What's New on Westlaw:

• Graphical Statutes: helping you with your legislative history research
• West announces partnership with ALM
• Westlaw Watch — Monitoring What Impacts You
• Selected New Databases on Westlaw
• Did you know? Using date restrictions in your search
• From the Westlaw archives
• Advanced Search Screens – change of design for enhanced accessibility
• Financial Times - 24hr Embargo from September 1, 2006
• 5 new full-text Journals
• Need the full text of a journal article, fast?

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Graphical Statutes: helping you with your legislative history research

Legislative history research can be complicated and frustrating when you’re trying to untangle the revisions, amendments, technical corrections, and even re-codifications that might comprise the history of a single section.

‘Graphical Statutes’ gives you a flow-chart view of the history of a statute section. A typical ‘Graphical Statutes’ chart displays:

• Current, prior, and future versions of statutes
• Enacting and amending public laws
• Legislative history documents (e.g., bill drafts, reports, journals.)
• Cases that negatively impact a statute
• Legislation enacted but not codified

Each citation in the display contains a hypertext link to the actual text of the document.

You can access this new feature from a displayed statute section on Westlaw by clicking ‘Graphical Statutes’ on the Links tab.

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West announces partnership with ALM

On May 1, 2006, West will become the exclusive legal research provider for American Lawyer Media (ALM) content. The content includes industry-leading state and federal jury verdicts, as well as esteemed legal publications. Westlaw users will enjoy same-day access to the New York Law Journal, The American Lawyer, The National Law Journal and nearly 100 additional titles.

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Westlaw Watch — Monitoring What Impacts You

This tool is designed to deliver selected Westlaw content to individuals via your organization's intranet or portal, an aggregated email or a wireless device (such as a Blackberry®). The new clipping functionality provides a way to quickly distribute relevant legal information and current business awareness issues throughout the organization.

With Westlaw Watch, you control the flow of critical information throughout the organization, so everyone stays efficiently informed on business issues, legal topics and competitive matters. Current awareness monitoring can be set up for an individual, a select group of people or the entire organization:

• Partner or Company Executive - Create a clip for a partner, executive or individual attorney to monitor a key client and deliver the results directly via email.
• Litigation Team - Update the entire team working on a key client matter with news of an important development, delivered simultaneously via e-mail.
• Practice Area Group - Choose to post important material to your intranet page for a practice area group to keep everyone current in the context of other topical information.
• Librarian/Marketer - Coordinate your prospecting and rainmaking via timely e-mails that help you move your organization forward in today’s competitive environment.

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Selected New Databases on Westlaw

People Finder - Canadian White Pages (PEOPLE-CANADA)

This database contains white page records of Canadian consumer information. A typical document may include name, address, telephone number, and gender. This information can provide a quick and easy method for locating individuals across Canada.

ALM News Publications (ALMNEWS)

A multibase featuring the legal newspapers, magazines, and newsletters published by ALM. See scope screen for full list of publications included.

Model Documents: Mergers & Acquisitions (MODELDOC-M&A)

Coverage includes M&A documents submitted as part of any SEC filing from 2002 to present or as part of M&A filings from 1996 to present. Model Documents: Mergers & Acquisitions is the new destination for researching the documents, contracts and agreements commonly associated with M&A transactions. The MODELDOC-M&A database contains M&A agreements, contracts, and other documents filed with the SEC. The database provides a wealth of information and practical guidance to consider as models for similar transactions.

Legal Due Diligence Reports (GSI- DDR) – released 12 th May

The Legal Due Diligence Reports database is the ideal workflow management tool for legal and transactional attorneys routinely involved in public company research and due diligence activities. Legal Due Diligence Reports allow you to compile key corporate, financial, management, and litigation profile information on any publicly traded company in one step and deliver the results in one comprehensive and professionally formatted package. Legal Due Diligence Reports are generated in real time and include Company Overview, Financial Overview, Officers and Directors, Commercial Transactions, SEC Compliance, and Litigation and Risk Factors.

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Did You Know?...Using date restrictions in your search.

When you use a Westlaw advanced search, you are presented with the option to add in a formatted date restriction using the box in the bottom right hand corner.

If you want more flexibility in your search, click on the Dates hypertext link at the top of that box to allow you to add in more specific date ranges.

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From the Westlaw archives…

2005 UKHL 18

“…the Court of Appeal had found that it did not matter whether the item was made of plastic, wood, or simply anorak fabric stiffened by a finger, if in the opinion of the jury at the relevant time, it had the appearance of a firearm.”

2005 1 CMLR 5

Is shooting someone during a game of “LaserQuest” affronting their human dignity?

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Advanced Search Screens – change of design for enhanced accessibility

June 10 will see a change in the design of the database Advanced Search screens. These changes have been implemented to simplify the retrieval of documents on Westlaw using the Advanced Search as well as constructing search queries.

The new screen consists of a 'Selected Databases and a search box. Entering your search terms remains the same, but there are a few enhancements.

The search box will display the methods of searching that are available for given content. These will be in the forms of tabs for Terms and Connectors, Natural Language and where applicable a Template tab.

Please note that the template tab will only appear if template searching is available for your chosen database(s).

Date Restriction Searching
New drop down Date & Field restrictions boxes have been added. The following date restrictions will be available:

If you select a date restriction, a box will appear for you to enter the date. E.g. After, Before and Specific:

If you select the option between then two boxes with labeling, will appear separated by and:

If you select the option last, a drop down will appear after the box for you to enter the number of days, weeks, months or years.

Field Searching
To select a field, you can either manually enter the Field Restriction if you know it or select an option from the Fields drop down menu. When you select a Field, this will be added to the search box where you can enter additional terms into between the brackets.

Terms and Connectors
To insert a connector between your search terms, simply click on the blue link associated with the required connector. This will be inserted into the search box.

Note: If the cursor is not in the search box, the connector/expander will be inserted at the end of your query.

Natural Language Search
The Natural Language search remains, however it is more intuitive than before. Extra search fields for Required/Excluded Terms have been added as well as individual search boxes for Courts and Judges.

These extra options can be expanded/compressed by using the grey arrows highlighted below.

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