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Unofficial:

Includes additional editorial content

Official:

Must be cited for court documents

The TEXT of the cases in both versions are identical.

So are indexes and TOCs!Indexes translate a question into a citation. TOC allows you to browse if you have a general topic in mind.

1. Some states designate these as their official reporter.

2. If it has a region in the reporter name it is a state reporter not a federal one.

Headnotes in West publications

Appear at the beginning of each opinion

Help identify the issue(s)

Include Key Numbers

West Key Numbers represent specific legal concepts.

Topic

Number - representing specific legal concepts.

Lexis

Uses similar organization under the Browse Topics function.

Mandatory / Persuasive Authority Chart at http://lawguides.rwu.edu/usresearch.

Lexis, Westlaw, and Bloomberg Law

all have certification programs.

So does the library!

For more information, check out our Prepare for Practice program at http://lawguides.rwu.edu/prepareforpractice

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Email us at LawLibraryHelp@rwu.edu

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