Loislaw

Gould Law Library provides access to a comprehensive legal research database called Loislaw, published by Wolters Kluwer, which also publishes CCH. Unfortunately many law students, as well as attorneys, are unfamiliar with this database. Loislaw is a cost-effective legal research solution, as it offers an all-inclusive flat rate subscription. It is also quite user-friendly and intuitive. It contains a completely up-to-date Primary Law Collection, which includes case law, statutes, administrative regulations and court rules for all state and federal jurisdictions, as well as collections of public records, treatises and legal forms.

Loislaw also has two useful and innovative tools, GlobalCite and LawWatch. GlobalCite allows you to pull all of the citations out of a case or brief and read or print those cases and statutes. It also allows you to sort by document type or jurisdiction. All of the citations are hyperlinked to the full document at no cost, even if the documents are outside the subscription plan. GlobalCite also allows you to see all of the cases, statutes, and treatises that cite to the case that you are viewing. LawWatch allows you to save your research trail. You can choose simply to save it or you can have LawWatch continue to run that search automatically.

For a more detailed explanation of Loislaw, check out their tutorial at: http://image.loislaw.com/prosite/flash/gettingstarted/

Next month I will detail Fastcase, another legal research database available at Gould Law Library.