Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Summer and Post-Graduation Access to Legal Research Databases

Summer is almost here law scholars!  Whether that means graduation and bar study, a summer internship/externship, a research project, etc., we know your legal research needs continue.

We often get questions on policies for use of the commercial research databases during the summer and post-graduation.  Below is a handy reference on the policies for Westlaw, Lexis Advance, and Bloomberg Law.  You should note, however, that it is important to ask your employer about any policy the firm or organization may have regarding the use of student accounts, in general, for firm/organizational business.  Depending on the employer you may receive access to an account that you are required to use for billing purposes.

Also, don’t forget that the Law Library staff is available to you during the summer months, whether you are a graduating student or a rising 2L or 3L.  We are just a phone call or email away - (605)677-3930 is the main library desk number and we check our main email account (llibrary@usd.edu) every day.  

Westlaw

During the summer, law students are allowed to use their accounts for academic purposes only, which include: summer law school classes and study abroad programs; law review and journal work, including write-on competitions, research assistantships, moot court, unpaid internships/externships, bar exam preparation, and job search. However, in order to extend your access over the summer, you will need to register here

Graduating students may also extend their academic access through November, for purposes of job search, bar study, etc., albeit on a limited basis of 60 hours per month. Graduates must complete the survey/registration at https://lawschool.westlaw.com to extend access. After November, graduates will have 1 hour of limited research per month for 12 months, including snippets of content only.

Lexis Advance

During the academic year, students may use their Lexis law school educational IDs for academic purposes only, which include: class preparation and assignments, research associated with moot court or law review/law journal, research associated with pursuing a grant or scholarship, service as a research assistant to a professor (either paid or unpaid), an unpaid internship, externship or clinic for school credit or graduation requirement, and de minimis research for non-academic personal reasons (e.g. review of news materials for current awareness).

However, summer access is available to all law students once classes end for the semester/academic year, for the months of May, June, July and August of 2016. During this period, the permissible uses of your LexisNexis law school educational ID are expanded to include use at any law firm, government agency, court or other legal position, internship, externship or clerkship.

Graduating students automatically have Lexis Advance access for 6 months, using the same username and password you used in law school.

In addition, graduates who are engaged in verifiable 501(c)(3) public interest work may apply for the ASPIRE program, which provides 12 months of free access to federal and state cases, codes, regulations, law reviews, Shepard's Citation Service and Matthew Bender treatises. For more information on grad access and to apply for the ASPIRE program, go to https://www.lexisnexis.com/grad-access/

Bloomberg Law 

All law students are permitted to use their Bloomberg Law accounts during the summer without restriction. Additionally all law students’ access to Bloomberg Law accounts will remain active for six months after graduation.



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