Insight on Westlaw

Those of you who are avid Westlaw UK users will have noticed a new Insight tab now appears on the homepage and has moved the ‘Cases’ tab along.  This may have annoyed a few of you (who out of habit clicked on it expecting to do a case search),  but it is a useful new ‘encyclopaedia’ that analyses legal topics and points you in the right direction of key cases and legislation.

Westlaw say:

Westlaw UK Insight is an ever-evolving and growing online legal encyclopaedia that aims to provide a comprehensive statement of the law in the United Kingdom. Covering England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and delivered via an intuitive topic-based interface, it reflects the way you think. What’s more, it enables you to find solutions quickly, by providing succinct up-to-date, and expert guidance on the law.

You can search it by clicking on the tab or you can include it in a more general search from the box on the homepage.

Like with all Westlaw sections you can search using keywords or use the broad legal topics to browse.  At the bottom of this screen, unlike the other sections, are the latest additions and updates.

The entries themselves are quite straight forward to navigate, starting with an overview and then moving to more detailed analysis of the topic.  Those used to using  Westlaw and other databases may notice that the links to the different parts of the entry are on the right rather than the usual left hand side but other than the page is clear and not overly complicated.

There are the usual links through to cases, legislation and articles available on Westlaw but what is very good about Insight is that the author of the entry is clearly indicated.  There is a link to information about the author as well as contact details which allows for more interaction and feedback.

Westlaw have indicated that more topics are being added over this year.

If you want more information (or indeed if you want to be an author yourself) then you can click on the ‘More information’ link on the right hand side of the home page.

If you want help using Westlaw or a refresher then you can find information and tutorials on our Libguide or if you contact Kate Jackson at katharine.jackson@bodleian.ox.ac.uk.

 

Supreme Court of Canada judgments freely available

The Supreme Court of Canada and LexUM announced just before Christmas that the Court’s Decisions website now contains all decisions since 1907, and judgments in leave applications since 2006. The collection is updated within minutes of the public release of the judgments by the Court.

“All published judgments since 1876 from cases which were appealed to the SCC from the British Columbia Court of Appeal have been added to the database, courtesy of CanLII and the Law Foundation of BC.  Appeals from the Ontario Court of Appeal, also dating back to 1876, were added to the SCC database last year.”

Click to try the SCC Decisions database

The LexUM site has been the main public source for Supreme Court decisions for 20 years, and is a very useful resource if you are away from the Library, where you will find the Supreme  Court Reports (S.C.R.)  1923 -  shelved on the main floor at Cw Can 100 C90.

For Oxford University staff and students, who have access to HeinOnline, Hein includes SCC decisions from 1876-2011 (as at January 2013).  LexisLibrary carries Supreme Court of Canada Judgments from 1876 to date, and on Westlaw, the CANSCC-CS database contains the full text of documents of all reported Supreme Court of Canada cases, from 1876.

To find out more about Canadian legal resources, you might like to use our Guide to Canadian Law.

 

Databases News…

Please follow the links below to see the most recent news and updates from:

Westlaw – including the news that the English Reports (1220 -1867) are being gradually added to Westlaw.   You will find that many of the reports are already available.  Any that are not there already should be added by the end of April.    In addition the journals The European Lawyer (2000-)  and The African Journal of International and Comparative Law (2005-) have also been added to Westlaw. 

The Westlaw newsletter also includes an item on linking between Lawtel and Westlaw.   These links are not working for us yet but  I hope that this will be rectified soon.

HeinOnline - including the addition of University of Western Australia Law Review.

IBFD (International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation) Newsletter - tax news.

Other databases news including…

i-law-  has a new interface.  To remind you i-law include law reports and journals in the fields of insurance, intellectual property and construction law.  Titles of particular interest include the Lloyd’s Law Reports and Lloyd’s Maritime and Commercial Quarterly.

i-Law login

When you arrive at the new i-law home page browse or search to find articles or reports in the normal way.  

When you follow a link to a document a login box will appear with the message “the rest of this document is only available to i-law subscribers”. Do not be detered!  The login box will already be partially filled out with Oxford University’s details. Simply fill in YOUR OWN email address. You will then be taken to the terms and conditions and from there to the full text document.   

Globalex – has new guides to primary and secondary sources for comparative civil procedure, Malawi and Sri Lanka.

 

Latest news from HeinOnline and Westlaw…

Please find below links to the most recent newsletters from…

HeinOnline Update - including 10 new journals and updates to World Trials and Legal Classics.

Westlaw UK 2008 Highlights - Summary of new content added to Westlaw during 2008 including Cambridge Law Journal, Leiden Journal of International Law and International and Comparative Law Quarterly plus new titles in the Common Law Library and the addition of PDFs of the Law Reports.

 

New on Westlaw: Chitty on Contracts 30th edition and statutory definitions

The 30th edition of Chitty on Contracts is now available on Westlaw – simply follow the link from the Westlaw start page.      This is also a good time to remind you that we also have subscriptions to Westlaw’s other Common Law Library titles including:

• Arlidge, Eady & Smith on Contempt 3rd Ed.
• Benjamin’s Sale of Goods 7th Ed.
• Bowstead & Reynolds on Agency 18th Ed.
• Charlesworth & Percy on Negligence 11th Ed.
• Chitty on Contracts 30th Ed.
• Clerk & Lindsell on Torts 19th Ed.
• Dicey, Morris & Collins The Conflict of Laws 14th Ed.
• Goff & Jones The Law of Restitution 7th Ed.
• Jackson & Powell on Professional Liability 6th Ed.
• McGregor on Damages 17th Ed.

To access any of them follow the link to the Common Law Library from the Westlaw start page.

We’d be very interested to hear what you think about using the Common Law Library online.  Please let us know by posting a comment or by emailing law.library@bodley.ox.ac.uk.

Westlaw has also unveiled its new statutory definition service which allows you to search for legislative definitions in  acts and statutory instruments.  To use the service choose the “Legislation” search screen and fill in the “Statutory definition” field.    If you want to search for definitions in historic versions of legislation (back to 1991 for acts and 1948 for statutory instruments) choose “Advanced Search”  and select one of the options for “Law in Force and Historic law”, “Point in Time” or “Since…”.

For more information about Westlaw’s recent developments please see Westlaw UK What’s New – December Update.

Enjoy!

 

Database news

Please follow the links below to see the most recent news and updates from:

HeinOnline – In this issue the launch of Hein’s new United Nations Collection including the UN Treaty series, ICJ Reports of Judgments, Advisory Opinions and Orders,  UN yearbooks and more. The Law Library has taken out a subscription to this service so its available for you to use now.

Westlaw – including news that Westlaw now has International and Comparative Law Quarterly (which incidentally is no longer on LNB)  and EFTA decisions.

IFBD (International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation)

 

New URL for Westlaw

Westlaw has a new URL (http://tinyurl.com/3sbzfq).  Please update your favourites and bookmarks or follow links from Oxlip+ or the Law Library web site.   When you follow the link you will be prompted to find University of Oxford in an A-Z of institutions (under U) and to enter your Oxford single sign on.

This new URL will give you access to Westlaw from anywhere in the World without the need for any extra software (such as the VPN).  Occasionally you may get a “Shibboleth error” (accompanied by a picture of a dragon). If so please close your browser window and try to log in again. If the problem persists or if you have any other problems getting into Westlaw or other legal databases please contact the law.library@bodey.ox.ac.uk or (2) 71472.

 

Accessing databases off campus: Use the new Oxlip+ service as an alternative to VPN

The Library Service now has a brand new way of accessing online resources: Oxlip+    This new service will allow you to access all legal databases (including Westlaw and Lexis) from off campus without using the VPN.  All you will need is your Oxford single sign on (webmail) username and password. 

Please note – if you prefer to continue using the VPN and/or Westlaw password over the summer you are welcome to do so.

To use the new system go to http://oxlip-plus.ouls.ox.ac.uk   

1.  First log in to Oxlip+ (top right corner):

 2.  You will be prompted to enter you Oxford Single Sign on username and password (this is the same as your Oxford webmail username and password).  Once you have entered these successfully click “continue to ipd.shibboleth.ac.uk” (this is the only option!).

3.  You will now be taken back to Oxlip+.  Enter the name of the database you wish to use in the search box and click “Go”. You will now be taken to the database.

Choosing a database

4.  Alternatively to browse a list of legal resources click “subject” and choose Law.

Need journals?  You should continue to use Oxford University e-Journals to access online journals. If you are off campus you will be prompted for your single sign on details after you have selected a journal.

The new Oxlip+ service is in beta.  We hope you will find it easy to use and convenient but if you do have problems or suggestions please contact us law.library@bodley.ox.ac.uk

 

Use databases? Passwords change on 31 July.

31 July

The Athens service will be withdrawn on 31 July 2008.  Here’s what you need to do to ensure that you can access legal databases afer 31 July.

If you’re on campus:   You will not need a username and password for Lexis or Westlaw during the next few weeks.   However, the web address for Lexis (and possibly Westlaw) will change. Please follow links from the Law Library’s web site or Oxlip rather than your own favourites or Google.

Be sure to cancel your Lexis alerts before 31 July. You will not be able to cancel them after that date but you will keep receiving the e-mails! > more.

Off campus?

Lexis and Westlaw off campus:   You will  need to use the VPN to access Lexis and Westlaw after 31 July.  Please see our VPN instructions for more information.   Alternatively you can use “the Westlaw” password.   A reminder of this has been sent to the Faculty mailling list.   If the VPN doesn’t work for you please contact us and we will make alternative arrangements for you.     

HeinOnline, Justis, Social Science Citation Index, Zetoc & CSA off campus:   You  will be able to log in to these databases using your Oxford Single Sign on (OSS) username and password (same as Webmail).     When you link to these databases you will probably be taken straight to a login page asking for your OSS details. If not,  look out for links to “UK Access Federation”,  ”Shibboleth” or “Academic log in”.    Alternatively you can use the VPN instead of using your OSS.   Again if you can’t log on to any of thee databases please contact us.

All databases: the URLS of some databases will change over the next few weeks. Please follow links from the Law Library’s list of legal databases or Oxlip rather than using bookmarks or Google.

The future: The Library services is working on a new service which will allow you to log on to all databases using your OSS regardless of whether you are on or off campus.  We hope that this service will be available in early August. Watch this blog for more information.

Photograph by Nibaq (http://www.flickr.com/photos/nibaq/966283204/)

 

All change please! Passwords for legal databases changing over the vac!

From 31 July we will no longer be able to use Athens to log on to legal databases.  By October we will have a new system which will make logging on painless. However during the summer we will be in a transition phase.   During this time routes through to some databases (and particularly Lexis, Westlaw and HeinOnline) may change more than once.

 

Keep up to date with the changes - To ensure that you are able to access legal databases over the summer please look through the notes below.  In addition please check your Oxford e-mail and/or  this blog regularly for updates.  In addition updates will be noted on our “password update” web page and on Oxlip.

Using Lexis and Westlaw away from Oxford  -  if you want to use Lexis and Westlaw after 31st July from off campus you will probably have to use the OUCS VPN.    It is highly probable that this will be the only way of accessing Lexis and Westlaw from outside the Oxford network after July 31st. 

If at all possible you are advised to install the VPN on your computer before you leave Oxford – since this will allow you to get help should you encounter problems.     Please see our instructions on installing and using the VPN.    

If you would like help installing and using the VPN please come to a drop in session in the Freshfields Room during 8th week at one of the following times Tues 10 June 2-4pm, Wed 11th June 3-5pm, Thurs 12 June 2-4pm, Fri 13 June 10am-12 noon, 2-4pm. Alternatively make an appointment by e-mailing angela.carritt@bodley.ox.ac.uk

Changes to web addresses   – The URLs for some databases are likely to change during the summer so be sure to follow links from the Law Library’s list of legal databases or Oxlip rather than using your own bookmarks or Google.   If you do use your own bookmarks and find that you are denied access it is likely that we are using a different login page.  Check legal databases or Oxlip to find out.

Lexis Alerts – Unfortunately any Lexis alerts or personlised pages that you have set up using your Athens account will not be available after 31 July.   You will be able to set up new alerts later in the year (although it is not clear when at the moment – watch this space).   It is important to remove your alerts from Lexis before 31 July – once Athens has disappeared you will never be able to cancel them but you’ll still receive the e-mails! We’ll remind you about this nearer the time.

If you can’t log on to a database please let us know by e-mailing law.library@bodley.ox.ac.uk or by telephone (01865) 271472.   

What will happen in the future?  - OULS are currently working on a  brand new gateway to electronic resources.  This will offer a wide range of services including a single username and password (the Oxford single sign on) for all databases.  Advance versions of the new interface may be available during the summer.  If you’d like to start using the new system as soon as its available watch this space for more information!

Photograph of “The Office” by Scott Ableman (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ableman/229743691/)