Legal Method Beyond Google and Using Lexis Emily Allbon
What will I be able to do at the end?
Understand the limitations of Google Feel more confident when using Lexis Know which resources are available Using advanced search techniques: Boolean operators (OR, AND) Truncation and wildcards
Everything’s on google now isn’t it?
Discuss…
What do you look for to see if a website is authoritative? What are the problems with relying on something found freely online?
Fake or real? Login to Moodle to find some examples…
Remember…
Information on the internet can be: Out of date Unreliable Biased It can be moved or removed without warning There are no standards or index online
Google scholar ď ˝
http://scholar.google.com/
ď ˝
References to peerreviewed papers, theses, books, abstracts and articles, from academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories, universities and other scholarly organizations.
So why are databases so vital?
Easier to search by subject Access to more material than in the library Easier to print than photocopy Access 24/7 Value added, up to date info Authoritative (unlike Google!) Used in all major law firms and chambers
er e b em h w m Re muc se the w o h r o f pay ices! v ser
What do we have at City?
Lexis Westlaw HeinOnline i-law …plus content on Lawbore
What is Lexis?
Online searchable database 1000’s of sources of legal information Legislation, law reports Journal articles, books Heavily used in commercial sector
How to access?
Why is Lexis an essential resource?
Full text of 56 law reports including the Law Reports and All ER. Searching by party name, citation and subject Some details of history of the case and subsequent treatment.
CASE S
Searching from the front screen Quick find
…when you know what you want…
Look for Airedale NHS Trust v Bland
Your turn!
Background stuff
Case history – tracks the different instances of this case (e.g. Fam division, Court of Appeal, HL) – check the signal for how that case has been received – e.g. good law? Cases referring to this case – where has been used since? Positive (applied, followed) or negative (doubted)? Or just neutral (noted)? Catchwords and digest - abstract
Key
Negative Treatment Icon
The decision has been subsequently reversed, disapproved or overruled.
Cautionary Treatment Icon
The decision has had some doubt cast on it.
Positive Treatment Icon
The decision has received positive treatment : affirmed, applied, etc.
Neutral Treatment Icon
The decision has received neutral or ambivalent treatment : considered, explained, etc.
Citation Information Icon
No treatment has been given - only citation information available.
Just click on citation for full text of case
More looking for cases Your turn!
Look for Hamilton v Al Fayed [2001] 1 AC 395
Test yourself 1.
What is the citation for the report in the All England Law Reports?
2.
Which 2004 case distinguished this case?
More detailed case searching
Combining words – and e.g. defamation and internet Use d nde a p x e tion p o list
Using OR Think like a thesaurus!
ORÂ searching
medical negligence baby infant and
or
Connectors and •
•
NARROWS SEARCH Use when both words HAVE to appear Use when both words have to appear but not next to each other
or • • •
BROADENS SEARCH Use for synonyms Use for abbreviations Use when you don’t mind which word appears so long as one of them does
Truncation
startoftheword! Will find all endings of the word
Truncation continued… borrow!
tax!
borrower borrowing borrowed
taxation taxes taxed But also… taxi taxidermist
Your turn Search for cases on:
Unfair dismissal and pregnan!
Queen Victoria Seaman’s Rest Ltd v Ward (2009)
What issues did the claimant have with her workspace? What was the result of the appeal?
Wildcards
wom *n wom e wom n an
t e n * int* t e n r inte t e n a intr
Your turn
Search for cases involving:
gypsy caravans
When did the claimant in Doherty and Others v Birmingham City Council [2008] UKHL 57 obtain a licence to station a caravan on plot 12?
LEGISLATIO N
Your turn
Find the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003
ASBO’s
What is the date of Royal Assent?
COMMENTAR Y
Halsbury’s Laws
Halsbury’s Laws Online asylum
656
asylum AND detention
97
asylum w/10 detention
14
Commentary = Books
Huge numbers of practitioner texts:
Blackstone’s Criminal Practice Encyclopedias – banking, Clarke Hall and Morrison on Children Paget’s Law of Banking Whish: Competition Law Lester, Pannick and Herberg: Human Rights Law and Practice
JOURNALS
Your turn •
Find the following article in the Journal of Criminal Law:
Unfitness to plead and the overlap with Doli Incapax: an examination of the Law Commission’s proposals for a new capacity test Helen Howard (2011) JCL 75 (380)
By subject •
Find an article which dwells on the odd combo of conjoined twins and shipwrecked sailors. Who was the author?
•
Find some recent journal articles around the issue of gay marriage – can you find articles detailing the situation in other countries?
Some insults to finish…
Can you find the name of the case where the defendant called someone a ‘monkeyfaced tart’?
Second one…
In which case did a well-known actor, director and writer bring an action against a journalist for writing statements which purported him to be ‘hideously ugly’?
Hi I’m Anita – your Lexis student associate!
Available to help: Tuesdays 12-2 Fridays 1-3