Tag: Amy Goldenberg

Westlaw, Fastcase, and LexisNexis Rule US Legal Research Databases

LexisNexis pic
LexisNexis
Image: LexisNexis.com

Attorney Amy Goldenberg from Closter, NJ, is a secretary for the Federal Bar Association. Previously a judicial law clerk at Essex Vicinage, Amy Goldenberg of Closter, NJ, conducted legal research using LexisNexis and Westlaw.

According to a 2017 legal research survey by Clio, the U.S. legal publishing market is dominated by three firms: Westlaw (20.58 percent), Fastcase (20.35 percent), and LexisNexis (20.21 percent). Here are some details on each:

Westlaw
Westlaw markets itself as the most comprehensive database for legal information, which includes federal and circuit court cases, statutes, state regulations, bills, treatises, and public records. It also contains litigation resources and practice-area insights.

Fastcase
A relatively new entrant in the legal-research world, Fastcase is a database of legal resources that is big on functionality. It has a simple search application that lets users look up cases they already know about and an advanced search option that combines keyword, citation, and natural language filters. It scores results based on relevance, includes tags to help users look up pertinent materials, and highlights key paragraphs in legal texts for simpler use.

LexisNexis 
An established legal-research database, LexisNexis has been around for decades. It has the most recent cases and more in-depth jurisdictional data. It combines these primary sources with secondary ones, like law reviews, to assist in legal research. It also has all Supreme Court cases since 1790 and data on 80 million businesses.

The Use of Memoranda in Legal Practice

Amy Goldenberg

Based in Closter, NJ, attorney Amy Goldenberg has served as a judicial law clerk at Essex Vicinage in Newark, NJ. In this role, Amy Goldenberg of Closter, NJ, conducted legal research and drafted opinions, briefs, and memoranda.

In the legal practice, memoranda are often used by courts and attorneys to present information in a concise format. Courts issue judicial memoranda as summarized decisions that detail court rulings and any orders given. However, they do not contain court opinions or explanations on the reasoning that guide judges in making their decisions.

Away from the bench, memoranda are used by attorneys to outline specific points as part of motions addressed to a court or as briefs to fellow attorneys. For example, a court may ask for a memorandum on a certain legal issue and the attorney will comply. A lawyer may also draft a legal memorandum for another attorney, informing them of a legal issue while citing legal authorities and, depending on the circumstances, pointing out ambiguities in the law. The other attorney may be the opposing counsel in a case or a colleague at their own firm.