Category: Law Library

Check Your Spelling before Searching

For those of us who rely heavily on spell-check in our daily lives, it is nice to know that you can also use a spell-checking feature before conducting a search on LexisNexis.  This function even provides spelling suggestions for the misspelled words!

Take the following steps to use the Check Spelling feature:

• ●  Enter your Terms and Connectors or Natural Language search in the Enter Search Terms form.
  NOTE: You cannot use Check Spelling with the LexisNexis® Easy Search™ feature or in sources containing a Table of Contents.
• ●  Click Check Spelling to highlight misspelled words and display up to three Spelling Suggestions per misspelled word.
• ●  Select one of the Spelling Suggestions to replace the misspelled word.
• ●  Click Search.

NOTE: Check Spelling only checks words that are four or more letters long .

Source: LexisNexis InfoPro

Questions?  Contact Lynn Lenart, Assistant Law Librarian for Reference Services.  330-972-6357, llenart@uakron.edu, Law Library, second floor, office 269. 

For those students that feel they still need practice in briefing a case, there is a CALI lesson that teaches how to brief and gives examples.  Here is a description from the lesson itself.

“This is an exercise designed to introduce first-semester law students to the basic elements of a typical case “brief” and to teach them general methodology for writing their own briefs. The exercise consists of three parts: (1) an introduction to the purposes and uses of a case brief; (2) a detailed examination of each of the ten components of a typical case brief (with examples); and (3) two actual cases that students are asked to read and then to brief.”

Lesson Completion Time: 2 hours

How to find this lesson:  After logging into CALI, click on Legal Research.  The lessons are alphabetic at the next page.

Questions?  Contact Lynn Lenart, Assistant Law Librarian for Reference Services.  330-972-6357, llenart@uakron.edu, Law Library, second floor, office 269. 

The new Customizable Westlaw now makes it especially easy to build and rearrange content and tools at many Westlaw tabbed pages.

• Show All: Some of the database groups can be expanded to show a longer list of databases.    Click on SHOW ALL at the top of the database group box to extend the list.
• Move tabbed pages, as well as the tools and content on tabbed pages: Do you use the Black’s Law Dictionary often?  Move it up to the top of the left tools column. There are no fancy steps to follow: Just drag databases, database groups, and tools from one place to another. You can even drag items from one Customizable Westlaw page to another. In addition, you can change the order of the tabs at the top of the page by dragging them.
• Add, delete, rename, and edit items on tabbed pages: Customizable Westlaw makes it easy to add, delete, or modify a database or database group. It’s also easy to browse the contents of other tabbed pages or the Westlaw Directory and add databases to the page you are viewing.
• Create a tabbed page from scratch: You can create (and name) a personal tabbed page that contains databases and database groups in any arrangement that works for you.
• E-mail personal pages to colleagues effortlessly: An e-mail link is available so you can share your personal page with a colleague.
• Create “sticky notes”: Write online notes and reminders to yourself in the course of your research.

If you have questions or need search assistance, call the West Reference Attorneys at 1-800-REF-ATTY (1-800-733-2889).

Source: West elert, July 2009.

In response to a law student suggestion, the Library has added a shredding service at the Circulation/Reserve Desk.  You can place papers you would like shredded in a box located on the counter near the Library’s LCD display screen.  A word of caution do not put personal financial or other sensitive personal information in the box.  Student assistants at the Circulation/Reserve desk will regularly shred the material in the box. 

We welcome your ideas for other ways the Library could help you.  Please contact me.  Paul Richert richert@uakron.edu or 330-972-6350.