Transcript Cost Effective Techniques

West Group’s Instructional Aids Series
Cost-Effective Online Research
Contents
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Introduction to Cost-Effective Online Research
Choosing the Best Pricing Option
Formulating a Cost-Effective Search
Choosing the Most Cost- Effective Database
Choosing the Best Pricing Option for Printing
Other Cost-Effective Services
Contents
Introduction to Cost-Effective Online
Research
Introduction
• With the Westlaw® access that you enjoy as a student, you
may not be accustomed to thinking about the efficiency of
your online research.
• In the real world, whether you are a new associate, a sole
practitioner, or other legal professional, cost-effective
research is a necessary skill.
• There are many ways to save money and time when
searching on Westlaw and still getting the results you need.
Saving time is saving money.
Introduction
The best advice we can give you!
Call a Westlaw® Reference Attorney before signing on to
Westlaw if you are not completely sure of
– the steps you must take to retrieve the needed
document(s)
– the database(s) most likely to contain the documents
or information you need
– the database(s) that will be most cost-effective
– the most effective way to structure a search
– the printing option to choose
– the billing method to choose
1-800-850-WEST
Introduction
Know the Terms of Your Firm’s Contract
with Westlaw
• WestlawPRO® plans are available to small firms,
government agencies, and state trial courts.
– There is a flat monthly rate for databases within the
plan.
• Jurisdictional
• Topical
• Analytical
• News
• Searching outside the WestlawPro Plan databases incurs
regular hourly or transactional pricing.
• You will see a warning screen when attempting to access a
database outside your employer’s WestlawPro plan.
Introduction
There are also
• Customized flat rate plans
– a flat-rate payment each month for access to Westlaw
– some databases are excluded
– some plans have upper limits on usage
• Traditional Subscription Plans
– pay standard transaction or hourly rate
– unlimited access to databases
Ask the organization’s librarian or administrator about the
terms of your organization’s plan.
Introduction
Use Print Resources to Supplement
Online Research
• Use your library’s print resources to help you refine your
issue(s) and determine which type of document (e.g., case,
statute, or law review article) you need before going
online.
• After running a search and retrieving relevant documents
online, print the citations list and read the documents
offline in books.
Introduction
Use Find
• Use Find to retrieve a document when you know its
citation.
– $5.50 for cases, statutes or news
– Find saves time and money because you don’t have to
access the database and then formulate a search.
– Simply access Find and type the document’s citation,
e.g., 404 nw2d 606.
Find
Find
Introduction
Find Template
ca st
If you don’t know the correct citation format,
access Find and type the publication’s
abbreviation, e.g., ca st, to display a fill-in-theblank template.
Contents
Choosing the Best Pricing1 Option
Transactional Pricing vs. Hourly Pricing
1Prices
as of 1/15/2004
Pricing Options
Choosing Transactional or Hourly
Pricing
More
Location& Pricing
Options
Billing Methods
• Choose Options from the More drop-down list on the toolbar.
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Click Location & Pricing in the left frame.
Select your choice of billing methods.
Sign off then back on Westlaw for the change to take effect.
Choose Ask at Sign On if your pricing choice will change often.
Pricing Options
Transactional Pricing
• With transactional pricing you incur a charge for each
transaction that you complete.
• Transactions include
– running a search in a database
– retrieving a document using find
– retrieving a document using a hypertext link
– using KeyCite®
• The following are free when you use transactional billing
– Locate requests
– Documents in Sequence
Pricing Options
• A Find request is $5.50.
• Each KeyCite transaction is $4.25.
• Transaction costs for searches vary by database. For
example, in the Minnesota Cases database (MN-CS), a
search is $44.
• Use transactional pricing if you
– plan to run only one or two searches, Find commands
or KeyCite research
– will spend time reading documents online
– want to spend more than a minute or two in
• SUBSCRIBER or IDEN databases
• the Westlaw Directory
• the Options Directory
• Scope
Pricing Options
Advantages of Transactional Pricing
• Predictable
• Browse search results online for as long as you like
• Multitask without worrying about time spent online; for
example, you can switch between word-processing
documents and Westlaw, copying and pasting as needed
• Some services and databases are free in transactional
pricing:
– SUBSCRIBER and IDEN databases
– the Westlaw Directory and Options Directory
– Scope
– Locate in Results
– Documents in Sequence
Pricing Options
Hourly Pricing
• With hourly pricing you are charged by how much time
you spend searching or browsing a database.
• Pricing includes
– database charges, which depend on the database and
your Westlaw subscription plan. Most databases fall
within the $15 to $75 a minute range.
– connect time charges
– communication charges
Pricing Options
Hourly Pricing
• Use hourly pricing when you plan to
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run multiple searches
check a number of citations in KeyCite
retrieve many documents using Find
spend only a short time on Westlaw
run your search in multiple databases.
Formulating a Cost-Effective Search
Contents
Formulating Searches
Search Preparation
Fully plan your search on paper before signing on to Westlaw.
– Articulate your issue, using concise legal terminology.
– Choose key terms.
– Add reasonable alternative terms for your key terms.
– If you are using the Terms and Connectors search
method, select appropriate connectors.
liability of car manufacturer for defective tires
liability
car
defective
vehicle
dangerous
automobile
tire
liab! /p car automobile vehicle /p danger! defect! /s tire
Formulating Searches
Choosing the Search Method
• Decide whether Terms and Connectors or Natural
Language searching will be more effective.
• Use Natural Language when
– you are searching for broad concepts
– you are a new or infrequent user of Westlaw
– your Terms and Connectors search is not retrieving the
information you need
Formulating Searches
Choosing the Query Method
• Use Terms and Connectors when
– you are searching for particular terms
– you need to find all documents containing very specific
information, such as all cases with a particular topic
and key number or all articles that mention a specific
company name
– you need to search a database for which Natural
Language searching is not available
Choosing the Most Cost- Effective
Database
Choosing a Database
Choosing the Most Cost-Effective
Database
• Use the smallest database that contains the documents you
need. ALL as part of a database identifier indicates a large
database that contains more than one smaller database. (Both
hourly and transactional rates are higher in the larger
databases.)
– Use Idaho Cases (UT-CS) database rather than All State
Cases (ALLSTATES) if you need only Utah cases.
– Use Environmental Law Reviews, Texts & Bar Journals
(ENV-TP) database rather than All Texts & Periodicals
(TP-ALL) if you need only environmental articles.
– Use The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) rather than the All
News (ALLNEWS) database if the article you need was
published in the Wall Street Journal.
Choosing a Database
Choosing the Appropriate Database
• Use Scope to find out what materials or information a
database covers and to get helpful search tips.
• Under transactional pricing, there is no charge to view
Scope information.
The Scope icon in the Westlaw Directory
and on the Search page of each database
indicates that descriptive information for
the database is available. Click the icon
to view this information.
Choosing a Database
Here are two pages of Scope information for the
U.S. Court of Appeal Cases – Reported (CTAR) database.
Choosing a Database
Choosing the Appropriate Database
• Use the SUBSCRIBER database to check the cost of
searching in a database using hourly or transactional
pricing.
• You incur no hourly database or transactional charges
when you use SUBSCRIBER.
• Law students cannot run searches in the SUBSCRIBER
database.
Choosing a Database
This is the page in the SUSCRIBER database that shows the
pricing for the Criminal Justice - Law Reviews, Texts,
and Bar Journals (CJ-TP) database.
Choosing a Database
Finding the Appropriate Database
• If you don’t know which database(s) might be appropriate,
use the Westlaw Directory.
• Access the Westlaw Directory by clicking Directory on
the toolbar.
• Browse the Westlaw Directory by clicking the plus (+) or
minus (-) symbol next to a section that interests you.
• Click a blue hypertext link in the Westlaw Directory to
access the Search page for that database.
Directory
Choosing a Database
Finding the Appropriate Database
• You can also find the appropriate database by entering a
description of the material of the database in the Search
these databases text box on most tab pages in
westlaw.com.®
• A list of possible database names and their identifiers is
displayed.
• Check the database you need and click OK at the bottom
of the screen.
irs private letter rulings
You incur no hourly
database or transactional
charge for browsing the
irs rulings
Westlaw Directory or
the Search these databases
feature.
OK
Choosing the Best Pricing1 Option for
Printing
Per Line vs. Per Document
1Prices
Contents
as of 4/15/2002
Printing Options
Choosing the Best Pricing Option for
Printing
• You can pay for printing per-document or per-line.
• Choose Options from the drop-down list on the
toolbar, then choose Location & Pricing.
• Then select your printing option.
More
Location & Pricing
Print Billing Methods
Options
Printing Options
Choosing the Best Pricing Option for
Printing
• Per-line pricing is better for printing shorter (up to
five pages) documents.
• Cost:
– 3¢ per line for most Westlaw databases
– Up to 65¢ per line for a few selected databases.
Printing Options
Per Line Pricing
You can print a Result List and read the documents offline
in book format which will reduce the number of lines you
need to print and the time you need to spend online.
Result List
Print
You can print just the page(s) containing search terms or
just the first page.
Printing Options
Per Line Pricing
• You can limit your document to specific fields and then
print only those fields.
• Click the Tools link in the lower right portion of the screen
to limit by field.
Limit Display by Field
Tools
Printing Options
Per-Document Pricing
• Per-document print pricing charges you a flat printing rate
per document transmitted offline, regardless of its length.
• Each of the following print commands is considered a
document when using per-document pricing:
– a page
– selected pages
– a range of pages
– a citations list
– a list of selected documents
• Costs $6.50 per document for most materials.
• Costs up to $50 per document for a few selected databases.
Printing Options
Save on Westlaw
• Using the Save on Westlaw print option, you can store
your print request for up to 30 days with no print charges
in the Offline Print Directory.
• At any time within the 30 days, you can access the
Print/Delivery Manager under the More drop down list in
the upper right corner of the screen, delete the print
request or change the print request destination; and receive
the results of your search at a printer, a fax machine, or an
e-mail address.
Print/Delivery Manager
Save on Westlaw
Print/Delivery Manager
Printing Options
Print Some Information for Free
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There is no charge for printing information from the
following services
KeyCite
Westlaw Directory
Scope
Westlaw Options Directory
There is no charge for using the following commands while
online
• Print screen function
• Internet Print command
• Copy and paste
Other Cost-Effective Services
Cost-Effective Services
Cost-Effective Services
• The WestFind&Print™ service is accessed from
lawschool.westlaw.com or the westlaw.com sign on page.
• You can enter citations and automatically print up to 99
documents at one time.
• You can also check a list of cases in KeyCite.
• The charge is $12 per document.
Find&Print
Cost-Effective Services
The Key Number System®
• West’s Key Number System allow you to quickly find other
cases that discuss the same legal issue as the case at hand.
• A unique key number is assigned to every point of law.
• Topic 17 is Adoption. Key number 4 under Adoption
addresses persons who may adopt others. We will look for
cases that have points of law assigned to 17k4.
17k4
17k4
Key Numbers & Digest
Cost-Effective Services
The Key Number System
• The key numbers are linked to every headnote in West’s
National Reporter System® that discusses that point of law.
• We have chosen Minnesota Cases (MN-CS) as our
database.
Custom Digest
MN
• We have created a Custom Digest of the eight headnotes
from Minnesota cases that address the issue of who may
adopt.
Cost-Effective Services
Key Search in westlaw.com
• West attorney-editors have created logical topics and
subtopics that are arranged alphabetically
• Links to popular subtopics are listed below each main topic
for quick retrieval.
Access KeySearch from the
link on the toolbar.
Cost-Effective Services
• After subfolders have been opened to the topic desired, a
click on the folder icon accesses the search page.
• Notice that your KeySearch path is displayed at the top of
the page so it is easy to keep track of how you got to this
subtopic.
Path
You can choose
to run your search
in reported or
unreported cases
or in secondary
sources.
KeySearch has generated a query
based on the Key Number System
but the query also contains other
terms so that unreported cases and
secondary sources can also be
retrieved..
Cost-Effective Services
Use KeySearch when you:
– are unfamiliar with an area of the law
– are unfamiliar with the Key Number System
– need to retrieve unreported cases or secondary-source
documents as well as reported cases
Cost-Effective Services
ResultsPlus
Search
ResultsPlus
Case Results
• Run a search in any case law database.
• Not only will you retrieve relevant cases, you will also
retrieve links to relevant ALR, Am. Jur. Proof of Facts,
Am. Jur. Trials, and Am. Jur. 2d articles and West key
numbers.
• Several searches for the price of one!
Cost-Effective Services
StatutesPlus
Links for tab
• The Links for tab, which is in the left frame when a statute
is displayed in the right frame, contains the resources for
expediting, expanding, and verifying your statutory
research.
• StatutesPlus saves money because it saves time.
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Save time with westlaw.com’s
convenient Links for tab that
organizes the information and
documents essential for thorough
statutory research.
KeyCite flags with brief explanation
Citing References
Monitor with KeyCite Alert
Table of Contents
Section Outline
Notes of Decisions
Analysis (Secondary Sources)
Legislative History
Cross Referenced Statutes
Administrative Materials
West Key Numbers
Cost-Effective Services
Other Cost-Effective Services
• Locate in Results is a search within the results of a prior
search. Under transactional billing there is no extra
transactional fee for a locate search.
TOC
Locate
• Documents in Sequence allows you to
browse surrounding statutes, rules, or
regulations without incurring an
additional transactional fee.
Documents in Sequence
• Table of Contents service browsing in statutes or
regulations incurs no transactional or hourly database
charges. However, there is a $5.50 charge if you jump to a
particular statute or regulation.
Cost-Effective Services
• KeyCite lets you quickly trace the history of a case(s)
through the appellate process and/or retrieve a list of cases
and secondary sources that cite the case.
• KeyCite Alert monitors and automatically delivers to you
any change in the status of a case or statute. Cost depends
on pricing plan.
• WestClip® allows you to stay up-to-date on legal issues
without spending unnecessary time online as results can be
automatically be delivered to the destination of your
choice.
• WestCheck.com® automatically extracts citations from a
word-processing document and runs them in KeyCite to
determine whether they are good law and/or to retrieve a
list of cases and secondary sources citing the document.
• WestCiteLink™ software automatically creates links to the
documents on Westlaw for every citation in a wordprocessing document.
Cost-Effective Services
Don’t forget the Westlaw Reference Attorneys. They are:
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available 24 hours a day, seven days a week
available to help you at no charge
licensed attorneys
fully experienced Westlaw users
a knowledgeable and friendly research resource
I-800-850-WEST