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Legal News and Current Awareness

More Information

For more information about creating alerts in Westlaw, Lexis, and Bloomberg, or for information about other current awareness tools, see this guide from the Indiana University's law library:

You might also find this CALI tutorial helpful:

Subscribing to Current Awareness Alerts

Current awareness alerts can help you stay informed about current news and recent publications related to your topic.

The main alert systems that you will likely use are listed here: Westlaw, Lexis, Bloomberg Law, and Google Alerts. For more information about creating alerts in these systems, or for information about additional current awareness alert tools, see the "More Information" box.

Westlaw Edge Alerts

You have several alert options in Westlaw Edge, including:

  1. WestClip: runs a saved search and notifies you of new search results.
  2. KeyCite: monitors the status of cases, statutes, and regulations.
  3. Docket Alert: tracks when new cases are filed that meet your specifications for jurisdiction, case type, etc.
  4. Publication Alert: sends you new issues of publications as they become available on Westlaw Edge. 

You can also create a customized newsletter, that contains different kinds of alerts and hyperlinks to Westlaw Edge for easy retrieval and review.

Lexis Alerts

In Lexis Advance, an alert is a search that runs automatically and notifies you of the results at regular intervals. To create an alert:

  1. Run a search or Shepardize a citation.
  2. If you run a search, filter your search results before creating an alert (to get more relevant alert results).
  3. From your search results page or Shepard's report, click the bell icon at the top of the page.

Bloomberg Law Alerts

Subscribe to news and BNA Law Reports with Bloomberg Law. From the Bloomberg home page, select "My News & Law Reports" and follow the directions for subscribing to BNA Law Reports or creating alerts for saved searches.

First, click the three menu bars located on the top left of the home page.

Then, select "News" in the menu.


Choose the "My News & Law Reports" option to customize your alerts.

Google Alerts

Create an alert to receive email notifications any time Google finds new results related to your topic. The more precise your search terms are, the more relevant your alerts will be. Use quotes around phrases (ex: "White House"), and a minus sign in front of words that you want to leave out (ex: Paris -Texas).

Google alerts