Westlaw tip: Have you found a headnote that states the rule of law you want and you’d like to find more cases supporting that rule? Click on the “Most Cited Cases” link next to that headnote to run a search that will retrieve more cases.

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Know everything about a case but its citation? Here’s a quick way to track it down: Click on the “Find & Print” link at the top of your screen and then the “Find a Case by Party Name” link on the left.

Enter the information that you have, and a list of matching cases will be displayed. Then you can just scroll down the list to find the appropriate case.

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Do you have a one-time research assignment and need to learn more about the topic? Westlaw has a tab that can help.

You can display a topical tab for one research session without having to save the tab. To try it, click on the “Add a Tab” link on the right-hand side of your Westlaw window. Click on “Add Westlaw Tabs,” scroll down to the topical tabs section and you will see tabs on topics ranging from Animals to Medical Malpractice to Public Utilities.

If you click the blue underlined name of the tab, it will display the tab for this research session and the tab will be removed when you log off. To keep the tab around, you can use the checkbox next to the tab’s name.

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Westlaw tip: How popular can a name be if no one knows where to find it? Congress assigns many pieces of legislation a “popular name.” These may be as well known as the USA PATRIOT Act, or as obscure as the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Restoration Act of 2000.

Westlaw has useful tools to help you find where these acts have been codified. Go to the USCA database search screen and choose the “Pop. Name Table” link in the upper right-hand corner. Then select the letter your act starts with and scroll down, clicking to the next part if necessary.

When you click the name of the act, a table will display showing where the sections of the act were codified. It also shows the Public Law number, which you can use to do a Find of the entire act.

(Provided by West Reference Attorneys)

You probably know West’s reference attorneys for the super-helpful research assistance they provide to Westlaw subscribers. But did you know they also have their own blog? It’s a pilot project aimed at summer associates, with posts that discuss current events in the legal world. Check it out for yourself at westreferenceattorneys.com.

Here’s a sampling of last week’s blog topics, with links to the original posts:

• State and local gun-control laws are sure to be tested after the Supreme Court’s June 29 ruling in McDonald v. City of Chicago – and you can use Westlaw to provide automatic notification of any KeyCite status changes that result.
• An Internet kill switch? A proposal now making its way through Congress would give the U.S. president emergency authority to shut down portions of the Internet in then event of a cyber-attack. Learn where to find the bill on Westlaw.
• Follow Elena Kagan’s testimony before Congress by reading  transcripts of her confirmation hearings on Westlaw.
• Add the new Oil Spill tab to your Westlaw screen to follow the unfolding legal drama surrounding the BP oil spill.
• What’s in a name? Well, if your name happens to be Justin Beiber, you could be a teenage heartthrob from Canada – or a personal injury attorney from Philadelphia who suddenly finds himself with a lot of new Facebook friends. Find out how Westlaw can give you the advantage when playing the same-name game.

Do you have a one-time research assignment and need to learn more about the topic? Westlaw has a tab that can help.

You can display a topical tab for one research session without having to save the tab. To try it, click on the “Add a Tab” link on the right-hand side of your Westlaw window. Click on “Add Westlaw Tabs,” scroll down to the topical tabs section and you will see tabs on topics ranging from Animals to Medical Malpractice to Public Utilities.

If you click the blue underlined name of the tab, it will display the tab for this research session and the tab will be removed when you log off. To keep the tab around, you can use the checkbox next to the tab’s name.

(Provided by West Reference Attorneys)

Is your printer ready to break after printing 538 pages of annotations? Removing annotations from statutes is one click away.

After clicking on the “Print” or “Email” button, check off the “Statutory Text Only” option. If you want to get rid of the annotations on your screen, you can use the Tools menu in the lower right-hand portion of the screen to choose the “Limit by Fields” option and click the Go button. Check the box next to Substantive-Doc and press OK. The annotations will now be removed from your screen display. Printing from this display will work, too.

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Want your research to update itself? Set up a WestClip and be automatically updated via email of new materials added to Westlaw matching your search criteria.

After you run a search on Westlaw, click on the “Add Search to WestClip” link at the top of the Result List. All you have to do is name the clip and click “Save.” You may also choose to customize your delivery settings for frequency and style before clicking “Save.” Results will be delivered right to your inbox!  

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Want to search cases, but don’t know where to start? Try searching for a Key Number to jump-start your research. Click the “Key Numbers” link on the top of any screen on Westlaw. Type in your search terms, choose a jurisdiction and click “Search.” You will retrieve a list of possible Key Numbers linking you to search results for those Key Numbers. For example, a search for “race discrimination” retrieves numerous Key Numbers under the topic of Constitutional Law dealing with Equal Protection and Race, National Origin or Ethnicity.

(Provided by West Reference Attorneys)

Westlaw tip: Did you ever wish you had the ability to resend a print request? You do in Westlaw. Just click on the “Site Map” link at the top of the screen, look in the right column for “Tools”, then click on “Print/Delivery Manager.” Simply check the box next to the desired document, hit the Print or Email button, and your document is on its way!

(Provided by West Reference Attorneys)