Information Today
Volume 17, Issue 9 • October 2000
West Group Unveils Newly Redesigned westlaw.com, Will Supply European Case Law on Westlaw Service

West Group has announced that westlaw.com now provides a more intuitive interface, superior features, and improved speed, with lower technical requirements. According to the company, significant work has gone into improving performance, and this release of westlaw.com is now up to 30-percent faster than its predecessors, with even more functionality. West Group has also announced that it has teamed up with ELLIS Publications, a leading provider of European Union information, to provide up-to-date, complete coverage of European case law and legislative materials on Westlaw.
 

westlaw.com
westlaw.com’s new tabbed interface enables researchers to quickly find commonly used databases and perform powerful functions. Interface features that at one time required custom software—like information tabs to display content and context side-by-side and a link viewer—are now available through a simple Web browser, on any platform.

The Westnews tab provides immediate access to news and background information on companies, industries, and individuals. The new tab also highlights financial data, public records, and in-depth business information, including Dun & Bradstreet Business Information Reports, Company Profile, Investext, and Corporate Filings.

“Our customer base has expanded dramatically over the past few years, and that expansion means that a one-size-fits-all interface is no longer adequate for all of our customers’ needs,” said Denis Hauptly, vice president of West Group Technology Development. “With this release of westlaw.com, our customers have an interface that works best for them, and which helps them focus their research on the type of material they need.”

The new westlaw.com also offers split-screen and full-screen views, choices of hourly or transactional billing, and new features, including the following:

The westlaw.com enhancements planned for this fall include the addition of jurisdictional and practice-area tabs. These tabs will point users to the most commonly used sources for research in these areas, to focus and simplify the research process. They will also enable researchers to customize the Westlaw interface to match the needs of their individual practice, eliminating mass-produced legal research.
 

European Case Law
The European Union databases on West-law provide information contained in CELEX, the official legal database of the European Communities, and additional information not included in CELEX. This information includes complete coverage of the C Series of the Official Journal, all Merger decisions, hypertext links to Adobe PDFs of original Official Journal documents, and COM finals explanatory memorandum. The databases are updated twice a week, ensuring the most current coverage. And all cross-referenced material is contained within the document, so a single search will bring together all European Union materials. A table of contents is included at the top of every document, providing researchers with quick and easy navigation through long documents.

The following European databases are now on Westlaw:

Source: West Group, Eagan, MN, 800/328-7990; http://www.westgroup.com.

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