Lexbox is everything a law student needs: it’s a Google extension that helps organize and monitor your online legal research. You can store relevant legal information from various online sources and alerts in one location. And, it’s free. Which is arguably its most important feature, if you’re a debt-riddled law student.
I say ‘arguably’, because I think Lexbox’s ultimate strength is its efficiency.
‘Efficiency’ was something that was discussed greatly in 1L. I remember when we were introduced to online legal research services, our professor always told us to use free online methods when possible, because the programs we were taught to use “are incredibly expensive in the real world.”
We’re able to use it freely in law school, so we grow accustomed. But the problem is that once we start working, we might as well be rendered useless. Our access to these programs become limited, if existing at all. It’s as if we’re learning how to do legal research all over again.
And for what? There are plenty of freely available legal sources we can access at just the touch of a button. The problem is, these sources – albeit expansive – are absent of any of the functions that come with the services we use in school. You have to manually keep track of your research and caselaw, often back-tracking your research path when necessary. Which is fine when done on a piecemeal basis. But when you’re writing a 40+ page comparative paper looking at policies the world over, that system does not work. You end up taking as much time tracing your research as you spent finding it in the first place.
We’re left with a gap: efficiency takes a back seat to comprehensive legal research. That’s why law students need Lexbox.
Lexbox let’s us get the most of freely available legal information. With it you can save searches, cases and set alerts on issues you deem important without having to consider time and money. Its features work to serve the interests of students. Imagine you’re assigned a case to read for one of your classes, for example. You find the electronic version and save it to Lexbox, adding that you would like to be alerted if new issues arise. This allows you to not only master the case and law but also stay on top of any recent changes. With the alert function, you can be notified of any new developments over the course of a semester, which can be used towards earning brownie points from the professor. What law student doesn’t want that? You can also add notes so you can stay on top of your thoughts.
Lexbox helps us to research more conveniently and effectively. And from what I’ve learned, that’s part of what makes a lawyer great – attention to detail while being efficient. Lexbox will make us more organized students, and will set us on the path to becoming more diligent lawyers and legal researchers.