Quick & Dirty Westlaw For Legal Research for Paralegals Part Two

Quick & Dirty Westlaw

For Legal Research for Paralegals

Part Two

Part Two:Research!!!

OUR EXAMPLE

ISSUE: May a prayer or

benediction be given at a school

graduation?

NOW WHAT?

TWO SEARCH OPTIONS

1) NATURAL LANGUAGE:

Throw a bunch of words together,

choose a database, and

see what happens!

2) TERMS AND CONNECTORS:

Find terms

Connect them

Choose a database

Terms & Connectors

Creating a Terms and Connectors

Search

Creating a Terms and Connectors Search

THE FORM: The Westlaw Search Form takes you step-by-step through the process of creating a search on Westlaw.

Steps in Constructing

a Search: ITAC Method

Steps in Constructing a Search:ITAC Method

Issue,

Terms,

Alternatives,

Connectors

ITAC Method(Issue, Terms, Alternatives, Connectors)

Clearly state the ISSUE, using legal terminology when possible.

Stating your issue as a question is a good way to clarify your thoughts.

Is a social host liable for injuries caused by his intoxicated guests?


Select a few key TERMS from your issue.

Using three to five key terms works well for most issues

host injury intoxicated guest

or

host intoxicated guest

ITAC Method (Issue, Terms, Alternatives, Connectors)

Enter reasonable Alternative terms for your key terms.

Use acronyms and antonyms as well as synonyms.

ITAC Method (Issue, Terms, Alternatives, Connectors)

A term that may seem to have little relationship to a key term may be a reasonable alternative. The host of a party could be a corporation, an association, or a club.

host intoxicated guesthostess drunk attendeecorporation D.U.I. inviteeassociation D.W.I.club sober


Add appropriate Connectors to specify the relationship you want each term and its alternatives to have to the other terms and their alternatives.

host hostess /p intoxicated or drunk or alcohol /s guest

Steps in Constructing a Terms and Connectors Search

1) Issue is defined in legal terminology

2) Terms that are essential are selected

3) Alternative terms that are reasonable are selected

4) Connectors that connect the terms in reasonable relationships are added

Step-By-Step

Step One: Issue

The Issue Statement

STEP ONE

1. Define your issue carefully.

a) State it precisely in one sentence.

b) Avoid being narrower or broader than is necessary.

STEP ONE

1. Define your issue carefully.

EXAMPLE: you are seeking cases on prayer at public school graduations

i. TOO BROAD: “when is religion permitted in public schools”

ii. TOO NARROW: “may a student say the Lord’s Prayer at a public school graduation”

Step Two: Terms

Finding Key Terms

STEP TWO

2. Circle the key terms in your issue statement.

a) Key terms are words most closely related to your issue.

b) Exclude words so common that they are likely to turn up in many documents unrelated to your issue.

c) ISSUE: May a prayer or benediction be given at a school graduation?

FIND TERMS: May a prayer or benediction be given at a school graduation?

ELIMINATE COMMON: May a prayer or benediction be given at a school graduation?

WHAT YOU ARE LEFT WITH: prayer or benediction, school, graduation

WHAT YOU ARE LEFT WITH:

prayer or benediction,

school,

graduation

Step Three: Alternative

Terms

Step Three

Consider whether alternative terms might appear in a relevant document.

For example, if your issue involves an attorney, likely alternatives would be lawyer or counsel

Consider synonyms (car/automobile) and antonyms (admissible/inadmissible).

Step Three

Consider whether alternative terms might appear in a relevant document.

Consider also broader or narrower or related terms (car/vehicle/truck/motorcycle...).

Step Three: Our Example

List the alternatives to your key terms in the columns below each key term.

OUR EXAMPLE:

prayer or benediction or invocation

school

Graduation or commencement

Expanders (Wildcards): Making the

Most of Terms

!Expanders: Making the Most of Terms

The Root Expander (!)

The root expander (!) retrieves all extensions of words with variant endings (up to 16 characters).

Drunk!

Retrieves

drunk,

drunken, and

drunkard.

The Root Expander (!)

Be careful not to truncate your root term too severely.

Depo! Retrieves not only forms of deposition,

but also

deposit,

depositor,

deposited,

deport,

deportation, etc

*Expanders: Making the Most of Terms

The Universal Character (*)

The Universal Character (*) is used in place of a letter (like a wild card or a blank tile in Scrabble).

dr*nk retrieves

drank,

drink, and

drunk.

EXCEPTION: The universal character cannot be used in place of the first letter of a word.

The Universal Character (*)

The universal characters can be used at the end of a term to specify how many letters may be added.

Example: object** would retrieve

object,

objects and

objected

but not objective.

Expanders: Making the Most of Terms

More than one expander can be used in a term.

s****holder retrieves both shareholder and stockholder.

dr*nk! Retrieves

drank,

drink,

Drunk

PLUS

Expanders: Making the Most of Terms

dr*nk! Retrieves also

drinkable,

drinking,

drunken, and

drunkard.

Terms: Automatic Enhancements

The singular form of a word automatically retrieves the plural and possessive forms of the word, including irregular forms.

Woman retrieves

Women (plural),

woman’s (possessive) and

women’s (plural possessive)


The plural or possessive, however, will not retrieve the singular.

women or woman’s will not retrieve woman.

RULE: Use the singular form of a word unless you have a good reason not to.


Numbers:

Search term 415

retrieves

415.5, 415(b),

415(b)(1)(A).


USE OF NUMBERS

RULE: This is helpful when you are looking for mention of a statute that may or may not be cited as a particular paragraph or section.

Terms: Automatic Equivalencies

Most accepted variations of the spelling of a term will retrieve other accepted variations:

Judgment = Judgement

Terms: Automatic Equivalencies

Automatic equivalencies are built into Westlaw.

Three = 3

First = 1st

New York = NY

Avenue = Ave.

Terms: Other Enhancements

Hyphenate compound words in your search.

A hyphenated term will retrieve the term whether it is one word, two words, or a hyphenated word.

good-will retrieves

good will,

good-will, or

goodwill.


RULE: If you have any question whether a word might or might not be hyphenated, add the hyphen.


Use periods between the letters an acronym to retrieve all variations of the acronym.

Periods between letters

Spaces between letters

Periods and spaces between the letters

No period or spaces between letters


E.P.A. retrieves

E.P.A,

E P A,

E. P. A., and

EPA

Wildcards in Review

Use truncation (!) or the universal character (*) to account for variations of key terms.

EXAMPLES:

discrim! retrieves discriminate, discriminating, discriminated....

kn*w retrieves know or knew.

test*** retrieves test, tested, testing, testify... but not testimony or testamentary

BACK TO OUR EXAMPLE

OUR EXAMPLE

Use truncation (!) or the universal character (*) to account for variations of key terms.

OUR EXAMPLE:

prayer (or pray or praying) or benediction or invocation BECOMES pray! or benediction or invocation

school

Graduation (or graduating or graduate) BECOMES Graduat! or commencement

Step Four: Connectors

STEP FOUR

Use connectors to specify the relationship between key terms.

Primer on Connectors

CONNECTORS

Connectors are the way to glue different terms together

All the connectors are either a form of OR or AND

OR

AND

• &• /s• /p• /n

OR

“OR”

USE: A space

EXAMPLE: car automobile vehicle

Means: Find a document that has the terms car OR automobile OR vehicle in it.

AND

“AND”

USE: &

EXAMPLE: narcotic & warrant

MEANS: Find a document that has the terms narcotic AND warrant in it

More “And” Connectors

MORE “AND” CONNECTORS

TERMS IN THE SAME PARAGRAPH

USE: /p

EXAMPLE: hearsay /p utterance

MEANS: Find a document with with hearsay IN THE SAME PARAGRAPH as utterance

MORE “AND” CONNECTORS

TERMS WITHIN THE SAME SENTENCE

USE: /s

EXAMPLE: warrant /s arrest

Arrest warrant

Warrant of arrest

Court issued a warrant for his arrest.

NUMERICAL CONNECTORS

/n

Search terms within n terms of each other (where n is a number from 1-255):

Queens /2 county

Queens County

County of Queens

CONNECTORS IN BRIEF

RULE: All connectors are either OR or AND

OR:

OR

AND:

&, /p, /s, /n

The difference with the different ands is how much control you want to use

More…

MORE

EXACT PHRASE

USE: “[Insert phrase]”

EXAMPLE: “Rule against Perpetuity”

Using Connectors Effectively

Effectively Using Connectors

HOW TO EFFECTIVELY USE CONNECTORS

Use the [or] connector between alternative.

Use the & connector or its variant forms: /p or /s or /#, (where # is a number, e.g., /2) between your groups of ␣␣ ␣ key terms. When in doubt, start with a grammatical connector (/p or /s).

Effectively Using Connectors

HOW TO EFFECTIVELY USE CONNECTORS

Westlaw processes connectors in this order:

Or, /n, /s, /p, &

Filing Out The Form

Setting Up The Form

Write these key terms in the Terms boxes at the top of the Westlaw Search Form.

a. If two or more key terms both relate to only one aspect of issue, list them vertically, as alternatives.

b. EXAMPLE TERMS:

i. prayer or benediction

ii. school

iii. graduation

FILLING OUT THE FORM

INSERT THE TERMS HERE

FILLING OUT THE FORM

CHECK THE CONNECTORS

BACK TO EXAMPLE

ISSUE: May a prayer or benediction be given at a school graduation?

TERMS:

i. Pray! or benediction or invocation

ii. school

iii. Graduat! or commencement

BACK TO EXAMPLE

Terms Pray!/p

school/p

Graduat!

Alternatives

or or

benediction commencementor

invocation

SEARCH QUERY

Pray! Benediction invocation /p school /p graduat! commencement

Last Step: Choosing

Databases

DATABASES

Now that you have determined the TERMS AND CONNECTORS and have a search query, the question is: Where do you look?

In Westlaw, you need to search in databases.

Databases are various groupings of documents

EXAMPLES:

New York Statutes US Supreme Court Decision

You get to choose where Westlaw looks

DATABASES

WHAT YOU WANT DATABASE

New York Cases New York Cases

New York StatutesNew York Statutes Annotated

US Supreme Court Decisions

Search for DatabaseSCT

Corpus Juris Secundum

Search for DatabaseCJS

NOT THERE?

Not Sure How To Do It?

1-800-WESTLAW

1-800-937-8529

BONUS

Reading Siegel’s New

York Practice on Westlaw

Type “Siegel”

Type “Siegel”

Documents

Quick & Dirty Westlaw For Legal Research for Paralegals Part Two