Not Just Key Numbers and Keywords Anymore: How User Interface Design Affects Legal Research

Julie M. Jones, Cornell Law Library

Abstract

Legal research is one of the foundational skills for the practice of law. However, law school graduates frequently do not enter the bar with adequate competencies in this regard. Applying both information foraging theory and current standards in optimal web design, Ms. Jones considers through a heuristic analysis whether the user interfaces of Westlaw and Lexis help or hinder the process of legal research and the development of effective research skills.

A revised version of this paper appears in Law Library Journal, Vol. 101, No. 1 (Winter 2009), pp. 7-30 (http://www.aallnet.org/products/pub_llj_v101n01/2009-01.pdf)