Smart Tools on Westlaw
Intelligent search correction and refinement tools available only on Westlaw
Smart Tools pick up on where you're headed and help you get there
Smart Tools on Westlaw make good queries even better so you're more apt to find the result you need. When terms appear out of content even though spelled correctly - such as "statue of limitations" when what you meant was "statute" – Smart Tools go to work.
- Sniffs out misspelled acronyms, like HIPPA for HIPAA
- Finds related terms of art, such as "frustration of purpose" for "impossibility of performance"
- Did You Mean feature asks, for example, Did you mean "breach of contract" instead of "beach of contract?"
| Features | Examples |
| Expand Search suggests how to broaden your search if it yields less than five results |
Change database from New York Cases (NY-CS) to New York State and Federal Cases (NY-CS-ALL) |
| Automatic searching of plurals and possessives |
policy in your query retrieves policy and policies |
| Automatic irregular plurals |
child retrieves child and children |
| Automatic searching of compound words |
whistle-blower retrieves whistleblower, whistle blower and whistle-blower |
| Automatic equivalents for common misspellings and alternative spellings |
judgment retrieves judgment and judgement |
| Versions of acronyms |
H.I.V. retrieves HIV, H I V and H.I.V. |
| Scan Directory lets you scan the Westlaw Directory for a database using part or all of its name |
harvard law review retrieves a list of more than a dozen legal periodical databases with Harvard in the title |
Take a closer look
Did You Mean »
Did You Mean draws on West's rich database of legal terms of art and acronyms to help you find relevant documents quickly.
Much smarter than a spell checker, Did You Mean is a serious legal search enhancement.
Add Related Terms »
This short demo shows you how Smart Tools improve your queries so you can find the results you need.
Add Related Terms suggests synonyms and alternative phrases to help uncover documents you might otherwise miss.
Without using Add Related Terms, you would miss this lead case!
Much more sophisticated than a legal thesaurus, this feature was developed by attorneys for attorneys.