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Westlaw Wants Your Opinions
4/17/2007

In partnership with the NJC, Thomson West is undertaking a major national initiative to solicit opinions and orders from state court trial judges across the country and publish them on westlaw.com, the largest online legal research database in the world.

“This is an unparalleled opportunity for state court judges to educate each other and the bar about their decisions in cases of national importance,” said NJC President William F. Dressel. “The College is excited to co-sponsor this project with West.”

West’s quest for opinions and substantive orders is part of its ongoing effort to add important trial court documents to its comprehensive catalog of appellate court decisions. By linking those decisions to the trial court’s decisions, as well as the pleadings, major motions, orders, and expert testimony in the lower court file, West will offer the most complete body of legal documents available to lawyers and judges nationwide. Besides “leveling the playing field” for attorneys in litigation, the documents will also enable judges to see how their colleagues ruled on motions filed in similar litigation across the country.
To participate in this initiative, state trial judges are invited to submit the opinions and orders they entered in civil cases from 2000 to the present. West will review and consider all opinions and orders that contain substantive legal reasoning on important issues for the court, the jurisdiction, or Westlaw customers. All published opinions and orders will be searchable and linked on westlaw.com.

To submit an opinion, mail it to Thomson West, Attn: Dianne Selbitschka, Rm. D2-5158, 610 Opperman Drive, Eagan, MN 55123 or attach it to an e-mail to west.njcopinions@thomson.com. The email link can be found on the home page of NJC’s web site, www.judges.org.

For further information, contact David Tevelin at West at dave.tevelin@thomson.com or (202) 423-2986, or Trace Robbers at the NJC at robbers@judges.org or (775) 784-6747.