Legal Research

Westlaw has released a new tool for litigators called KeyRules.   KeyRules "gathers all applicable rules governing common federal and state court procedures and condenses them" into one document with links to all of the listed rules.  This feature is currently available for motions, pleadings, and filings in all federal district courts, the Court of Federal Claims, and in some state and local courts in California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, and Texas. 

KeyRules is easy to use.  You just select the court in which you're filing documents, then you select the type of filing that you will be doing from a detailed list (such as an amended complaint, motion to suppress, or notice of deposition).  After you've made these selections, KeyRules will generate a document for you, which lists applicable rules and supplies links to their text.  Your document will also contain a narrative that explains the rules' requirements.   A gentle warning, though -- this product is the product of human editors and, as we all know, even the best editors can mess up.  It's always best to double-check to make sure that you have reviewed all of the rules that apply to your filing.

You can access KeyRules from several locations on Westlaw, including the Litigation tab, the California tab, the Litigation subdirectory under the Westlaw Directory, and the Links tab for a court rule or procedural statute you are viewing.