Training tips and tricks

Quickly find cases that mirror the same stage of litigation as your case with the new Procedural Posture filter on Westlaw Edge. The new filter will save you vast amounts of time reading through each individual document by allowing you to filter to the most relevant ones.  

Enter a Procedural Posture in the search box at the top or select from the list provided. Click Continue to filter your results to see pertinent judicial opinions at the selected stages of litigation.

Enhance Terms & Connectors searches of Primary Law and Secondary Source content on Westlaw Edge. Access the Thesaurus in the Global Search box or the Advanced Search Template.

After entering your Terms & Connectors in the Global Search bar, click the Thesaurus to access. 

Choose a term from your query and view synonym suggestions grouped by context. The Query Preview displays your original query, and updates as you add suggestions.  Click Search to run your new search.

You can now filter out, or only view class action data in your Litigation Analytics search results on Westlaw Edge.

Once you run a search, from the motions tab click the advanced filtering button found below your standard category filters on the left.

Select whether to show, hide, or show only class actions in your search results and click save.

Westlaw Edge makes it easy to see the trees as clearly as the forest by giving quick access to the underlying dockets that inform and supply the data in Litigation Analytics.  

On any tab (excluding Overview), you’re able to see the dockets that underlie the Litigation Analytics report listed. Click on any of the bars on the report’s chart to filter the report and the list of dockets will change to match the content.

Additionally, you can control the list of dockets by using the filters on the left side of your screen under Filter by Category and you can sort the list in many ways by using the Sort by on the right side of your screen.

Lastly, you can access not only the dockets themselves but the actual PDF of the document that supplies the data utilized by the report. This will give you a more complete perspective on how to most effectively conduct litigation and ensure that you’re staying a step ahead of opposing counsel and the competition for your clients’ business.

There is now an easier way to get information related to public health emergencies on Westlaw Edge. After starting with this new case type, you can use the filters along the left to narrow your results by five sub-types, including: Coronavirus/COVID-19, epidemics/pandemics, opioid litigation, influenza & viruses, and AIDS & HIV.

With Public Health Emergencies, you can find what motions and settlements are coming out, plus track litigation trends and changes in prior pandemic and epidemic scenarios.

Discover the power of integrated legal drafting and brief analysis you need to craft a winning argument. Quick Check is integrated with Drafting Assistant when you have subscriptions to both Westlaw Edge and Drafting Assistant.

Click on the “Westlaw Edge Quick Check” link in the left navigation pane within Drafting Assistant.

The document you’re working on will be uploaded and analyzed in Quick Check.

Checking your sources for negative treatment just got easier – KeyCite flags now appear inline on cases and briefs available on Westlaw Edge! These flags make it easier than ever to ensure that the authorities you rely upon are also relying upon good law.

These flags are turned on automatically and you will see them the next time you log in to Westlaw Edge. However, you do also have the option to turn them off if desired.

Using these inline KeyCite flags will save you the time and effort of manually pulling up all of the authorities cited within your case or brief. You can quickly and easily gain confidence that the law you are relying upon is still valid!

KeyCite is the powerful citation research service available on Westlaw Edge. KeyCite flags alert you to negative references or events that may impact the validity of that document. Use KeyCite to ensure that what you are relying on is good law – and now do it faster than ever.

Finding some case law and statutes on point can sometimes be only half the battle in your legal research. You may look to Citing References to determine the seminal value of an opinion based on the number of times it is cited. You may also look to Citing References to determine the amount of judicial discussion available on a statute or regulation. With Westlaw Edge, it is even easier to access Citing References information because you can now do it from your search results.

After you run your search, you will find Citing References under the document title.

Clicking on the Citing References link will take you directly into the Citing References tab of the document.

You can now determine the number of Citing References more quickly from your search results. This allows you to also easily pivot into the Citing References content of the document.

To view Negative Treatment from a search result without even having to click into the document., first run a search. Once on your result list there is now an option to quickly view the actual information causing a KeyCite Flag to appear. Simply click on the flag next to the title of the document in your result list and see the most Negative Treatment for the document.

Better advise clients on things like regulatory compliance, risk management, and corporate strategy with Legislative Insights on Westlaw Edge. Legislative Insights provides a probability of enactment score on pending legislation, arming you with deeper insights into federal legislation that could impact your client, company, or agency.

Now when reviewing proposed legislation, you’ll see an assigned probability of enactment score at the top of the bill. Other relevant information such as industries impacted, and the status of the bill is displayed just below.

Narrow in on the most relevant details and get up to speed quickly on a perspective matter. You’re now able to search within your results set up to 10 times. Located along the left navigation pane, simply enter an additional search term to search within your results.

Enter up to 10 searches to refine your results. Previous searches are able to be edited as needed.

Have you ever had to re-join a previous Westlaw Edge research session? Whether it be from unintentionally closing tabs, simple misclicks, or stepping away for a break, finding your way back to Westlaw Edge is just a few clicks away. Remember, after 90 minutes of inactivity you will be automatically signed off. 

Returning is Westlaw Edge is easy: click “Return to Westlaw” and then choose “Join session” or “View all history” to pick a different return spot.

With Dockets on Westlaw Edge, you can easily find key litigation events that exist within a docket in just a couple of clicks. Start by clicking on the Timeline tab along the top of the docket.

From there, you can view Motions and Outcomes from Litigation Analytics in a graphical display at the top to quickly find important findings. You can also use filters to narrow in on relevant information.

With these features on Dockets, you can improve your research by efficiently identifying key litigation events to better inform your clients.