Tap into the world’s most preferred legal research service wherever you go! The Westlaw app – available for iPad and iPhone – is the most awarded legal research app as voted by industry professionals and recognized by The National Law Journal, New York Law Journal, the Best of the Midwest, and more. With the Westlaw mobile app, you can extend the power and collaboration capabilities of Westlaw so research begun in one place can be continued on your mobile device – anytime, anywhere.
“The Westlaw app is very well-designed and easy to use, making it simple to get legal research done when you are in court or otherwise out of the office. In fact, the app is so nice that I will often use it even when I am in my office, doing my legal research on the iPad while my brief is open on my computer.” – Jeff Richardson, iPhone J.D. in ABA Journal
Access the same research features you rely on such as WestSearch, KeyCite, Search Filters, Folders, History, Notes, and Highlighting, which have all been redesigned for the iPad and iPhone. In addition to core research functionality, the Westlaw app offers the ability to save documents while online and offline to research folders, and deliver documents via email, print, or download.
Westlaw Edge users also have exclusive access to additional, premium features such as KeyCite Overruling Risk, WestSearch Plus, and more, which are automatically included based on your subscription.
*Please note that a Thomson Reuters Westlaw account is required to access this app.
For questions, comments, or support regarding the app, please contact a Reference Attorney by phone at 1-800-REF-ATTY (1-800-733-2889). Law students can call 1-800-850-WEST (1-800-850-9378).
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Westlaw FAQ
Is Westlaw free?
Yes, Westlaw is completely free and it doesn't have any in-app purchases or subscriptions.
Is Westlaw legit?
⚠️ The Westlaw app has poor ratings and negative feedback. Users seem unsatisfied with its performance or features.
Please, for the love of God (and every young, embryonic attorney who is burning the midnight oil to stay caught up and pass exams)—enable dark mode. Please.
Otherwise, the app is great. Anyone complaining about doing “extensive research” on their phone is comical. But for reading cases at night while in law school—it gets the job done. My only complaint is the bright white light hitting the back of my retina at the wee hours while I’m trying to read cases in bed before crashing into my pillow.
Dark mode. Please. Thank you.
One more time for giggles—Dark mode!! 📚💤
Nonfunctional
The app will not allow me to download courses I’ve purchased.
No dark mode
Plus, it’s mission impossible to pull up 1.163(j)-4(b). I even tried Treas Regs 1.163(j)-4(b)
Good for students in a pinch
If you don’t have access to a computer, this app works perfectly fine. I would not advise highlighting or making notes, but in terms of accessing cases and adding them to designated folders there’s really no difference between this and the regular website other than this being slower to navigate.
Current issues
1. Cannot adjust font size
2. Must set citation format *each time* you copy.
Use your web browser instead
I used this app for nearly a year and conducted extensive legal research on it. I have deleted it and will go back to accessing Westlaw via a web browser. It is a shame, as I really wanted to keep this app.
There are some benefits to using this app over a web browser:
- Login is a cinch.
- App loads relatively quickly.
The shortfalls are numerous:
- Citations are limited. Though you get full citations on the web, this app limits case citation to a single one. For those of us following local rules or who wish to use the Bluebook, this makes legal research very inefficient.
- Following procedural history is nearly impossible. While analyzing a case, you may wish to review a lower court's disposition, such as to learn more about the facts or understand the reasoning. This app is frequently unable to load that case. Instead, one is met with an error page and an 800-number.
- Following stare decisis is nearly impossible. Same reason as above. One clicks on a case cited in an opinion and is disappointed by the 800-number.
- Same issue as above with statutes and statutory history.
- Trying to select text is a headache. As we all know, Westlaw imposes a popup when text is selected. On a web browser, it is easy to work around. On this app, it frequently blocks selected text and the popup even becomes selected itself.
So, goodbye, Westlaw app.
Good!
Can’t speak to how it was before, but as of this review the app, in my opinion, is almost as readily accessible as is the website.
Devolved Over Time
This app used to be functional for basic research, but it’s gotten worse with each update. Good luck trying to find what you need if your search returns more than a few cases. You can no longer sort the result, or search within the result. Worthless for anything but looking up a particular case with a citation.
Change went from 5 to 1
Why have an app if no one in your organization understands the app and can assist with it. Please fix it back the way it was prior to this terrible update.
Truly terrible
The Westlaw website is bad, and this app somehow manages to be even worse. It is very slow, documents often don’t load, and the interface is poor.
Of course, the necessity of an app at all is a problem. There should be no reason why the website itself can’t be programmed to work in Safari on an iPad.
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