Gavin Howe
LexisNexis is a powerful tool for legal research, offering more jurisdictional content than its competitors. It provides three ways to search for case law: by citation, party, and topic. When searching by topic, LexisNexis searches the case law's headnotes, which identify the different legal topics and issues covered in the case. Searching by party name is a useful way to find a case when you know one or both parties' names. Alternatively, if you know the name of the attorney or law firm representing one of the parties, you can use the Attorney Name field in the Advanced Search form. When you have a specific case citation, you can enter it into the 'By Citation' field to locate the case law.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Search by | Citation, Party, & Topic |
| Search by Party Name | When you know the name of one or all parties |
| Search by Attorney Name | When you know the name of the attorney or law firm representing one of the parties |
| Search by Court | When you know the court the case was heard in |
| Search by State | When you know the state the case was heard in |
| Search by Number | When you know the case number |
| Search by Headnotes | When you search by topic, the case law's headnotes are searched |
| Search by Term | Use the ATLEAST segment to specify the number of times the service finds a term or phrase in a case |
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What You'll Learn
Using the Advanced Search form
The Advanced Search form in LexisNexis can be used to find case law in a variety of ways. Firstly, you can use the Party Name segment field to find a case when you know the names of the parties involved. For example, to retrieve the Supreme Court of the United States' decision in Wright v. Universal Maritime Serv. Corp., you would click on 'Advanced Search', then 'Select a specific content type', followed by 'Cases'. Next, enter 'wright and universal maritime' in the Party Name field and click 'Search'.
You can also use the Attorney Name segment field to find cases when you know the name of the attorney or law firm representing one of the parties. Similarly, if you are looking for cases written by a particular judge, you can use the 'Edit in Advanced Search' option.
The Court segment field allows you to retrieve cases from a particular court. For example, to find cases from the previous month decided by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, you would click 'Advanced Search', 'Select a specific content type', 'Cases', and then enter 'southern district of new york' in the Court field. You can also enter multiple states in this field, such as 'Alabama', 'Georgia', or 'Florida'.
Another way to search for case law is by citation. Legal citations have three parts: volume, abbreviation for the book (reporter), and the page number. The volume is indicated by the first number of the citation, and the book abbreviation or reporter abbreviation comes next. For example, the Northwestern Reporter is abbreviated as N.W.
Finally, you can use the Number field to search for cases by their docket number. Note that docket number formats vary and may include intervening characters such as 'cv', 'civ', 'cr', and 'crim'.
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Searching by case citation
LexisNexis is a powerful tool to search for case law, and there are three primary methods to do so: by citation, party, and topic. This response will focus on the first method: Searching by case citation.
A legal citation is comprised of three parts: the volume, the abbreviation for the book (reporter), and the page number. The volume is indicated by the first number in the citation, helping you locate the specific text where the case is mentioned. The book or reporter abbreviation comes next. For instance, the Northwestern Reporter is abbreviated as N.W., and 2d indicates the series number of the reporter, which is crucial for finding your specific case law.
When searching for case law via citation on LexisNexis, you can simply input the citation in the search bar. LexisNexis also offers database citations specific to the online version of an opinion, and these are included with every case display. This is in contrast to West, which will only display a Westlaw citation until a paper citation appears, at which point the online citation is suppressed. However, West still allows searching with the Westlaw citation.
Additionally, when you are aware of the party names, you can use the Advanced Search feature on LexisNexis. For instance, to find the Supreme Court of the United States' decision in "Wright v. Universal Maritime Serv. Corp.", you would click on Advanced Search, select "Cases," and enter "wright" and "universal maritime" in the Party Name field.
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Searching by party name
Searching for case law on Lexis Nexis by party name can be done in several ways.
Firstly, if you are searching for federal cases, select 'Federal', then 'All Federal Cases', or choose a specific circuit if you only need cases from one. Then, use the Party Name field to search for one or more party names in that jurisdiction. This will provide more relevant results than using the general search bar, as the search bar will retrieve cases where the names are mentioned, rather than specifically referring to parties.
Secondly, when searching for cases by party name, the order of the names does not matter. Searching for 'Jones v Clinton' will retrieve the same results as 'Clinton v Jones'.
Thirdly, if you are searching for briefs, go to 'Advanced Options' and uncheck the box for 'All Federal & State Cases'. Then, check the box for 'U.S. Supreme Court Briefs'. In the search box, enter 'number()' and put the docket number within the parentheses. Alternatively, under 'Build Your Own Segment Search', enter 'name()' and put the party names within the parentheses.
Additionally, when searching for cases by party name, you can use the NAME segment to run your search, using the AND connector between the party names. For example, if you want to find all cases involving Samsung, you would run the search 'name(samsung)'.
Finally, if you know the case name but not the citation, simply enter the case name in the search box. For two-party cases, enter the party names separated by a lowercase 'v'. For single-party cases, enter the party name in the search box and run the search.
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Searching by attorney name
When searching for case law on LexisNexis, there are three main search methods: by citation, party, and topic.
To search for case law by attorney name on LexisNexis, you can use the Advanced Search form. Here are the steps to follow:
- Click on 'Advanced Search'.
- Click on 'Select a specific content type'.
- Click on 'Cases'.
- Enter the attorney's name in the 'Attorney Name' field.
- Click 'Search'.
It is important to note that you should leave out initials, middle names, and/or abbreviations as the court may or may not use these. For example, search for "Benjamin Matlock" instead of "Benjamin L Matlock" or "Ben Matlock".
Additionally, if you are using Lexis CourtLink, you can search by attorney name in the Keywords field or the Attorney field. The Attorney field searches the terms using a segment search. Here are the steps to follow:
- Select a court or courts from the drop-down menu.
- Enter the attorney's name in the 'Attorney' field.
- Click 'Search'.
Again, it is important to leave out initials, middle names, and abbreviations. You can also use parentheses to separate the attorney's name from other terms in your search. For example, search for "plaintiff-attorney (Benjamin Matlock)" or "defendant-attorney (Benjamin Matlock)".
By following these steps, you can effectively search for case law on LexisNexis by attorney name.
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Searching for definitions
LexisNexis provides tools and resources to find and validate case law and statutes, and to get experienced perspectives in specific legal practice areas. It has more jurisdictional content than its competitors, including more case law, unreported case law, verdicts, settlements, and briefs.
There are three ways to search for case law within LexisNexis: Citation, Party, and Topic. If you know the legal citation, enter it into the 'By Citation' field, making sure to put a space between each part of the citation. The last number of the citation is always the page number of the reporter in which the case law is found. For example, the Northwestern Reporter is abbreviated as N.W., and 2d indicates the series number of the reporter.
To find cases by party name, use the Party Name segment field in the Advanced Search form. This is helpful if you know a case name but not the citation, or if you only know one party to the case but not the citation. You can also use the Attorney Name segment field in the Advanced Search form to retrieve cases when you know the name of the attorney or law firm representing one of the parties.
To search by topic, LexisNexis searches the case law's headnotes. Headnotes quickly identify the different legal topics or issues covered in the case. LexisNexis will search for the singular, plural, and possessive forms of your terms. You can also use the WRITTENBY segment field in a specific jurisdiction source to find decisions written by a specific judge.
To find definitions in case law on Lexis, you can use a free-text search to find a specific term within a definition. Use the ATLEAST segment to specify the number of times the service finds a term or phrase in a case.
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Frequently asked questions
Once you know the legal citation, enter it into the 'By Citation' field.
Use the Party Name segment field in the Advanced Search form to retrieve a case when you know the party names.
Lexis Nexis searches the case law’s headnotes. Lexis Nexis will search for the singular, plural, and possessive forms of your terms.
Use the Attorney Name segment field in the Advanced Search form to retrieve cases when you know the name of the attorney or law firm representing one of the parties.
Use a free-text search to find a specific term within a definition.
