research Skills Development: Learning to navigate HeinOnline's collections and use the advanced search features enhances research skills valuable for academic and professional success.

This video will give you an introduction to using HeinOnline for legal research. Watch these videos and then try HeinOnline for yourself!

Practical Law is an online legal know-how service that provides practical guidance and resources for legal professionals. It serves as an valuable tool for law students, especially those undertaking the Legal Practice Course (LPC), due to its real-world applicability and relevance to legal practice.

Contents of Practical Law:

  • Practice Notes: In-depth guidance on various legal topics, including explanations of legal principles, procedural steps, and practical considerations.
  • Standard Documents and Clauses: A large collection of model legal documents and clauses, saving time and ensuring accuracy when drafting legal documents.
  • Checklists and Flowcharts: Step-by-step guides and visual aids that help legal professionals navigate complex legal processes and procedures.
  • Current Awareness Resources: Regular updates on legal developments, including news, analysis, and practical guidance on new legislation or case law.
  • How-to Guides: Practical tips and advice on various aspects of legal practice, such as drafting contracts, conducting legal research, and managing client relationships.

Why Law Students Need Practical Law:

  • Bridge the Gap Between Theory and Practice: Practical Law bridges the gap between academic knowledge and the practical application of law, preparing you for the realities of legal practice.
  • Develop Practical Skills: Using Practical Law helps you develop essential skills like legal research, drafting, and understanding complex legal procedures.
  • LPC Relevance: Practical Law is particularly relevant for LPC students as it aligns with the practical focus of the course, providing resources for legal tasks you will encounter during your training and early career.
  • Enhance Employability: Familiarity with Practical Law is highly valued by law firms and legal employers, demonstrating a student's preparedness for the practical aspects of legal work.

Specific Uses for LPC Students:

  • Preparing for Legal Tasks: Practical Law's how-to guides and checklists can be used to prepare for legal tasks encountered during the LPC and subsequent training contracts.
  • Drafting Legal Documents: Standard documents and clauses provide a starting point for drafting legal documents, ensuring accuracy and saving time.
  • Understanding Legal Procedures: Practice notes and flowcharts help you understand complex legal procedures and processes.
  • Keeping Up-to-Date: Current awareness resources ensure you are informed about the latest legal developments, which is crucial for success in the LPC and beyond.

These legal databases are powerful tools for legal research, and mastering their features is essential for success in your legal studies and future career. To help you become proficient in using these resources, the library offers comprehensive guidance and support:

  1. Workshops and Training Sessions:

    • Legal Research Workshops: The Library offers workshops on both Westlaw and Lexis individually, and also a workshop on legal research in general, which will cover all four legal databases briefly.
    • Certification: Both Lexis and Westlaw offer certification schemes, which allow you to demonstrate your familiarity and expertise with using these databases for legal research, and culminate in officiall cerficiation which can be included on your CV. You can find more information on the Certification Training section of this guide.

  2. Guides and Tutorials:

    • User Guides:
      • Westlaw provides a wide range of user guides, designed to introduce you to the different sections and content within Westlaw. These include step-by-step tutorials, videos, search tips, and answers to frequently asked questions.
      • Lexis' help pages are very comprehensive, containing guidance on performing searches in Lexis, and also includes a video tutorial section.
      • HeinOnline has a simple but helpful user guide available - just ignore the section on "Logging In", always make sure you access HeinOnline via the Library's website to gain access.
      • Practical Law has a very similar user guides offer to Westlaw (they are partner sites, and content is cross-referenced between the two).
    • YouTube: There are a huge number of guidance videos available on YouTube, just search for "search Westlaw/Lexis/HeinOnline etc UK".
      • You may want to start with the sites's own YouTube channels, which contain full playlists of videos on various aspects of each database: Westlaw, Lexis, HeinOnline, and Practical Law.

  3. One-on-One Support:

    • Consult with Your Librarian: Your Law Librarian, Caroline Ball, is well-versied in legal research and can provide assistance. Book an appointment to discuss your specific research needs.

  4. Practice and Experiment:

    • Hands-on Experience: The best way to master online legal research is through practice. Use these databases regularly for your assignments and research projects to familiarise yourself with their content, features and capabilities.
    • Explore Advanced Features: Don't limit yourself to basic searches. Experiment with advanced search operators, filters, and citators to refine your results and uncover relevant information.