Westlaw tips for associates

According to West Reference Attorneys, one of the most common new product suggestions from West customers is for citation-formatting technology. After all, lawyers and their support staff dread the process of checking briefs or long memoranda for correct citation formatting—a tedious, time-consuming chore that nobody acknowledges unless it isn't done.

Our response: West CiteAdvisor, the new product that quickly does all of the following:

• identifies legal citations (cases, statutes, court rules, regulations, constitutions, administrative decisions, and journal and law review articles) in your Microsoft® Word document
• suggests citations from The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation, the ALWD Citation Manual, or a citation style specific to one of five states (Calif., Fla., Ill., N.Y., or Texas)
• gives you complete control over which citation changes to make-there are no changes without your approval
• applies correct formatting directly into your own document
• creates a properly formatted table of authorities in your own document

Currently, anyone with a Westlaw password can access West CiteAdvisor at the West CiteAdvisor sign-on page (citeadvisor.westlaw.com). In addition, West just added a West CiteAdvisor link to the tabbed Litigation page on Westlaw.

If you have questions about West CiteAdvisor or need search assistance, call the West Reference Attorneys at 1-800-REF-ATTY (1-800-733-2889).