Skip to main content

Westlaw Australia

Thomson Reuters Training & Support

Guides & Tips

Browse the library of user guides, support articles, tips and videos tutorials to help you get the most out of your solution. Keep visiting this page for new tools and resources.

Westlaw Australia Guide - How to research a case by topic using natural language

Last Published: January 14, 2020

Natural language searching allows you to search by asking a question or typing in a sentence that describes the information you are looking for.

  1. Type the legal issue you are researching into the global search bar, e.g., Copyright infringement involving musical works.
  2. Click Search or press Enter on your keyboard.
  3. In the overview summary page, results display case law with keywords in the judgment highlighted, and West Key Number classifications related to similar points of law, as well as Legislation, Secondary Sources, Forms and Precedents, and Practical Law results.
  4. Select Cases on the left-hand side to view all relevant cases.
  1. If there are too many results, narrow by:
  1. Edit your search in the global search bar.
  2. Search within results for an additional term or phrase, e.g., "intellectual property".
  3. Filter results by a specific aspect, e.g., jurisdiction or date.

You might also be interested in ...

Speak to a consultant

Can't find an answer to your question?
Contact our support team.

Request training

Contact our team to arrange training.

Tell us what you think

We'd love to hear what you think
of our products and support.