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Friday, April 5, 2019

Bloomberg, Lexis & Westlaw Access for Graduating & Continuing Students

Summer 2020 and Beyond


Bloomberg Law logo

Graduating Students: you have continued access to Bloomberg Law for 6 months after Graduation.This access is automatic (no registration required) and is unlimited.

Continuing Students: you have continued access to Bloomberg Law over the summer.This access is automatic (no registration required) and is unlimited.

If you have any questions, please contact the Bloomberg Law Help Desk.

Lexis Logo

Graduating Students (Continued Access through 2019)Spring Grads, you have continued access to Lexis Advance (no usage restrictions or time limitations) using your LexisNexis credentials through December 31, 2019. Note: when you sign-on after July 5, you'll see the Graduate Homepage which contains a graduation gift from LexisNexis.

ASPIRE Program for Grads at Non-Profit Organizations
Graduates working in 501 (c)(3) non-profit organizations work may apply for an ASPIRE ID which lasts 12 months beyond graduation. More information about Grad Access and the ASPIRE Program is available at lexisnexis.com/grad-access.

Continuing Students: you have continued access to Lexis Advance over the summer using your student LexisNexis credentials. This access is automatic (no registration required).


If you have any questions, please contact our Lexis Account Representative, Sarah Bigler.

Westlaw logo

Graduating Students: you have access to Westlaw Edge and Practical Law, for six months after graduation. Your “Grad Elite” access gives you 60-hours of usage on these products per month to gain understanding and build confidence in your research skills. While you cannot use it in situations where you are billing a client, Thomson Reuters encourages you to use these tools to build your knowledge of the law and prepare for your bar exam.

In addition, you have access to job searching databases on Westlaw Edge and TWEN for 18-months after graduation for 1 hour per month.

Extend access by logging into www.lawschool.westlaw.com.

Continuing Students: you can use Westlaw Edge and Practical Law, over the summer for non-commercial research. You can turn to these resources to gain understanding and build confidence in your research skills, but you cannot use them in situations where you are billing a client. Examples of permissible uses for your academic password include:

Summer coursework
Research assistant assignments
Law Review or Journal research
Moot Court research
Non-Profit work
Clinical work
Externship sponsored by the school

You do not have to do anything to gain access to these tools over the summer. If you have any questions, please contact our Thomson Reuters Academic Account Manager, Peter Lippmann.


Tuesday, January 15, 2019

Access to Federal Government Information During the Shutdown

From the American Association of Law Libraries:

IMPACT OF THE PARTIAL FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN ON LEGAL INFORMATION


As of midnight December 21, 2018, the President and Congress were unable to agree on the provisions of a Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund the federal government. As a result, a partial shutdown of some government operations now enters its fourth week. This is a politically dynamic event, and AALL continues to monitor federal agencies and work with other groups to assess ongoing impacts to members.

Impact of the shutdown to selected agencies: 
  • The Library of Congress/Law Library of Congress and the Government Publishing Office remain open.

The shutdown has not closed the Library of Congress/Law Library of Congress or the Government Publishing Office. Both remain open because they are funded through the Legislative Branch appropriations bill, one of the five appropriations bills completed prior to the October 1 start of Fiscal Year 2019. Government websites operated by these agencies--including Congress.gov and govinfo--remain available. 

  • The Institute of Museum and Library Services and the Legal Services Corporation are open. 
  • The National Archives and Records Administration is closed. 
  • The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts is operating the Judiciary on limited funds through January 18, 2019. 
AALL's Government Relations Committee has compiled resources related to the government shutdown. The Pew Research Center has more information about the shutdown's impact on access to federal data. This UC Berkeley Library Guide includes links to government information sources available during a government shutdown. The Internal Revenue Service announced it will process tax returns beginning January 28, 2019, and provide refunds to taxpayers as scheduled.

In general, federal departments and agencies that face a lapse in appropriations are required by law to shut down operations, with only "excepted activities" relating to the "safety of human life or protection of property". Agencies develop contingency plans outlining actions to be taken when Congress fails to enact appropriations, under guidance from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). More information and links to agency contingency plans are available on OMB's website.