A Law Students Look at Westlaw ® for the Practitioner Wests Instructional Aids Series

A Law Student’s Look atWestlaw® for the Practitioner

West’s Instructional Aids Series

Contents• Introduction• Legal Forms • Practice Guides and Aids• Litigation Databases

– Jury Instructions– Jury Verdicts and Settlements– Expert Witnesses

• News Databases1

• Company and Securities Information Databases2

• Public Records Databases3

1 A few news databases are not available to law students.2 Some corporate and security databases are not available to law students.3 Most public records databases are not available to law students.

Introduction

Contents

• As a law student, you have been trained to perform pure legal research. Most of your research has been in case law, statutes, or secondary sources.

• As a lawyer, you will conduct many sorts of non-legal or quasi-legal research every day.

• You will need to know how to do such things as – track down potential witnesses– find a company’s registered agent for service– draft an eviction notice– assess the financial strength of a company or an individual– evaluate a proposed stock offering– conduct a “due diligence” review

Introduction

• Westlaw contains more than 17,000 databases, many of which are unfamiliar to law students. Most of these databases can be of enormous help to the practicing attorney.

• A few of the databases introduced in this tour of Westlaw are not available to law students due to West’s contracts with third-party publishers.

• This tour is intended to give you an overview of what materials and services you can expect from Westlaw as a practicing attorney. It is not intended to be Westlaw tutorial.

Introduction

My Westlaw Tab Pages for Practitioners

• Forty two topical tab pages include: Bankruptcy, Due Diligence,

Environmental, Health, Homeland Security, Immigration, Intellectual Property, Maritime Law, Military, Products Liability, Social Security

• Litigation page• Investigation page • Public Records page

You can select up to six tabbed pages by clicking My Westlaw on toolbar and checking the selections you want.

Introduction

Tax Tab Page: an Example of a Topical Tab Page

Introduction

Shortcuts

Tax Databases

1, 2 , 3 Quick Search

Legal Forms

Contents

Legal Forms• There are more than 400 databases that contain forms on

Westlaw.• Many of the forms can be copied and pasted into a word

processing document.• The forms multibase is Forms-All ( FORMS-ALL).• National forms databases include

– American Jurisprudence Pleading and Practice Forms (AMJUR-PP)

– Federal Procedural Forms (FEDPROF)– National Pleading and Practice Forms (FORMS-

PP)– West’s Legal Forms, which contains the full text

of the print publication that has long been a favorite (WEST-LF)

Forms

Legal Forms Database Examples

• Many of the forms databases are state-specific.– Arizona Legal Forms (AZ-LF)– California Civil Practice–Combined (CCP-ALL)– Colorado Forms (CO-FORMS)– Personal Injury Forms:Illinois (PIFRM-IL)

• Many of the forms are specific to an area of the law, such as bankruptcy, arbitration, or patent law.– Alternative Dispute Resolution with Forms (ADR)– Complete Manual of Criminal Forms (CMCRF)– Doing Business on the Internet: Forms and Analysis

(DOBUSNET)– Uniform Commercial Code Official National Forms (UCC-

ART9FM)

Forms

Forms

This is a partial list of the forms databases on Westlaw. They are sprinkled throughout the Treatises, CLEs, and Practice Guides and the Litigation sections of the Westlaw Directory. Many of the other practice materials databases also include forms.

Forms

Litigation

Treatises, CLEs, Practice Guides

Treatises, CLEs, Practice Guides

Forms

Field Searches in Forms Databases

• Database: FORMS-ALL

• Structured Search: power of attorney health-care

Database: AMJUR-PPSearch: ti(“list of titles”)

Title: Power of Attorneyfor Health Care

Search: ci(outline & annuity)

Title: AlphabeticalList of Titles

Title: Annuities Outline

Natural Language Searches in Forms Databases

• Database: AMJUR-PP

• Search: Deed of land for park purposes

Database: WEST-LF

Search: unlawful detainer for failure to pay rent

Title: Complaint for UnlawfulDetainer and Rent

Title: Complaint, Petition, orDeclaration to Enjoin the Diversionof Park Property to Nonpark Use

Forms

Practice Guides and Aids

Contents

Practice Guides and Aids• A wide variety of practice guides and materials are available on

Westlaw.• Some practice databases are state-specific, some are topical, and some

are general in nature.• Practice aids include texts, treatises, forms, practice guides, CLE

course materials, and other materials. Often several types of practice materials are included in a database.

• The Legal Practice (LAWPRAC) database contains documents from periodicals focusing on the practical aspects of lawyering: advocacy and lawyering skills, law office management, law office automation, lawyer hiring and training, court automation, judicial management and selection, and the general practice of the law.

Practice Guides

General and Topical Practice Materials Databases Examples

• American Jurisprudence Proof of Facts (AMJUR-POF)• Practising Law Institute (PLI)• RIA® Estate Planners Alert (RIA-ESTPA)• Health Law Practice Guide (HTHLPG)• Glasser LegalWorks Seminars (GLASS-CLE) • Wage and Hour Law: Compliance and Practice (WHLCP)• Federal Practice and Procedure® (Wright & Miller) (FPP)• Patent Applications Handbook (PATAPP) • Attorneys Medical Advisor (MEDADV)

Practice Guides

State Practice Materials Database Examples

• Texas Practice Guide Multibase (TXPG-ALL)• Georgia Analytical Practice Library (GAPRACLIB)• The Rutter Group in California Practice Guides (TRG-CA)• The Florida Bar Continuing Legal Education Materials

(FL-CLE) • Illinois Law and Practice (IL-LP)• New York Jurisprudence (NYJUR)• Baldwin’s Ohio Practice Series (OHPRAC)• Kentucky Practice Series Multibase (KYPRAC)• New Jersey Practice Series (NJPRAC)• Michigan Personal Injury Texts & Legal Forms (MIPI-TLF)

Practice Guides

This is a partial list of the practice materials databases on Westlaw. They are in the Treatises, CLEs, and Practice Guides section of the directory.

Treatises, CLEs, and Practice Guides

Practice Guides

Sample Search

• Database: LAWPRAC

• Natural Language search: guide for counsel in cases to be argued before the supreme court

• Result:

Title: Guide for Counsel in Cases to Be ArguedBefore the Supreme Court of the United States

Practice Guides

Litigation Databases

Contents

Litigation Tab Page Aids the Practitioner from Case Evaluation to Case Closure

Litigation

More Litigation databases are under the Topical Materials by Area of Practice section of the Westlaw Directory. Several of the entries, such as Lawsuits Filed and Litigation Preparation Records, are Westlaw public records databases. Some of these materials can also be found on the Litigation tab.

Litigation

Litigation

Jury Verdicts and SettlementsLitigation

Jury verdicts and settlements documents give the names of parties, lawyers, and expert witnesses; the type and extent of injury; the age and occupation of the injured; the nature of the negotiations; and the final award (if any) by either jury verdict or settlement to help evaluate the value of a case.

Jury Instructions DatabasesLitigation

Jury Instruction databases can be found in the Directory under Litigation in the topical section or on the Litigation tab page.

Listed to the left are some of the jury instructions databases on Westlaw.

• Database: FL-JV• Natural Language search: 25 year old male truck driver burned

when radiator overheated after repair• Result: At least one document with similarities to the fact pattern

embedded in the search; see above.

Litigation

Jury Verdicts and Settlements

• Database: JV-ALL• Jury verdict databases have unique fields. To see fields, click Fields on the Terms and Connectors search page.

• Search: “carpal tunnel” in the Summary field and val0 (value 0) in the Range field.

• The Range field (ra) allows you to search for documents in which the awards fall within a certain dollar range.

Defendant’s verdict

Carpal Tunnel

Fields in JV-ALL

Litigation

Expert Witness DatabasesLitigation

Several databases are designed to help you locate expert witnesses in specialized areas.

– Expert Witness Résumés (EXPTRESUME) gives the education, past expert witness experience, results obtained, and fees and rates of expert witnesses.– ExpertNet (EXPNET) gives biographic information on medical malpractice and personal injury experts. There is a $200 referral fee.– Forensic Services Directory (FSD) gives names and biographic data on scientific, medical, and technical experts.

Expert Witness Searches Expert Witness field searches in the Jury Verdict and Settlements databases

can also be used to to determine the effectiveness of a specific expert witness in past litigation or to locate expert witnesses in an area of expertise.– Database: JV-ALL– Search: ew(john /2 anders*n)– Search: ew(“vocational rehab!”) & st(mn wi ia)

Litigation

Vocational Rehabilitationist

Polk County, Iowa

Andrew’s Litigation Reporter databases

Litigation

Andrew’s Litigation Reporters contain short

newsletter style articles on the latest developments in

specific areas of litigation. They are in the Directory,

under Litigation, under Newsletters.

Other Litigation Materials• WestDockets® (court docket information) databases tap into courts’

docketing systems so you can determine what documents have been filed, the schedule of proceedings and appearances. The general format for the identifiers of these databases is DOC-XX-DCT, where XX is the state’s postal abbreviation. Check the directory for the exact identifier.

• Litigation Preparation (LITPREP-XX) databases contain information about all business names, the type of business entity, whether the business is registered with the state and is in good standing, and the person to receive process.

• Lawsuit Filings (LS-XX) databases contain records of civil lawsuits filed in 500 counties of 44 states. These databases indicate basic information concerning the lawsuit. Most of these databases cover only business civil filings.

Litigation

Other Litigation Materials• National Directory of Process Servers (NDPS) database lists process

servers by state, city, and county.

• Personal Injury Damages materials consist of more than a dozen databases covering the practical aspects of litigating various types of personal injury suits.

• Alternative Dispute Resolution materials contain forms, checklists, and texts that contribute to successful negotiation and arbitration skills.

• Civil Procedure and Evidence materials include federal and state rules and orders databases, as well as the Daubert Citator, Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence, and McCormick on Evidence.

Litigation

News Databases

Contents

West News databases are found under the Westnews News & Business section of the West Directory.

News

News

My Westlaw contains both Westnews and News and Business tab pages of frequently accessed news and business databases and services.

News

Westnews

News & Business

Current News Databases on Westlaw

• More than 7,200 business financial, and news sources are provided by the Dow Jones Interactive® service.

• There is up-to-date, full-text coverage of 48 of the top 50 U.S. daily newspapers.

• Today’s news stories are contained in the Today’s News (TODAYSNEWS) database, which includes news from the Dow Jones News Service, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, the New York Times News Service, and The Washington Post.

• Newswires (WIRES) databases track breaking news stories.

News

Frequently Used Newspaper Databases• More than 600 United States newspapers are available on

Westlaw.• Most newspapers are available in multibases and in individual

databases. State, regional, and comprehensive databases contain multiple individual databases.

• XXNEWS (where XX is the state’s two-letter postal abbreviation) contains a state’s newspapers and articles of interest in the state.

• Major Newspapers (PAPERSMJ) contains 15 of the major U.S. newspapers.

• All News (ALLNEWS) contains more than 5,800 newspaper, magazine, transcript, newsletter, and journal databases.

• ALLNEWSPLUS contains ALLNEWS databases, plus wire service databases.

News

Newspaper Databases Examples• Widely known newspapers

– The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) available online exclusively on Westlaw

– Washington Post (WP)– Los Angeles Times (LAT)

• Lesser known newspapers– Contra Costa Papers (CONTRA-PPRS)– The Age (THEAGE)– Rocky Mountain News (RM-NEWS)– Daily Camera (BLDRCAM) – Village Voice (VILVC)

News

Examples of international newspapers (English or English translations)

– Times of London (TMS-LONDON)

– The Wall Street Journal Europe (WSJ-EURO)

– Yomiuri Simbun (DYYSHIM) – Zimbabwe Independent (ZIMBINDPT)

– Moscow News (MOSCOWNWS) – Turkish Daily News (TURKDLYN)– Asian Wall Street Journal (WSJ-ASIA)

– Other newspapers from countries and cities such as, Brazil, Bangkok, Canada, China, Egypt, Estonia, Germany, Holland, Hong Kong, India, and Korea

News

Sample Searches in Newspaper Databases• Use Terms & Connectors searches when you know the terms

that must be present in relevant documents.– To find a person in the news

• sam! +3 tayl*r– To find a company in the news

• “state farm insurance” /p flood /4 insur!• a.m.a. “american medical association” /p patient /4

right• Use field searches for even more precise searches

– Title field: ti(tobacco cigarette & s****holder) – Author field: au(tony anthony /3 mauro)– Index field: in(“international monetary fund” i.m.f.) &

protest!

News

• If you are unsure of the terms that might be used in discussing your subject, use a Natural Language search in a news database.

• Database: ALLNEWS• Natural Language search: “ken lay” sale of enron stock “line of credit”• Very few subjects haven’t been written about in an article in some newspaper.

Title: The fall of Enron/Lay soldoff Enron stock to pay loans

News

Types and Examples of Other News Databases

• Wire services (WIRES)– Associated Press (AP)– Reuters (RTRENGNS)

• Legal newspapers (LEGALNP)– American Lawyer (AMLAW)– National Law Journal (NLJ)

• Magazines (MAGAZINE)– Barron’s (BARRONS)– Business Week (BUSWK)– Forbes (FORBES)– Money (MONEY)– U.S. News and World Report (USNWR)– Mother Jones (MJONES)

News

Types and Examples of News Databases (continued)

• Newsletters (NEWSLETTERS)

• Trade magazines (TRD&IND)

– Construction Industry News (WNS-CN) – Pig Farming (PGFR)

• Radio and television transcripts (TRANSCRIPTS)

– 48 Hours (48HOURS)

– 60 Minutes (60MIN)– Oprah Winfrey Show (OPRAHWINFREY)

• Notable trials (TRIALS)

– O.J. Simpson Criminal Trial (OJ-TRANS)

– O.J. Simpson Civil Trial (OJCIV-TRANS)

News

WestClip®

• Use the WestClip service to monitor and quickly retrieve current news developments on a specific topic(s).

• Monitor the media for references to your clients.• There is no charge for using WestClip unless continuous

monitoring is selected.

Add Search to WestClip option under the Results Options link, in the left frame of the Result List, can be used to add the current search to WestClip.

You can also accessWestClip using thedrop-down list on the toolbar and create anentry within WestClip.

WestClip

News

WestClip

Result Options

There are default settings for how often you want your search to run, whether you want to be notified if there are no results, the destination where you will receive results, the maximum number of documents per result, the document format, e.g., a citations list or term mode pages, and more. There is an Edit link to change these default options.

WestClip

News

Edit

• Your WestClip entry is stored in the WestClip Directory along with previously created entries.

• Entries can be run, changed, or deleted at any time by accessing the WestClip Directory from the More pull-down list on the toolbar.

• WestClip entries must be in Terms and Connectors format.• As many as 99 entries can be stored in your WestClip Directory.

WestClip Directory

News

Company Information and Securities Information Databases

There is considerable overlap of company information and securities information databases

with news and public records databases.

Contents

• Tabbed custom pages can be set up for both company information and securities materials.

• These pages streamline access to the most relevant databases and services.• The tabbed pages can be edited to display the databases and services that

are of specific interest to you.

Company Information

Securities

Edit

Company and Securities Information


• There are many databases that contain information on businesses and securities transactions.

• Some are directory listings that may include the local gas station as well as the giant conglomerate.

• Others contain sophisticated financial information derived from registration with a state’s Secretary of State or filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.


Company Information Database Examples

• Dun & Bradstreet Business Records Plus (DUNBR) contains information on the history, day-to-day operations, finances, and corporate affiliations of more than 59.4 million companies throughout the world.

• Company Profiles (CO-PROFILE) lists key people, number of employees, annual sales, company divisions, and subsidiaries.

• The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) contains business articles.

• Daily Report for Executives (BNA-DER) • Directory of Corporate Counsel (CORP-DIR)


http://web2.westlaw.com/shared/scope/default.wl?DB=BNA%2DDER&RS=WLW2.76&VR=2.0&SV=Split&FN=_top&MT=Westlaw&RecreatePath=%2Fdirectory%2Fdefault%2Ewl&Reissue=0

Corporate and Other Business Directories There are approximately 35 business

directories on Westlaw. They give such information as name and doing-business-as name, addresses, telephone numbers, executives, type of business, branch offices, and much more, depending on the directory.

Business Directories

AM-BUS-DIR, COMPANY, and CO-INTELL are popular business directories

Directories and Reference Materials


Company Public Records Database Examples

• Corporate Records and Business Registration–Combined (CORP-ALL) contains registration and status information from state secretaries of state. It gives name of registered agent and good standing status. (CORP-XX is the single state equivalent.)

• Business Tracker (BUS-TRACK) conveys basic information about a company, such as the company name, address, telephone number, Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) number, D&B number, federal employer identification number, trade names, or fictitious names.

• Business Finder Records–U.S. and Canada (BUSFIND-ALL)• Fictitious Business Name Records–Combined (FBN-ALL)• Name Availability Records (NA-ALL) tells whether the name used is

trade, doing-business-as, assumed, or former name.• Executive Affiliation Records (EA-ALL)


• Database: CORP-MN• Search: joe /4 bar• Result: 7 documents. A portion of one document is displayed showing some of the Secretary of State

information available in this database.


Securities Information Database Examples

• Investext (INVSTXT-PDF) contains analysts’ stock reports as originally published, including charts, graphs, and tables.

• EDGAR–SEC Filings (EDGAR) contains annual reports, proxy statements, 10-K and 10-Q reports.

• SEC Electronic Filings (SECNOW) contains the documents in EDGAR as well as tender offers, registration statements, and prospectuses. Documents are generally available on Westlaw within 60 minutes of receipt by the SEC.


Securities Information Database Examples

• Securities and Exchange Commission Corporate Filings (SEC-ONLINE) contains NASDAQ filings.

• Dow Jones Corporate Filings Alert (FEDFILE)

• Insider Stock Transactions (STOCK)

• Due Diligence in Security Transactions (DUEDILSEC)


• Database: EDGAR• Structured Search: enron in Company Name box, 2001 in Filing

Date box, and a check by Prospectus• Result: 22 prospectuses filed by Enron with the SEC in 2001


CompanyRecord

link

The Company RecordLink in a Edgar document gives basic information about the company.

• Database: STOCK• Structured Search: martha stewart in the Owner Name box• Result: 68 documents reflecting insider standing as an officer,

director, or policy maker or as a beneficial owner of more than 10 percent of company stock

• The above document gives the nature of the relationship, the value of the stock, the name of the broker, the proposed sale date, and more.


Public Records Databases

Some public records databases have been discussed in the Litigation, News, or Company

Information and Securities Information Databases sections.

Contents

Public Records Tabbed Page

This tab page includes links to Assets, Adverse Filings, Court Records, Corporate Information, People Locators, and Licensing Information, and much more. Not all public record databases can be accessed using a law student password.

Public Records

Public Records Databases• Westlaw provides legal professionals with a comprehensive

collection of databases containing public, publicly available, and proprietary information on individuals and businesses.

• These records– help identify assets and determine ownership of real property,

motor vehicles, watercraft, aircraft, and corporate stock– help locate individuals– help identify encumbrances and adverse filings, such as

bankruptcy filings, liens, judgments, and UCC filings• These databases also contain valuable information to assist in

preparing for litigation, such as the status of an existing action or the name of a registered agent.

Public Records

Public Record Databases

• West complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws in the way Westlaw public record databases are created and made available to the public. The databases provide high-quality information to legal professionals for use in investigations, due diligence reviews, and people finding.

• Some databases require that you indicate the purpose of the search before running the search.

• Most searches can be limited to a specific state(s) by use of a state-specific database, i.e, PEOPLE-XX (where XX is the state’s two-letter postal abbreviation) or by a state(s) selection option on the database Search page.

Public Records

• A Structured Search (fill-in-the-blank) method of searching is the default method in many of the public records databases.

• The public records databases can also be searched using the Terms and Connectors search method.• Natural Language searching is usually not available in these databases.

Search Methods

Public Records

Public Records

Partially expanded portions of the Westlaw Directory’s listing of public records databases

Path

Assets Databases • Asset Locator (ASSET-ALL) searches all assets in 47 states. (XX-ASSET),

where XX is a state’s two-letter postal abbreviation) searches for assets in an individual state.

• Aircraft Records (AIRCRAFT) lists information upon registration by the Federal Aviation Administration.

• Motor Vehicle Records–Combined (DMV-ALL) indicates owner associated with vehicle’s license plate number.

• Stock (STOCK) contains current information on stock holding and transactions involving at least 10 percent of stock in public companies.

• Watercraft Records (WATERCRAFT) lists U.S. Coast Guard records for both recreational and merchant vessels.

• Real Property Tax Assessors and Transaction Records– Combined (RP-ALL, RPALL-XX) contains abstracts of real property records maintained by local tax assessors and transactions derived from local registrars of deeds.

Public Records

• Database: CA-RP

• Structured Search: maria shriver

• Result: 1 document

• Total Value: $10,474,300.

• Tax Amount: $122.235.

Public Records

People Finder Database Examples

• Death Records (DEATH) lists deceased individuals whose deaths were reported to the Social Security Administration.

• Person Profile Search (P-PROFILE) lists person’s name and potential aliases; addresses; telephone number; motor vehicle and driver’s license information; names of individuals that may live or had lived at the person’s addresses; and adverse filings, such as bankruptcy, liens, and judgments.

• People Finder Credit Header Name and Address Tracker (PEOPLE-CHADDOR)

• People Finder Credit Header Social Security Number Tracker (PEOPLE-CHSSN)

Public Records

People Finder Database Examples

• People Finder Social Security Number Alert (SSN-ALERT) warns of Social Securities numbers that were never issued by the Social Security Administration.

• People Finder Telephone Tracker (PEOPLE-PHONE)

• People Finder Name Tracker (PEOPLE-NAME) and People Finder for individual states (PEOPLE-XX), where XX is a state’s two-letter postal abbreviation)

• People Finder Skip Tracer (PEOPLE-TRACK) tracks previous addresses.

Public Records

Adverse Filings DatabasesExamples

• Adverse Filings–Combined (ADVERSE-ALL) contains all “adverse” filings against individuals or businesses in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Includes bankruptcy, UCC, liens, and lawsuit filings. XX-ADVERSE contains all state filings, where XX is the state’s two-letter postal abbreviation.

• Bankruptcy Records–Combined (BKR-ALL) filings and filings for individual states (XX-BKR)

• Liens and Civil Judgments–Combined (LJ-ALL) filings and fillings for individual states (LJ-XX)

• Uniform Commercial Code–Combined (UCC-ALL) filings and filings for individual states (UCC-XX)

• Lawsuit Records–Combined (LS-ALL) filings and filings for for individual states (XX-LS)

Public Records

Other Public Records Databases

• Professional Licenses–Combined (LICENSE-ALL) and for individual states, XX-LICENSE, where XX is a state’s two-letter postal abbreviation)

• Professional Licenses–FAA (FAA) contains information on those registered to pilot an airplane in the United States, including those living abroad.

• Professional Licenses–DEA (DEA) contains information on individuals and business who are registered with the Drug Enforcement Administration authorizing them to prescribe and handle controlled substances.

Public Records

• Westlaw contains more than 17,000 databases, many of which are unfamiliar to law students.

• Many of these databases are extremely useful to the practicing attorney.

• West Reference Attorneys are always available to help practicing attorneys, as well as law students, find the correct databases and help construct effective searches.

Call1-800-850-WEST