Despite pouring hours of work into organising citations and rechecking every point of law, even the most competent lawyer can still feel somewhat underprepared. This is because as much as we’d like to think that our cases are bulletproof, we know deep down there’s still going to be that one error that manages to slip through the cracks.
However, this discretion is not to be confused with poor attention to detail or lack of skill. We believe it can simply be chalked up to being human. But when it comes to presenting your case in a courtroom with your client right by your side, we don’t have to tell you that nothing less than perfection is mandatory.
So where do you turn to when manually proofreading your cases is no longer the standard to reach optimal client success? We believe the only answer is to leave the critical stuff up to the smart and intuitive technology that was built to do it, like the new Westlaw.
With the new Westlaw, you can say goodbye to unverified legal research and hello to confidence and legal expertise when you need it most.
Improve response time with smart legal research
With laws changing at a rapid pace, keeping up to speed is imperative for practising in a courtroom and serving clients. Developed in partnership with real lawyers, the new Westlaw offers an unmatched user experience.
Westlaw puts knowledge first by providing users with the complete set of Australian legislation. You’ll also be able to view case law summaries, legislation and commentary that are relevant to your line of work, plus have access to Australia’s largest authorised reports database at the touch of a mouse. With that kind of unmatched authoritative content at your fingertips you’ll be confident in every answer you provide your business or client.
As a new Westlaw subscriber, you’ll benefit from features such as search bar suggestions and an intuitive interface which enables you to narrow in on the answer faster.
Draft accurate legal documents
Given the number of documents you may sort through in a single day, it’s not unusual to miss mistakes, whether an item is downright inaccurate or if a case is ‘bad law’. But what if you had the ability to eliminate these errors from your daily workload and save time along the way?
One tool that can integrate with the *new Westlaw is Drafting Assistant, a functionality that raises errors with you should you not find them yourself. In fact, according to a 2016 Thomson Reuters Customer Survey, 81% of lawyers said that Drafting Assistant catches items that they may have missed.
Some of the key features Drafting Assistant provides include:
- Real time analysis – Drafting Assistant gives you a bird’s eye view of all outstanding issues in a document so you can access these errors easily and update accordingly.
- Document automation integration – This intuitive tool also integrates with Contract Express, the Thomson Reuters contract automation tool, giving law firms like yours the power to create, draft and proofread documents with speed.
- PDF converter – Review and edit your work by converting any PDF into a Word Document in one click.
- User-friendly interface – Work smarter in one system without having to switch between browser tabs. You’ll be able to work through errors on your time schedule, as either from the first page to the last page, in a highlighted section or by searching for a certain type of mistake. All you need to do is click the ‘Deal Proof’ button and you’re on your way.
- Validate all citations – With Drafting Assistant, all your citations are made clear with the click of your mouse, from checking their status’ to inserting links to the full text. Having this tool up your sleeve will check your work to guarantee all citations are accurate and more importantly, still good law.
*If you have the new Westlaw and Drafting Assistant, here’s how to use them together: Once logged in, go to the Westlaw home page. Then, click on the ‘tools tab; followed by ‘Drafting Assistant’. Finally, upload your document and utilise all the features Drafting Assistant has to offer.
Lean on comprehensive legal guidance
In the past, conducting free legal research may have been the default way to prepare for a case. But with technology now at the forefront of competent legal expertise, this method is not sufficient. It’s crucial for your online legal research to offer you more.
The new Westlaw highlights legal guidance on primary law via a Citing References tab on the platform. Cases and legislation to specific legal guidance are pointed out to you so you don’t have to do the granular searching.
Another solution that can integrate with the new Westlaw is Practical Law, our legal guidance platform, which provides comprehensive practice notes, documents and checklists written by teams of experienced lawyers. This integration functionality enables users to search through both Westlaw and Practical Law in one ecosystem.
No matter what area of law you practice, you’ll also have access to a wide range of content, even information outside of your subscription! This can help develop your knowledge in unknown areas and help you keep one eye on all legal movements. After all, the aim is to work smarter, not harder.
Find mistakes and be more confident with the new Westlaw
To advise your legal clients, you need more than just professional expertise, no matter how many years you have practised. Because let’s face it, research from free sources and line-by-line proofreading could see you fall behind.
Keep up with expert lawyers and unlock your full potential by subscribing to the new Westlaw.
Chat with a Thomson Reuters specialist today to discover how the new Westlaw can give you the confidence you have the answer.
