Q:  I’ve never been involved in a case involving a bad-faith employee contract negotiation. Where can I find a checklist to help me get started?

A: FormFinder’s search template makes it easy to narrow your search by topic, sub-topic, and additional search terms, such as “bad faith.”  The Results Summary then categorizes the documents by text forms, checklists, and clauses to focus in on the one you need.

Q: I need the official PDF form for a court in Missouri, but I practice in Michigan. Is there one place where I can find forms for unfamiliar courts?

A: FormFinder allows you to filter your search by jurisdiction.  The Results Summary includes a section for Official PDF Forms with coverage from state and local courts and state agencies. These forms can be viewed in PDF, completed, saved and printed.

Q: I finally got my hands on a form created by an expert in my area of practice.  Now, how can I quickly modify it to fit my case?

A: FormFinder offers an Easy-Edit version of the document for an additional charge. This removes the header/footer, Westlaw links, and other unneeded content so you can populate the form with information specific to your case. Contact a Westlaw representative for specific pricing information.

Q: Many issues require the same type of form over and over, such as a Motion for Summary Judgment.  Where can I find other basic form documents I need all the time?

A: FormFinder searches across more than 500,000 documents to deliver the forms you need for your day-to-day practice.

Q: It seems like I always get cases dealing with obscure matters that nobody in the firm has ever seen.  Where can I find an example document to get me started?

A: FormFinder offers documents for more than 47 practice areas including 500 sub-topics.  Your matter is bound to be in there – believe it or not!

In addition to Easy-Edit text forms, FormFinder now features a revamped search template, global search functionality, more intuitive browsing and filtering tools, links to related resources, and new content from Miller’s Standard Insurance Policies Annotated and Oden. For more information, visit west.thomson.com/formfinder.

“A lot of Westlaw users go to the FORMS-ALL database to look for forms,” says Andy O’Meara, a West Reference Attorney. “And what they find is often in the wrong format for what they need – for example, they’re looking for a form and they find a checklist.”

In these situations, Westlaw’s FormFinder tool can be a huge help.  “With FormFinder, you can choose whether you want to find a clause or a checklist or one of the various types of forms that are out there,” Andy says.  “And unlike FORMS-ALL, FormFinder also gives you official PDF forms from the states.”

In his four years as a reference attorney, Andy has helped hundreds of Westlaw users locate the forms they need. “Typically, form calls come from solo practitioners or newer attorneys looking for forms because they haven’t dealt with a particular situation before,” he says.

For example, Andy recently received a call from an attorney looking for forms to set up a new church in Georgia. He pointed her to FormFinder and then suggested that she expand her search to include all nonprofits, not just churches. “Sometimes it’s helpful to pull back a little bit,” he says.

While many forms are jurisdiction-specific, the bulk of their content is often universal. “That’s where Easy-Edit comes in handy,” Andy says, referring to the FormFinder feature that allows users to download forms in rich-text format for easy editing and tweaking to suit the need. “There’s an additional charge for Easy-Edit, but it can really be worth it to cut down on the time takes to modify a form.”

Andy recently narrated a two-minute video that provides a quick overview of FormFinder’s most useful features and enhancements. “I think we’ve addressed every pain point in the workflow of the practitioner – searching for the form, finding the form they want, and modifying the form to fit their situation,” he says.

FormFinder gives you access to more than 500,000 forms, with clauses and checklists for just about any legal filing. In addition to Easy-Edit text forms, FormFinder now features a revamped search template, global search functionality, more intuitive browsing and filtering tools, links to related resources, and new content from Miller’s Standard Insurance Policies Annotated and Oden. For more on FormFinder, visit west.thomson.com/formfinder.

• Getting Started on WestlawNext
• Checking Citations in KeyCite
• Retrieving Cases on WestlawNext
• Retrieving Statutes on WestlawNext
• Your WestlawNext Registration Key
• Using Folders to Organize Your Research
• Comparing Westlaw and WestlawNext
• System Requirements and Enabling JavaScript
• Introduction to WestlawNext
• WestlawNext: The Formula for Superior Results

Stay current with user guides and collateral! For the latest WestlawNext user guides, go to the Customer and Product Documentation Westlaw user guides page.