SMU Underwood Law Library Week 13

Nov 11 & Nov 13 7:30-11:15 (TOTAL HOURS: 98.25)

This week marked the final session of my Advanced Legal Research class. We focused on the pricing structures of major legal databases such as Westlaw, Lexis, Bloomberg, and HeinOnline, which turned out to be surprisingly fascinating. I hadn’t fully realized how costly each search and document retrieval can be—sometimes ranging from $100 to $300 per action. It was eye-opening to see how these expenses can quickly add up, and it really underscored the importance of being intentional and strategic in my searching. Understanding both the informational and financial implications of research has given me a deeper appreciation for how libraries and law firms manage access to these powerful but expensive tools.

The view from my car driving in every morning.

Outside of class, I continued organizing the digital files for the archives and began working on my final practicum presentation for the law library staff. It’s been rewarding to see how far the project has come, and I’m looking forward to sharing both my process and the outcomes with the team in the coming weeks.