Use this as a quick reference when accessing Westlaw to supplement tort law lectures and reading assignments. Westlaw is West’s computer-assisted legal research service. Westlaw complements your book research by quickly and efficiently retrieving information that is not yet available in print or that may be cumbersome to find using books. With Westlaw you can retrieve relevant documents whether you are starting with a citation, an issue of law or an unusual fact pattern.

For more detailed information on lawschool.westlaw.com, refer to Discovering Westlaw: The Essential Guide, or see your West Online academic account manager or student representative about attending a Westlaw training session.

RESEARCHING A LEGAL ISSUE

RETRIEVING A DOCUMENT WHEN YOU KNOW ITS CITATION

SEARCHING WITH TOPIC AND KEY NUMBERS

USING THE KEY NUMBER SERVICE

SELECTED TORT LAW DATABASES

SEARCHING LAW REVIEWS

SEARCHING AMERICAN LAW REPORTS (ALR)

SEARCHING RESTATEMENTS

CHECKING YOUR CITATIONS

There are two search methods you can use to research an issue on Westlaw.

Natural Language Search Method (WIN®)

Suppose you are researching whether a drug manufacturer can be held liable for failing to give a warning about a drug. WIN allows you to enter a description of your issue in plain English, or Natural Language. To search for documents using WIN, complete the following steps:

1. At the Start Menu, type a database identifier in the Search a database text box and click GO. For a list of selected databases relating to tort law, see the reverse side of this card.
2. Select Natural Language in the Search type box.
3. Type a description of your issue in the Type a description text box and click Run Search. For example, type can a drug manufacturer be held liable for failure to warn.

Suppose you are researching whether a premises owner has a duty to protect a guest from being attacked. Terms and Connectors searching allows you to enter a query consisting of key terms from your issue and connectors specifying the relationship between those terms. To search for documents using the Terms and Connectors search method, complete the following steps:

1. At the Start Menu, type a database identifier in the Search a database text box and click GO. For a list of selected databases relating to tort law, see the reverse side of this card.
2. Select Terms & Connectors in the Search type box.
3. Type your query in the Type a query text box and click Run Search. For example, type
   own*** /s protect! prevent! /s guest visit*** /s assault! attack!

Use Find to retrieve a case, statute or law review article when you know its citation.

At the Start Menu, type your citation in the Find a document text box and click GO. For example, type 682 ne2d 1203 or 105 yale lj 1713. Your document is displayed in the right frame; context-sensitive Information Tabs are displayed in the left frame.

SEARCHING WITH TOPIC AND KEY NUMBERS

Each legal issue in a case published by West is identified, summarized and assigned a topic and key number by West attorney-editors. West topic and key numbers help you focus your research and retrieve relevant cases.

To run a topic and key number search, access an appropriate database and type the topic number, the letter k and the key number. For example, to search for cases containing topic 379, Torts, and key number 15, Proximate cause of injury, type 379k15.

You can find topic and key numbers in case law headnotes, West’s digests and the online Key Number Service.

USING THE KEY NUMBER SERVICE

The Key Number Service on Westlaw contains the entire West Digest System topic and key number outline. To access the Key Number Service, click Key Numbers at the Start Menu or click Tasks on the toolbar and choose Key Numbers from the menu. Click the plus symbol (+) next to a specific topic to view an outline of that topic and locate key numbers to assist you in your research.

Here are some topics that may be useful in researching tort law:

37 Assault and Battery

82 Collision

91 Conspiracy

168 False Imprisonment

179 Forcible Entry and Detainer

184 Fraud

237 Libel and Slander

249 Malicious Prosecution

272 Negligence

279 Nuisance

313a Products Liability

350 Seduction

379 Torts

386 Trespass

389 Trover and Conversion

404 Waste

SELECTED TORT LAW DATABASES

	Database Name	Identifier
Cases	Multistate Tort Law Cases	MTRT-CS
	Individual State Tort Law Cases	XXTRT-CS (where XX is a state’s two-letter postal abbreviation)
Law Reviews, Texts and Litigation Reports	Tort Law–Law Reviews, Texts & Bar Journals	TRT-TP
	Andrews Publications Multibase	ANDREWS
	Andrews Mass Tort Litigation Reporter	ANMTLR
	Mealey Publications Multibase	MEALEYS
	Mealey’s Emerging Toxic Torts	METT
	Brief	BRIEF
	Defense Counsel Journal	DEFCJ
	Product Liability: Winning Strategies and Techniques	PRODLIAB
	Punitive Damages: A State-By-State Guide to Law and Practice	PUNITIVE
	Restatement of the Law–Torts	REST-TORT
	Tort & Insurance Law Journal	TILJ
Jury Verdicts and Settlements	Jury Verdict and Settlement Summaries	LRP-JV
	California Jury Verdicts and Judgments (Trials Digest)	CA-JV
	Florida Jury Verdict Reporter	FL-JV
Highlights	Westlaw Topical Highlights–Products Liability	WTH-PL

SEARCHING LAW REVIEWS

Recent law review articles are often the best place to begin researching a legal issue because law review articles serve

• as an introduction to a new topic or review of a topic with which you are familiar, providing terminology to help you formulate a query;
• as a tool for retrieving pertinent primary authority, such as cases and statutes; and
• in some instances, as persuasive secondary authority.

1. Access the Tort Law–Law Reviews, Texts & Bar Journals database (TRT-TP).
2. Type a Natural Language description like the following: liability based on exposure to electromagnetic fields
3. Click Run Search.

Search the ALR database to find a thorough discussion of case law relating to a particular legal issue. Attorneys who write ALR articles have already analyzed all available American cases on the issue and have prepared a detailed discussion of the legal principles deduced from the cases. You can search ALR using either the Natural Language or the Terms and Connectors search method.

To browse the ALR index, complete the following steps:

1. Access the ALR database (ALR) and choose the Terms and Connectors search method.
2. Type ci(index) and click Run Search.

Westlaw contains the full text of the American Law Institute’s current Restatements of the Law. Restatement of the Law–Torts analyzes current tort law and explains the most accepted interpretations given by the courts. It also looks at the direction in which tort law is moving.

To view the table of contents for the Restatement of the Law–Torts, complete the following steps:

1. Access the Restatement of the Law–Torts database (REST-TORT) and choose the Terms and Connectors search method.
2. Type ci(contents) and click Run Search.

CHECKING YOUR CITATIONS

KeyCite®—Use KeyCite, the citation research service from West, to see whether your case or statute is good law. KeyCite integrates all the case law on Westlaw, helping you trace the history of a case, retrieve a list of all cases and selected secondary sources that cite a case, and track legal issues decided in a case. KeyCite for statutes displays credits and historical and statutory notes, along with pending legislation that may affect your statute. It also lists cases and secondary sources that cite your statute.

To check a citation in KeyCite, type your citation in the KeyCite a citation text box at the Start Menu and click GO. The history of the case or statute you are viewing is displayed in the left frame. To see citing cases click the KC Citations tab.

WestCheck®—You can use WestCheck to automatically check your citations in KeyCite on Westlaw. You can also check quotations in your brief or other documents using the QuoteRight™ feature of WestCheck.