Members of the BLS Community now have full access to Fastcase, a legal research platform known for providing great content at an affordable price. Fastcase provides comprehensive coverage of state and federal cases, statutes, and regulations, as well as legal forms, select state attorney general opinions, news sources, and court rules. Case law databases are generally updated with new decisions in as little as 24-48 hours.
From Fastcase:
“Known for its mission to democratize the law by making it more accessible to more people, Fastcase has been partnering with bar associations since 2005 and steadily transforming the traditional legal research industry. In addition to bar associations, the company provides smarter legal research tools to lawyers around the world, dozens of AmLaw 250 law firms, in-house counsel, and law schools across the United States. It also provides access to legal research through award-winning free mobile apps on the iPhone and iPad.
Fastcase has gained strong momentum in the legal research market. Fastcase was voted #1 in Law Technology News’s inaugural Customer Satisfaction Survey, finishing first in 7 out of 10 categories over traditional research providers Westlaw and LexisNexis. Fastcase’s free apps for iPhone and iPad have dominated the category, winning the prestigious 2010 American Association of Law Libraries New Product of the Year and was named the 2011 Legal Productivity App of the Year. In 2012, Fastcase was named to the Best of Legal Times list for Online Legal Research, Legal Research (including print), and Legal Research iPad app, as well as being named the Best of Research in the Daily Business Review.”
Users can access Fastcase through the library’s A-Z list, or from this link. For the time being, no username or password is required since users will be logged in via IP Authentication. If using Fastcase outside of the law school, you will need to implement the proxy server instructions (available on the library’s webpage) to gain access. A concise user guide for Fastcase is available here and a library of brief training videos are available here.
If you have any questions about Fastcase, you can speak with a Reference Librarian, or contact Fastcase directly by phone (866.773.2782) or email (support@fastcase.com).
