Carnegie-Vincent Library

Students are trained to use Computer-Assisted Legal Research (CALR) tools during the
first semester of law school in the Lawyering Skills I course. Basic legal research
instruction on Fastcase, LexisNexis, and Westlaw is provided in class and reinforced
through research exercises. Advanced legal research skills are taught in conjunction
with upper-level courses and additional legal and non-legal databases. Training
sessions are announced via the digital screen in the main lobby, and announced to the
Duncan School of Law community via email.

LexisNexis and Westlaw

LexisNexis and Westlaw are research databases specific to law, and contain the full-text
of primary and secondary legal authority, treatises, encyclopedias, law reviews, and
news articles. Faculty and students are provided passwords for both LexisNexis and
Westlaw, and students are only allowed access for educational purposes while school is
in session.

Fastcase

Fastcase is an online legal research database that is available to all Tennessee Bar
members. Fastcase provides access to federal and state statutes, regulations, and case
law, in additional to local Tennessee resources such as the Knoxville News Sentinel.
The Law Library provides access to Fastcase to all students and faculty via the Law
Library’s website.

Additional Online Resources

The Law Library also provides faculty and student access to numerous legal and non7
legal resources, primarily online. Case law, assigned in all courses, is accessible to
students through AudioCaseFiles podcasting, which provides another format to help
students prepare for class. Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction (CALI) lessons are
incorporated in the Lawyering Skills courses and engage students with interactive
lessons on legal research and writing skills. In the upper-level courses, students will be
introduced to additional topic-specific resources, such as BNA’s Core Collection, which
provides