Definition
Lexis (Legal Exchange Information Service) is an advanced, subscription-based legal research system provided by LexisNexis. It offers a wide range of legal resources, including federal and state case law, statutes, legal periodicals, and law reviews. Additionally, Lexis provides legal news, business data, and public records. This platform is instrumental for legal professionals, scholars, and researchers in gathering authoritative and comprehensive legal information efficiently.
Examples
- Case Law Research: Attorneys often use Lexis to find precedents and opinions from various courts to support their cases.
- Statutory Research: Legal professionals utilize Lexis for searching through federal and state statutes to find relevant laws applicable to a case.
- Academic Research: Law students and professors rely on Lexis for accessing legal periodicals, law reviews, and scholarly articles.
- News Monitoring: Lexis provides updates on legal news, which is crucial for attorneys to stay informed about significant legal developments.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q: What is Lexis used for? A: Lexis is primarily used for legal research. It provides access to case law, statutes, regulations, and secondary legal materials that are essential for practicing attorneys, law students, and researchers.
Q: How does Lexis help in legal practice? A: Lexis helps legal practitioners by offering a comprehensive repository of legal documents and resources that can be used to find precedents, support arguments, stay updated on legal trends, and perform thorough legal analysis.
Q: Is Lexis available worldwide? A: LexisNexis operates globally, and Lexis is available in various countries, providing region-specific legal information along with international content.
Q: Can law students access Lexis? A: Yes, many law schools provide their students with access to Lexis as part of their legal education. Students can use it for research purposes and to enhance their legal studies.
Q: Are there alternatives to Lexis? A: Yes, some popular alternatives include Westlaw, Bloomberg Law, and Fastcase. Each of these platforms offers similar legal research capabilities with some differences in features and content libraries.
Related Terms
- Westlaw: Another major legal research service used by legal professionals, offering extensive databases of case law, statutes, legal journals, and news.
- Bloomberg Law: A comprehensive legal research and business intelligence platform that combines legal research with market and company data.
- Case Law: The law as established by the outcome of former cases, which Lexis provides extensive access to for research purposes.
- Statutes: Written laws passed by legislative bodies that Lexis allows users to access and analyze.
- Legal Periodicals: Journals and reviews that are scholarly publications covering legal topics extensively; available through Lexis.
Online References
- LexisNexis Official Website
- American Bar Association (ABA)
- National Law Review
- Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute
Suggested Books for Further Studies
- “The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation” by Columbia Law Review, Harvard Law Review, University of Pennsylvania Law Review, and Yale Law Review.
- “Legal Research and Writing for Paralegals” by Deborah E. Bouchoux.
- “Basic Legal Research: Tools and Strategies” by Amy E. Sloan.
- “Legal Research in a Nutshell” by Morris L. Cohen and Kent C. Olson.
- “Fundamentals of Legal Research” by J. Myron Jacobstein, Roy M. Mersky, and Donald J. Dunn.
Fundamentals of Lexis: Legal Research Basics Quiz
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