WestlawNext users: If you’re waiting for the perfect excuse to get an iPad, this is it. Now you can tap into the world’s most advanced legal research system wherever you are using the new, custom-designed WestlawNext iPad™ app, available in the App Store right now.

The WestlawNext iPad App is the only legal research app that synchronizes across all of your devices while providing comprehensive features and content. Research is easy to start or resume on the iPad – it automatically syncs with the WestlawNext website and WestlawNext Mobile, so research started in one place can be accessed and continued anywhere.

You can learn more about the WestlawNext iPad app and see how it works on the WestlawNext informational website.

“Ben Franklin was a Founding Father, a storied inventor, and a consummate scholar. But even the creator of bifocals and the lightning rod was ‘shocked’ to find that he could perform sophisticated legal research from the convenience of his mobile phone!”

That’s the caption provided by our final winner, Andrew M. of New York City, in our WestlawNext Mobile Photo Contest. Andrew, whose creative effort earned him an iPod touch, says he was on the shore of one of the Great Lakes in beautiful northern Michigan on the Fourth of July when he suddenly felt inspired to frame a shot with one of the framers of the Constitution – who, incidentally, also looks quite relaxed in this photo.

Andrew works as a tax lawyer for a large firm in New York City, where he assists in advising clients on financial products, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, and other transactions. He tells us his work entails a considerable amount of legal research and writing, and he uses KeyCite almost daily to verify his work and perform comprehensive searches of cases, administrative sources, and secondary articles on a specific topic.

Thanks, Andrew, for taking WestlawNext on your vacation! And thanks for letting old Ben tag along, too – he really did need some time off.

Our WestlawNext Mobile Photo Contest is coming to an end – and since we like to finish things off with a flourish, we’re giving away not one, but two Apple iPod touches for the best digital photos we receive.

OK, to be honest, the photo contest wasn’t as popular as we had hoped. In fact, most weeks, we received fewer than 10 entries. But, hey – this translates into some pretty good odds for anyone who decides to enter the contest as the clock winds down, right?

All photos must be received by Friday, July 9, and it’s easy to enter the contest – just watch this video demonstration or follow the steps below.

• Snap a photo that shows your smart phone doing the WestlawNext thing, with the WestlawNext Mobile screen clearly visible. (You can include yourself in the photo, but don’t include others without their written consent.)
• Snap a photo of yourself. A simple self-portrait of your smiling face next to your mobile device is all you need.
• Email both photos (in GIF, JPG or BMP format) to westlelearning@thomsonreuters.com. Include your name, title, daytime phone, email, and your employer (name and address).  The email should also include a brief caption or description of the photo.

Need some inspiration? Check out our past winners here, here and here. And if you’re heading out for the Fourth of July – for a backyard barbecue, a picnic in the park, or a day at the beach – be sure to bring WestlawNext Mobile along and snap a photo or two.

An iPod touch could be a just a click away – so why not give it a shot?

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Open only to residents of the 50 US/DC who are employed by a corporation, nonprofit organization, or academic institution, with a legal or regulatory title. Void where prohibited. Sweepstakes ends 7/9/10.  Subject to full official rules.

This week’s WestlawNext Mobile Photo Contest winner gives new meaning to the phrase “power user.” When the lights went out one recent morning, Kari B. – a paralegal in Andover, MA – fired up WestlawNext Mobile on her BlackBerry and didn’t miss a beat.

This photo, which Kari took during the power outage, won her an iPod touch in the WestlawNext Mobile Photo Contest. “This was taken while sitting in the cafeteria at work,” she says. (This area still had lights, thanks to an emergency generator.)

Give WestlawNext Mobile a try, and you could be our next winner! If you’re a WestlawNext user, you already have access to WestlawNext Mobile on any iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, or just about any other mobile device with a Web browser. Just like WestlawNext, it’s entirely Web-based, so there’s no app or plug-in to download – just enter m.next.westlaw.com into your browser, and you’re already there.

Entering the photo contest is easy, too – just watch this video demonstration or follow the steps below.

1. Snap a photo that shows your smart phone doing the WestlawNext thing, with the WestlawNext Mobile screen clearly visible. (You can include yourself in the photo, but don’t include others without their written consent.)
2. Snap a photo of yourself. A simple self-portrait of your smiling face next to your mobile device is all you need. (Outdoor shots with interesting backdrops are generally best.)
3. Email both photos (in GIF, JPG or BMP format) to westlelearning@thomsonreuters.com. Include your name, title, daytime phone, email, and your employer (name and address).  The email should also include a brief caption or description of the photo.

That’s really all there is to it – so power up and picture yourself a winner!

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Open only to residents of the 50 US/DC who are employed by a corporation, nonprofit organization, or academic institution, with a legal or regulatory title. Void where prohibited. Sweepstakes ends 6/30/10.  Subject to full official rules.

You can still win one of our weekly prizes – an  iPod touch – in our WestlawNext Mobile Photo Contest… But you have to enter!

Pat M., information services director for a Connecticut law firm, is the latest winner of an iPod touch for his photo (below right) showing WestlawNext Mobile in action.

Next week, Johnny and Jenny Westlaw will be demonstrating how easy it is to enter the contest. Here are the steps involved:

1. Using any camera, snap a photo that includes your mobile device doing its thing, with the WestlawNext Mobile screen clearly visible.  You can include yourself in the photo, but don’t include others without their written consent.
2. In addition to your contest photo, please include a photo of yourself. This could be as simple as a self-portrait of your smiling face next to your mobile device. And to make it even more memorable, choose an interesting backdrop: think local landmarks, famous monuments, city skylines, natural attractions, etc.
3. Submit photos in GIF, JPG or BMP format to westlelearning@thomsonreuters.com. Include your name, title, daytime phone, email, and your employer (name and address).  The email should also include a brief caption or description of the photo.

Easy stuff, right? So get snapping!

One thing we’ve learned from our photo contest submissions so far is that WestlawNext Mobile boldly goes where no legal research platform has gone before. Now we’d like to share some stories from our intrepid WestlawNext Mobile users – and we want these stories to come from you, in your own words. So… Who wants to be a guest blogger?

Your WestlawNext Mobile story could be worth an iPod touch! That’s right – in addition to 15 minutes of invaluable cyber-fame, you could also win a truly great iPod for Wi-Fi Internet access, App Store apps, music, TV shows, and more.

Tell us how you use WestlawNext Mobile in 300 words or less, and submit your story by June 11. Our panel of judges will choose the winning entry, which will be posted on Westlaw Insider for the universe to see. And here’s a tip to get you started: Make sure your story talks specifically about the benefits of using WestlawNext Mobile – especially any unexpected benefits. (Along with snappy prose, our judges love surprising plot twists.)

Remember to submit your blog contest entry online by June 11, 2010 – and good luck!

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Open only to residents of the 50 US/DC who are employed by a corporation, nonprofit organization, or academic institution, with a legal or regulatory title and who are subscribers of WestlawNext as of 5/10/10. Void where prohibited. Contest starts 5/10/10 at 12:00:01 AM (CDT) and ends 6/11/10 at 11:59:59 PM (CDT). Subject to full official rules. Sponsor: West, a Thomson Reuters business.

Nancy M. won herself an iPod touch when her on-the-go photo (below) was selected as the Week 1 winner in the WestlawNext Photo Contest.

Nancy, who works for a Connecticut law firm, says she uses WestlawNext Mobile to respond to research requests while she is away from her computer.

“WestlawNext Mobile allows me to search for materials very quickly, covering a great deal of your content,” she says. “It’s helped me be of greater service to my firm, since I can respond at a moment’s notice when on the road.” (But not while driving, of course!)

To be fair, the winning shot was actually snapped by Nancy’s West account rep. “Liz has been our account representative since 2008,” Nancy remarks. “She is upbeat and always helpful.”

There’s still six weeks left to enter! The contest runs though the end of June, and we’ll be giving away an iPod touch each week between now and then for photos of the unique locations you use WestlawNext Mobile. (We’ll also be giving away another iPod touch for the photo that gets the most votes from readers!) Find out how to enter the contest here.

And one more thing we forgot to include earlier: In addition to your contest photo, please include a photo of yourself. This could be as simple as a self-portrait of your smiling face next to your mobile device. And to make it even more memorable, choose an interesting backdrop: think local landmarks, famous monuments, city skylines, natural attractions and the like.

Thanks for all the great entries so far, and keep ‘em coming!

Now that WestlawNext goes where you do,  WestlawNext Mobile users have a chance to win big just for showing us where they’re using it.

We’re giving away nine iPod touches as prizes in our WestlawNext Mobile Photo Contest. And after we announced the contest a couple of weeks ago, we started wondering: Why it is that cameras still aren’t allowed in federal courts?

News media cameras have been allowed in state courts since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1981 ruling in Chandler v. Florida, and since then, 48 states have adopted rules that allow at least some audio-video coverage of trials. But the Supreme Court’s ruling didn’t apply to federal courts (including the Supreme Court), and so cameras are still banned in those places – mainly because there aren’t any Supreme Court justices who want them there.

That could all change if the “Sunshine in the Courtroom” bill introduced by Sen. Chuck Grassley becomes law. “Our judicial system is one of the best kept secrets in the United States,” Grassley said. “Letting the sun shine in on federal courtrooms will give Americans an opportunity to better understand the judicial process.” His bill recently passed the Senate Judiciary Committee with bipartisan support.

However, the Supreme Court remains strongly against the idea, which may prove to be the ultimate roadblock. Even with the retirement of Justice David Souter – who in 1996 famously warned that cameras would roll into the Supreme Court “over my dead body” –  the other justices seem equally camera-shy. When asked about the issue in 2007, Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. recalled Souter’s “dead body” quote, and then quipped: “We all like Justice Souter.”

Did you know you can access WestlawNext on your iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, or just about any other mobile device with a Web browser?

Whether you’re on the subway doing research on the way to the office, in court using KeyCite to check your opponent’s case, or out of the office with an important client, WestlawNext Mobile keeps you connected to all the legal answers you’re looking for.

Quick and easy access.

• Nothing to download
• No special mobile subscription needed
• Log on with your same username and password

The features you need most when you’re on the go.

• Search all WestlawNext content using simple descriptive terms
• View results ranked by relevance
• Read documents
• Use KeyCite to get citing references and verify cases and statutes
• Access recent research from saved folders
• Add new documents to your project folder
• Add notes
• Use touch-screen term navigation

If you’re a WestlawNext user, you can try out WestlawNext Mobile right now at m.next.westlaw.com. And be sure to enter our WestlawNext Mobile Photo Contest for a chance to win one of nine iPod touches we’ll be giving away!