50-State Surveys on Westlaw AND Lexis

Who hasn't faced the dreaded 50-state survey project as a summer or a new associate?  I estimate that I had to do at least three or four of these things during my first couple of years at a firm.  Fortunately, Lexis and Westlaw both offer 50-state surveys of laws in a number of substantive areas.  Westlaw ventured into this field first, but librarians everywhere are glad to see that Lexis is now offering its own 50-state surveys as well.  Hopefully, the two vendors will struggle mightily to outdo each other, eventually offering 50-state surveys on every legal subject under the sun.

So how do you find them? From the Lexis research system home page, click on "View More Sources" under the heading "Legislation & Politics - U.S. & U.K."  At the next screen, click on "LexisNexis 50 State Surveys, Legislation & Regulations."  Scroll through the list of topics until you find the one that you need.  Click on the link, and Lexis will generate an Excel spreadsheet for you, containing citations and links to the laws governing your topic in all 50 states.   If you're still in law school, you don't need to worry about the "$" sign that appears next to the links.  Academic users don't incur any charges for using these materials.  However, if you're in a firm, it's always best to check with your librarian or your office manager before clicking on any Lexis or Westlaw item with a dollar sign next to it.

From the Westlaw law school research home page, click on "50 State Surveys" under the "Statutes" heading.  At the next screen, you can search for your state law topic using a "terms and connectors" search to find the survey topic that you need.  An easier approach may be to click on "table of contents" in the upper-right hand corner of the screen to browse a list of all of the topics for which Westlaw has created a 50-state survey.  When you find the subject that you need, simply click on the topic link, and Westlaw will open a new window with links to the statutes governing your topic.