Database of the Month: Introducing WestlawNext

WestlawNext is a new database that replaces Westlaw Campus.  This new offering from Westlaw allows users to search for state and Federal cases, statutes and regulations and is designed for students to be the starting point for legal research. WestlawNext allows users to search for citations to cases and statutes. Users can simply enter a citation in the West Search search box at the top of each page. West Search allows users to easily switch between Federal and state jurisdictions while searching for legal information. When users run a search on WestlawNext, they don’t need to select a database. The search is automatically run across eight content categories:

• Cases
• Statutes and Court Rules
• Regulations
• Administrative Decisions and Guidance
• Secondary Sources
• Briefs
• Proposed and Enacted Legislation
• Proposed and Adopted Regulations

WestlawNext also provides users with the option of searching for legal terms. WestlawNext supports the Boolean search method that allows users to enter a query that consists of key terms from their issue and connectors specifying the relationship between those terms. The Advanced Search page enables users to search for terms within specific parts of a legal document and to limit by jurisdiction.  After search results are returned, users can use the WestlawNext filtering tool to find the exact document they need. WestlawNext allows users can email download, print, place in Dropbox, or view with Kindle search results and documents.

For more information about WestlawNext please contact the Bentley Library Reference Desk at 781.891.2300 or refdesk@bentley.edu.