Thomson Reuters Westlaw is an online legal research service designed to assist lawyers and legal professionals in accessing a vast array of legal information. This platform provides an extensive collection of resources, including case law, statutes, regulations, secondary sources, news articles, briefs, trial court documents, public records, and expert materials. With its robust database, Westlaw serves as a vital tool for legal practitioners seeking comprehensive and reliable information to support their work.
The latest iteration, Westlaw Advantage, enhances the research experience by integrating powerful legal research tools that enable legal professionals to achieve thorough and accurate results. One of its standout features, Deep Research, allows users to emulate the workflow of an experienced legal researcher by utilizing agentic AI. This tool formulates and executes a multistep research plan that explores every angle of a legal question, providing a transparent step-by-step approach and a comprehensive report that links to authoritative sources. This capability ensures that users not only receive trustworthy results but also gain insights that might otherwise be overlooked.
Westlaw Advantage goes beyond traditional citation checks with its Litigation Document Analyzer, which helps users gain deeper insights into their cases. This feature uncovers potential misrepresentations of the law throughout entire documents, rather than just within quoted material. It analyzes opposing arguments, suggests potential counterarguments with supporting legal authority, and simplifies complex complaints into clear, concise summaries. Such tools are tailored to meet the specific needs of legal researchers, enhancing their ability to respond efficiently to challenges presented by their cases.
Additional features such as Claims Explorer and AI Jurisdictional Surveys further streamline the research process. Claims Explorer utilizes AI to identify the strongest claims relevant to a user's case, while AI Jurisdictional Surveys facilitate the creation of detailed legal surveys tailored to specific jurisdictions. Users can initiate targeted search queries and access authoritative sources promptly, benefiting from KeyCite flags that highlight the latest legal developments. The Precision Research tool allows for efficient searching and filtering of legally and factually similar cases, while the KeyCite Cited With feature provides broader context by revealing related cases cited together.
Westlaw Advantage also includes organizational tools like the Outline Builder, which helps users structure citations and text snippets into customizable outlines, and the Graphical History feature, which visually maps out a user's research journey. The Keep List/Hide Details functionality allows users to save cases of interest while filtering out irrelevant information, ensuring a more focused research experience. By combining advanced AI capabilities with expert legal content, Westlaw Advantage empowers legal professionals to build stronger cases with greater efficiency and less manual effort.
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Overview by
Mark Klekner