Legal Definitions - Westlaw

Westlaw (often abbreviated as WL) is a leading online platform that serves as a vast digital library for legal professionals and researchers. It provides comprehensive access to an extensive collection of legal information, including court decisions from federal and state courts, legislative statutes, administrative regulations, and articles from legal journals and reviews. Essentially, it's a powerful search engine and database specifically designed for legal research, allowing users to find, analyze, and stay updated on legal developments.

Examples:

• Example 1: A small business owner is considering expanding into a new state and needs to understand the specific environmental regulations that apply to their industry there. Instead of sifting through countless government websites, their attorney uses Westlaw to quickly locate the relevant state statutes and administrative codes, as well as any recent court cases interpreting those laws.

  How this illustrates Westlaw: This scenario demonstrates Westlaw's utility in providing organized access to specific state statutes and regulations, allowing legal professionals to efficiently research the legal landscape for clients.

• Example 2: A non-profit organization is preparing a white paper on the evolution of privacy rights in the digital age. Their research team utilizes Westlaw to find landmark Supreme Court decisions related to privacy, track how these decisions have been cited and interpreted in subsequent federal and state court cases, and access academic articles discussing the legal implications of new technologies.

  How this illustrates Westlaw: Here, Westlaw acts as a central hub for accessing federal caselaw, understanding its historical development through citations, and finding scholarly legal periodicals that offer in-depth analysis on complex legal topics.

• Example 3: A journalist is investigating a recent high-profile criminal trial and wants to review the exact wording of the jury instructions and the legal arguments presented by both the prosecution and defense. They request access to Westlaw from a legal contact to find the specific court filings, motions, and opinions issued by the judge during the trial.

  How this illustrates Westlaw: This example highlights Westlaw's capacity to provide detailed court documents and judicial opinions, offering a precise record of legal proceedings that goes beyond general news reports.