Author: Lynn Lenart, Law Librarian

LEXIS and WESTLAW Academic Password Use

Your law school passwords for LexisNexis and Westlaw may only be used for educational purposes directly related to coursework at the law school.  Other use violates the Student Disciplinary Code and constitutes a breach of our contracts with LexisNexis and Westlaw.  Using LexisNexis or Westlaw to do research in a paid position as a law clerk, intern, or clinician working for a firm, governmental entity or a nonprofit organization would violate the Student Disciplinary Code.  Also, you are not permitted to conduct legal research on LexisNexis and Westlaw for friends and family.

In addition to sanctions by theSchoolofLaw, a contract violation can result in having to pay the vendors for the services misused.  Repayment will be at commercial rates of about $5.00+ per minute.  Moreover, violators are likely to lose their privileges to use LexisNexis and Westlaw as students.  A pattern of violations at our school could result in the vendors canceling our contracts, which would have a devastating impact on all students and faculty.

For a copy of Westlaw’s and LexisNexis’ policy concerning academic passwords follow the links on the Password Use web page.

Don’t Forget Casemaker

As an alternative to using LexisNexis or Westlaw, you may use Casemaker, the database available from the Ohio State Bar Association.  All Ohio law students can join the Ohio State Bar Association for free and your free membership includes access to Casemaker.  Casemaker has no academic password restrictions so you can use it to conduct research for your employer.

Questions?

Any question concerning what is proper or improper use of LexisNexis or WESTLAW should be directed to Ms. Lenart or Mr. Richert.

Ms. Lenart, Assistant Law Librarian for Reference Services

330-972-6357

llenart@uakron.edu

Law Library Guides to help you prepare for finals!

To help you prepare for finals, take a look at these library guides:

First Year Courses

Upper Division Bar Courses

Elective Courses

The guides link to information about study aids, course materials, audio lectures, flashcards, CALI lessons and AudioCaseFiles.  All these resources are available to University of Akron law students.

All Law Library Guides can be accessed here.

Protect Your Belongings

We would like to remind law students to never leave your valuables alone anywhere in the School of Law.  Your textbooks, book bags, purses, laptops and other belongings can be easily taken in just “30 seconds.”

We welcome visitors to the School of Law and to the Law Library, both those associated with the University and those who are not.  Having open doors, however, also means anyone can come into the building.  It would be wise to always be careful and make it a habit to never leave your belongings unattended.

If you see suspicious behavior, please notify law school employees right away.  You can call the University police yourself by dialing 330-972-2911 (if using a cell phone) or 911 if using a campus phone.

More information about campus safety here.

Thank you.

How to Avoid Plagiarism

Plagiarism, as defined on the University of Akron Office of General Counsel web page, “is the intentional or unintentional use of the words or ideas of another without acknowledging their source.” Deliberate and accidental plagiarism are treated the same by the University and the School of Law.  The University places the responsibility on the students to know what plagiarism is and how to avoid it.

Law students caught plagiarizing will be violating the Law School’s Student Disciplinary Code and will be subject to proceedings under the Code.  Consequences can be severe and may include dismissal from the University.

More information about plagiarism can be found here- Law Library Plagiarism Guide.

CALI Lesson: Plagiarism – Keeping Out of Trouble.  This lesson will explain what constitutes plagiarism, how to avoid plagiarizing, and offers opportunities for students to test their understanding of plagiarism.