Westlaw's homepage will take users to AI-Assisted Research. For conventional legal research, select the "Precision Research" tab.
Westlaw Precision with CoCounsel is the most advanced version of Westlaw, incorporating GAI capabilities to enhance and streamline legal research. CoCounsel offers several key GAI features:
Use these tools to expedite research, but do not rely on them as a substitute for a comprehensive investigation.
AI-Assisted Research utilizes LLMs to analyze the language found in cases, statutes, and other primary legal authorities to enhance accuracy. The responses reference primary law using the actual wording from these sources, and links are provided for accessing complete primary law documents. However, despite these efforts, AI-Assisted Research may occasionally produce inaccuracies. Therefore, it should always be used as part of a broader research process, supplemented by additional research to fully understand the nuances of the issues and improve accuracy.
The AI-generated summary of results, located above the list of primary legal authorities, can be very helpful for gaining an overview of the issues and identifying relevant primary authorities. However, it should never be used to advise a client, draft a brief or motion for a court, or be relied upon without conducting further research.
To use AI-Assisted Research, formulate a legal research question as you would naturally express it to a colleague. Write a concise and focused query that is one or two sentences long. Include relevant details such as the practice area, cause of action, governing law, remedy sought, desired outcome, and any pertinent material facts.
Claims Explorer allows users to input facts that may lead to a potential legal claim. It provides results for disputes between private parties or claims against government entities that might involve damages. Claims Explorer utilizes LLMs and incorporates Westlaw's editorial content to suggest potential claims based on the provided factual information. These suggestions are based on the most recent versions of statutes, and reviewing past statutory language can help verify that recent amendments do not affect a potential claim. Claims Explorer can search all claims, as well as state claims from California, Florida, Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas.
While Claims Explorer can be valuable for gaining an overview of issues and identifying primary sources of authority, it is important to note that it may sometimes produce inaccuracies. Therefore, it should always be used as part of a broader research process. The AI-generated list of potential claims should not be used to advise clients, draft complaints, or be relied upon without conducting further research.
For Claims Explorer, follow these suggestions to build effective queries:
AI Jurisdictional Surveys can be used to analyze, identify, and compare statutes and regulations on a specific topic. As mentioned above, AI Jurisdictional Surveys use LLMs and can produce inaccuracies, so always use the survey results alongside additional primary source research.
Follow these suggestions when using AI jurisdictional surveys:
Quick Check leverages AI to go beyond traditional legal research methodologies and recommend relevant authority that may have been missed. Quick Check examines case quotes in context, providing alerts and explanations of potential mischaracterizations. With Quick Check, users can upload documents to check their work, analyze an opponent's work, and see analyses of briefs for both parties.
Pertinent security measures are included on the Quick Check page.
Westlaw's Practical Law is a legal research and knowledge platform designed to support lawyers in their daily practice. It is organized by practice area, sector, resource type, and jurisdiction. Practical Law goes beyond traditional legal research by offering a wealth of practical guidance and tools, including the following features: