systems use them primarily for conventional research. But computerized systems also have a number of special capabilities that enable them to carry out certain research tasks so quickly, accurately, and economically that their use is justifiable even on a one-time-only basis by nonsubscribers. Hence, all legal researchers should familiarize themselves with these capabilities, which are listed and described in section I of this article.The remainder of this article explains and analyzes these s y~t e m s .~ A general explanation of how they operate is presented in section 11, and a detailed explanation of Mead Data Central's LEXIS system is presented in section 111. Section IV analyzes the performance of LEXIS-type systems in retrieving case law and suggests ways t o improve their performance.I give special attention to the LEXIS system because it contains by far the largest full-text collection of statutory and case-law materials of any such system, including all recent U.S. Supreme Court, court of appeals, and district court deci~ions.~ I t is thus likely to be of use to any researcher on occasion. Further, it is the only full-text system currently available nationwide.' Those considering becoming LEXIS subscribers should find much helpful information in this article. Others already skilled in its use will also find this article of interest, particuand Robin L. Woodward, LEXIS: A New Tool for Tax Research, 1 J. Corp. Taxation 42, 47 (1974). Jerome S. Rubin is president of Mead Data Central, Inc., the company that developed the LEXIS system.2. Case law, on the other hand, varies as widely as does the writing style of individual judges. Ideas are expressed in no set format and in no carefully defined order. Moreover, the same idea may often appear in several different verbal formulations. Thus, decisional law can be defined no more recisely than as a series of words, each of which may draw its meaning and importance t o m the words around it. The lack of any formal characteristics for written judicial opinions poses the greatest obstacle to the design and development of computerized case law research systems.James P. Chandler, Computers and Case Law, 3 Rutgers J. Computers 84 L. 202, 204 (1974).3. This article presents a detailed explanation of the LEXIS system of Mead Data Central, Inc.; it is also relevant to such similar retrieval systems as JURIS, QUIC/LAW, LITE, and EATUM-all of which are described individually in American Bar Association Standing Committee on Law and Technology, Automated Law Research (Chicago: American Bar Association, 1973)-and the WESTLAW system of West Publishing Co. The discussion here and the conclusions reached do not apply to statistical systems (see text at 181) or to any other system that does not permit the formulation of document search requests in a "Boolean" language (see note 15 infra). The QUIC/LAW and WESTLAW systems are hybrid systems that permit either Boolean searching or statistical searching at the option of the researcher. I describe the WEST-LAW system in a short arti...

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Two commercial computer‐based legal retrieval systems are described — WESTLAW of West Publishing Co. and LEXIS of Mead Data Central. These systems enable searches by words or phrases in the full legal text of such as those relating to court opinions, US codes and various Federal tax matters. Also it is possible to check case citations. Examples are given of how the computer is able to meet the lawyer's needs and explanation of the various ways in which searches can be made. It is considered that familiarity with the relevant law speeds up searching due to the user's knowledge of the vocabulary of the judges. The limitation on the number of years covered should soon disappear as file sizes are increased and storage costs reduce. The article goes on to compare the coverage and performance of both systems. Examples are given of search statements for each. Comparative comment is given on data input, text editing, text enhancement including indexing, updating and hard copy support. It is concluded that the customer will find it difficult to choose between the systems. No refs.

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