Alternatives to Lexis & Westlaw
Prof. Carolyn Broering-Jacobs’
Legal Writing Class
Feb. 2011
Low Cost Databases
Stripped down versions of
Lexis/WL
• Casemaker –Free w/ free
student OSBA membership
• Fastcase – Free w/ Cleve 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.

Casemaker: ohiobar.org. Free with FREE
student membership to the Ohio State Bar
Association OR Librarians can sign you in

Fastcase – fastcase.com.
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
Contents
Unanno Cases
Unanno
Statutes w/o
Regs
Headnotes
“Shepard’s Other
–Like
Feature”
Loislaw Yes
Yes –
Yes
Ohio
unreported
1997-
Yes
Treatises,
Forms, Public
Records
(depends on
plan)
Case Yes
maker
Yes –
Ohio
unreported
1981-, All
Ohio Misc.
Yes
Some
Jurisdictions Jury Instruc.,
Jury Verdicts,
More
Yes
Contents
Unanno
Statutes
Fastcase
Versuslaw
See help,
Content/
Features
Cases
w/o
Headnotes
Internet
Fed App 1925-,
links for 8 Ohio 1950 -,
states
Ohio unreported
2000-.Coverage
Fed if pay Ohio 1950 -.
more, no Ohio unreported
state
1995 -.
Older Fed
District More $
Unanno “Shepard’s
–Like
Regs
Feature”
Mostly Yes
Internet
Links
Fed if
pay
more,
no
State
Yes
Searching
Boolean
Natural
Language
Fields
Search
databases
together
Yes - near2
No
Yes
Yes
Casemaker Yes - w/n,
No
w/sent, w/para
Yes
Fed
together,
State
together
Loislaw
Searching
Boolean
Natural
Fields
Language
Search
databases
together
Fastcase
Yes - w/n
Yes
Yes
Versus
Law
Yes - w/n
Yes
4 fields,
default
see help
connector
is ADJ
Date, cite
look-up
only
For addtl
fee
• Issue= Whether in Ohio, two people can
marry if they are the opposite sex because
one person had gender reassignment
surgery, and that person’s birth certificate
was amended to reflect the sex change?
• Search = “birth certificate” (transsexual,
transgender, “sex change”) marri*
Casemaker Session



Part of Research Certificate Seminars
Wednesday, 3/2, 3pm-4pm
Register by emailing Laura Ray
Temporary Login


username: CMLaw
password: fastcase
• “birth certificate” AND (transgender OR
transsexual OR “sex change”) AND marri*
• Natural language – birth certificate
marriage transsexual
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
RIA Checkpoint
See Electronic Resources page for links.
NOT low cost, but not charged back to
clients
BNA


Current Awareness PLUS
Libraries: Primary & Secondary Sources
BNA Current Awareness




Articles, cases
May contain past 12 years
ex. U.S. Law Week/Supreme Court Today ;
Daily Labor Report (DLR expensive!).
Sign up for BNA Current Awareness Services
BNA Libraries




Cases, statutes, regs
Practice books
Forms
ex. Labor and Employment Law Library ,
Intellectual Property Library or ABA/BNA
lawyers' manual on professional conduct
CCH Intelliconnect
• Both Primary and Secondary Sources
• Topics Covered:
Antitrust
Banking
Corporate Governance
Health Care and Medicaid/Medicare
Labor & Employment, Pensions
Securities
CCH





Boolean searching, w/n etc.
Federated Searching
Indexes
Current awareness emails – Sign up
Instructions
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 – 1950. 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 Web
Cornell Legal Information Institute (LII)
FindLaw
ALSO (American Law Sources Online)
Other Portals
Use LEGAL Search Engines

Cornell University Legal Research Engine
LexisWeb

List of Search Legal Engines

Case law



Google Scholar – state reported 1950-, fed
circuit/ district 1923Ohio Supreme Court
Legal Research Workstation - Case Law
• 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
FDSys - Fed’l Govt.
PACER – Federal Court dockets
Martindale Hubbell Law Digest
Ehandout

https://www.law.csuohio.edu/lawlibrary/ehand
out/alternatives2011