Need to Do Legal Research? Try Westlaw

There are very few website online that are considered to be scholarly and have the right facts and information that you are looking for. Very often the article you are reading is biased in some shape or form because it is written by a person of a certain viewpoint. For example, many of the articles that I have written on the Associated Content website are biased because I hold certain viewpoints regarding politics, education, food, etc. However, for anyone looking to do legal research, whether you are an attorney, an up and coming law student, a prospective judge or law clerk, or are a student who needs to finish a paper on court cases before your approaching deadline, then Westlaw.com is the site for you.

Westlaw is a website dedicated toward providing for a database of information regarding Supreme Court Cases of the United States, court cases from states both in the Supreme Court and local courts. Westlaw provides its users with the legal briefs that were written by the judges who presided over the court case.

The great thing about this website is that you can enter keywords into their database search engine and you will find court cases that match your results. For example, say that you are looking for a California state case that has dealt with the issue of student rights concerning drug use. All you would need to do is to type in the words "California state cases" and then search for "student drug use." The website will then give you a list of cases that match your keywords from the summary paragraphs of the case and in the language written by the presiding judge. The keywords from the search might also link to the legal document or brief written by one of the attorneys from the court case. The search that has the most keywords that were typed into your search will be the first article that appears at the top of your page.

Then you can navigate your way through the website and find other court cases that you are looking for. Westlaw is not a public site and you will need a Client ID and a password. The password for the account can be received through a sales representative standing by at a customer service center. Very often customers do not have to pay for this service because it is sponsored through a university, legal program, law school, or law firm that pays for it. Still, even if you have to pay for this website, the investment is very little and you get a lot out of your purchase including a case guide to use at work or for law school.