Westlaw Next does improve a lot of research for professionals and students alike .. but with with placed propaganda like this in the Virginia Law Weekly any self respecting undergraduate should on principal employ other research methodologies…
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Here’s the piece . It all seems fairly innocuous By Benjamin Grosz ’11? Managing Editor. Fair enough it’s his job to review new products as the managing editor of the law review.. well we thought it was until we see at the end of the article?? [Editor?s Note: Benjamin Grosz ?11 is a West student representative for Thomson Reuters.]
Here at HOB we must be a bit old fashioned but since when should an editor of a law school magazine also be the mouthpiece for a major legal publisher.
In our opinion both Mr Grosz and especially so the recruiter(s) from TR West should be ashamed of themselves.
Firstly for not stating the relationship at the beginning on the article and secondly for even thinking that the editor of a law school magazine should be tainted by commercial relationships.
What sort of example does this set for the future.? If Mr Groz makes it to Judge should we expect him to endorse TR West products in the middle of a trial.
Ridiculous you say but if this is the West approach now, imagine 2025. We’ll be stopping for ad breaks rather than adjournments every time the court rises.
WestlawNext Launches; New Research Tool Available
http://www.lawweekly.org/?module=displaystory&story_id=3015&edition_id=158&format=htmlBy Benjamin Grosz ’11
Managing Editor
U.Va. Law students received access to a new research tool on Monday, Sept. 13th: WestlawNext. While most law schools will not get access until the spring, U.Va. Law students and faculty now have access. The tool was designed to ?efficiently and effectively search the world?s leading collection of legal content ? 2.2 billion documents ? then quickly zero in on exactly what you need, all in a matter of seconds,? according to Thomson Reuters. WestlawNext promises to significantly improve the search experience and save legal researchers substantial time. A study earlier this year found a 64 percent productivity gain from using WestlawNext compared to using Westlaw for five sample legal research assignments. In the legal profession, where time is often literally money via billable hours, the benefits of such improved efficiency could be substantial. For law students, who are unable to bill their research time to their journal or seminar professor, the potential benefits will likely translate into more time to relax or play softball.
A key component of WestlawNext is a new search engine: WestSearch. Searching works like Google, with one simple search box that can be used for natural language searches, terms and connectors searches, or a case citation. Exact search terms are not required and there is no need to select a database. Like Google, WestlawNext returns all results ranked in order of relevancy. Search results come organized by the type of content (e.g. cases, statutes, secondary sources).
Billed as ?the world?s most advanced legal search engine,? WestSearch is the result of more than five years of research, design and engineering. To build WestSearch, the design team mined years of legal research data and examined what attorneys, judges, and scholars were printing, clicking on, and citing to when they did legal research.
Other new features include folders to save and organize legal research online and an eyeglasses icon that tells you what you?ve already read.
WestlawNext was recently released to the general legal marketplace. As firms and companies have been adopting it, it has received praise from a diverse range of professionals, including law librarians, associates, and corporate counsel. Associate attorney Bernie Henry stated, ?WestlawNext allows you to ask more general questions and get more targeted answers right away.?
The WestlawNext program was released at U.Va. with a special launch celebration featuring free bagels, coffee, and other goodies. Lynne Rozier, the West Academic account manager for U.Va. Law, reports that she ?has already heard from students how cool the folders are and how quickly they can complete their research.? She encourages students to try out the new tool for themselves. Many training courses are being offered to teach students how to use WestlawNext. Lynne mentions that there are ?great incentives for students to attend training ? a drawing for an iPad and an iPod Touch.? Although all U.Va. Law students are now able to use the program and register for training online, 1Ls will not start using the new program for Legal Research and Writing class until the Spring semester.
[Editor?s Note: Benjamin Grosz ?11 is a West student representative for Thomson Reuters.]
