News and Notes from Westlaw:
West Survey Builder
The 50 State Surveys (SURVEYS) and 50 State Regulatory Surveys (REG-SURVEYS) databases vastly improved the speed and efficiency of multi-jurisdictional research when they were released on Westlaw®. West Survey Builder now takes speed and efficiency to the next level. You can build customized surveys based on the jurisdictions and precise legal issues you choose.
Survey Builder allows you to choose jurisdictions and legal questions by making selections on a search template. You do not need to type a search or know state terminology. Just use the template to select jurisdictions, a topic, a subtopic, and one or more legal questions. Nor do you need to access a separate statutory and regulatory version—each West Survey Builder document covers statutes and regulations.
West Survey Builder builds you an easy-to-read chart in a question-and-answer format: Each jurisdiction’s legislative and regulatory requirements are summarized in plain English and displayed under the appropriate legal issue. KeyCite status flags, where applicable, and links are provided for cited documents.
To access Survey Builder, click Survey Builder in the left frame of the 50 State Surveys tab. For additional information and a flash demo go to: http://west.thomson.com/surveybuilder
West Survey Authority
The West Survey databases and Survey Builder are great when you need to compare the statutes or regulations of several states, but what if you need to look beyond statutes and regulations? Survey Authority can take you further.
Survey Authority contains surveys that pull together a wide range of materials on your issue, including statutes, regulations, administrative materials, state attorney general opinions, state contact information, American Law Reports annotations, treatises, law reviews, and forms for the 50 states, U.S. territories, and the federal government. Links to all sources are in one convenient survey document.
You no longer have to worry that different states have different taxonomies and naming conventions. Just choose a topic using the Survey Authority Table of Contents. West experts have carefully selected topics and sources for frequently researched subject areas, including corporations, subprime lending, intellectual property, and privacy.
To access Survey Authority, click Survey Authority in the left frame of the 50 State Surveys tab. For additional information and a flash demo go to: http://west.thomson.com/surveyauthority
ALR: Its index stands alone
For those of you who regularly use the American Law Reports (ALR) index to retrieve ALR annotations by topic, life just got easier. On August 27, the comprehensive index to American Law Reports (Second through Sixth series) and ALR Federal (First and Second series) was released on Westlaw® as a stand-alone database: ALR Index (ALRINDEX). Now you can find all the annotations on the point of law you are researching more quickly and efficiently.
The ALR Index indexes the entire ALR system currently in print. With the new ALRINDEX database in Westlaw®, you can retrieve portions of the index without having to use a citation field restriction (e.g., ci(index)). In addition, ALRINDEX allows you to search the index using the Natural Language search method for plain English searches that will retrieve relevant documents.
Note: index references to ALR First series will be available when the revised ALR index is released on Westlaw® in October.
Streaming media bring court transcripts to life
For a rich, thorough understanding of court proceedings and oral arguments, turn to Court Transcripts on Westlaw®. West’s Court Transcripts databases contain verbatim transcripts of thousands of trial and appellate proceedings and, NOW, include streaming media (video or audio) for selected documents. As a result, your attorneys are better positioned to:
-research, assess, and prepare expert witnesses
-understand how other attorneys have successfully presented evidence and arguments
-anticipate a specific judge’s demeanor, tendencies, and areas of interest
-formulate a litigation strategy
Streaming media is displayed in the left frame. You can follow the written transcript in the right frame as the video or sound recording is playing. A “Sync Text” button allows you to easily and instantly scroll the transcript on the right to the section you are viewing (or listening) on the left. Or for video media, you may maximize the screen to view in full screen mode. In addition, icons displayed throughout the transcript allow you to begin the recording from any point in the transcript or jump to that section if the recording is already playing.
State and Federal Oral Argument and Trial Transcripts (TRANSCRIPTS-ALL) is a multibase of transcripts of selected oral arguments and trials and contains over 70,000 documents. The oral arguments were heard in the various state and federal courts. Transcripts of oral arguments heard in the United States Supreme Court are official transcripts. All other oral argument transcripts are unofficial transcripts derived from video or audio recordings of actual oral arguments. The trial transcripts include opening statements, closing statements, voir dire, lay testimony, expert testimony, motion hearings and other related transcripts. In addition to documents filed in United States District Courts and United States Bankruptcy Courts, states available are California, New York and Texas, with more to come!
Stress Toy in Paradise
If you have wondered how the beloved Westlaw® stress toy has fared since our stress toy video of a few year ago, you can now check on how he(she?) is doing. Check out our new stress toy video “sequel.” Go to: http://west.thomson.com/westlaw/advantage/stress-toy/default.aspx
Source: Update: West Librarian Relations email
Photo by 
