Contrary to popular belief, Westlaw and LexisNexis are not free in law school. The Law Library pays annual subscription fees so that students can access these services. Because Westlaw and Lexis want your business, they do provide us with a discounted academic rate, which is much less than what firms pay.
Because of this discounted rate, there are certain restrictions on the use of your student Westlaw and Lexis passwords. This generally affects many of you when you go out to work during the summer. Starting on June 1, Westlaw and Lexis passwords will stop working unless you extend your password for the summer. Extending your password is easy, but it requires you to agree to terms for summer use.
Westlaw Summer Password Extension
Westlaw lists the following as qualifying summer uses:
Summer law school classes
Law Review and Journal Work
Project for a professor
Moot Court
Unpaid non-profit public interest internship/externship or pro bono work required for graduation, except as stated below*
*Westlaw can only be used for “academic purposes.” “Academic Purposes” do not include research conducted for a law firm, corporation or other entity (unrelated to law school) that is paying you to conduct said research or that is passing along the costs of said research to a third party. These are deemed commercial purposes.
Lexis Summer Password Extension (Once signed in to Lexis go to “Account Help” and you will see a link for “Summer Access Registration.”)
Lexis can be used in the summer for academic purposes, which include, but are not limited to:
Summer course preparation and assignments
Research associated with Moot Court, Law Review, or Law Journal
Research associated with pursuing a grant or scholarship
Service as a paid or unpaid research assistant to a professor
An internship, externship or clinic position for school credit or graduation requirement
Study for the bar exam
Research skill improvement for educational purposes
If you have specific questions about your situation or these policies, you can get in contact with our reps, Jeff Brandimarte (Westlaw) or Kristy Ballard (Lexis).