Lexis contains all current U.S. statutes, laws, and published case opinions from 1770 and later, as well as additional unpublished cases from 1980 and later. The system is so extensive that it can even locate statutes and cases from other countries, including Australia, Canada, and France, to name a few. Further establishing itself as an information authority, Lexis also contains a library of public records for the entire United States, which lists a name and address for every living person. Divorce records, professional licenses, and voter registrations are also archived, along with other sensitive information. Law enforcement agencies use SmartLinx, a feature similar to Lexis, which makes it possible to profile suspects and other targeted individuals.
LexisNexis has also created File & Serve, which allows law firms to file documents safely with courts and serve documents electronically upon other case participants. Not only is this system quick and easy to use, but it also cuts costs and eliminates the hassle of paperwork. Additionally, Lexis has set up a system allowing the California Courts website to offer a version of Lexis that permits the public to search for reports on California opinions. Lexis also furnishes a free site called lexisONE that provides access to case law records for all American jurisdictions for the past five years.
Nexis.com is a collection of worldwide periodicals dating back to 1986, with additional news articles from as far back as the 1970s. These full-text articles are not only derived from legal and business documentation and newspaper and magazine articles but also from radio and television transcripts.
LexisNexis Academic Universe, used at many universities, offers a huge range of articles and documents, as well as links to other databases, such as Congressional Universe, which offers access to government publications and documents, Environmental, which offers access to legal, political, and social issues related to the environment, Primary Sources, a U.S. History resource for full-text historical documents and images, and Statistical, which provides U.S. and foreign statistics.
Academic Universe users have the option of conducting a Guided Search or a Quick Search when browsing through the collection of information. A Guided Search is ideal for doing research on a specific topic because it allows users to narrow down or expand results based on subject details. It is also useful for finding specific articles or documents. The Quick Search is tailored more toward those seeking various articles on specific subjects who are not concerned about researching their topics more thoroughly or finding particular publications.
To attempt a Guided Search, begin by selecting a news category from the list of publication types, such as General News (major newspapers and magazines in the U.S.), Today's News (current events from around the world), U.S. News (regional, state, and local papers), or World News (foreign publications). Selecting Non-English Language News allows you to search for documents in Dutch, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, or Spanish. After selecting one of these categories, choose a news source, such as "magazines," "newsletters," or "major papers." If more information is needed on a news source, you can refer to the Source List link, which allows you to narrow your search findings to documents from up to five publications. Next, information can be limited by adjusting search terms, requesting "headline terms only," "headline and key terms," "full text," "captions," and/or "authors." Lastly, the search can be restricted to a specific day or range of dates. An optional step at the end can even narrow down all the acquired information according to publication title.
A Quick Search is useful for rapidly locating a simple variety of news stories, court cases, or company information, although Quick Searches are not nearly as specific as Guided Searches. A series of news stories can be found by searching for proper names or phrases that best describe an issue. Cases can be searched by party name or by citation; they cannot be searched using keywords. Company information can be obtained by searching for U.S. public and private company names.
Having conquered the information database market, LexisNexis contains a wealth of need-to-know information that lawyers and law students can certainly take advantage of. Its diverse assortments of texts and complex searches allow users to take control of their research experiences, maximizing the time and effort they put in while expanding their levels of awareness and capabilities as professionals in their fields.
