[blindLaw] Westlaw and LexisNexis Accessibility with the Screen Reader

Tue Sep 29 16:28:07 UTC 2026

Many thanks for sharing some details of your time at HLS, Scott - as you mentioned, things are quite different, but librarians are still the best 😊 yes they do give access to WestLaw and Lexis for students.

Thanks again for your kind wishes!

Best,
Abdul

Abdulrahman Bagais
Attorney at Law
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M +966 545 300  594
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abagais1 at hotmail.com

-----Original Message-----
From: BlindLaw <blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Scott Marshall via BlindLaw
Sent: Monday, September 28, 2026 9:43 AM
To: Blind Law Mailing List <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Scott Marshall <marshall at blindlawyers.org>
Subject: Re: [blindLaw] Westlaw and LexisNexis Accessibility with the Screen Reader

Absolutely check with the HLS library staff. They were my best friends when I was there when we were all working in paper. I wonder if they give students a free Westlaw or Lexis account? 
Years later, I found the accessibility team and the reference attorneys at Westlaw to be great. I have never had any experience with Lexis.

My live readers were mostly from the college or other academic institutions or spouses of law students who wanted something useful to do. Law students, and I understood this, were too busy to be readers for the most part, even when I offered to pay them. They all wanted to debate things, and that was interesting sometimes, but more often, I just needed to get the reading done. My Mother also did a great amount of reading on tape if we had enough turnaround time. I don't know how she did it as a high school graduate with a fulltime secretarial job. She should have gotten a J.D. as well. I also became good friends with the UPS driver who delivered open reel tapes (later cassettes) to me almost every day.  My Mother would also include in the box coffee and other student survival food items to keep me going. 
The reading problem was even more challenging when professors did not use publish casebooks, but used xeroxed copies of cases instead. The cases which were tested with us would usually end up in a forthcoming casebook. Most of the time I felt like I was drinking from a fire hose. 
I am sure the way you work is much different today. Good luck.
Scott

-----Original Message-----
From: BlindLaw <blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Derek Manners via BlindLaw
Sent: Sunday, September 27, 2026 3:16 PM
To: Blind Law Mailing List <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Derek Manners <dmanners at jd16.law.harvard.edu>; Blind Law Mailing List <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [blindLaw] WestLaw and LixesNexis Accessibility with the Screen Reader

Abdul, I’d also recommend connecting with the HLS research librarians. They were able to help me out a ton when I was in a pinch. Less helpful on accessibility specifically, but super clutch when you’re having non-accessibility struggles. 
Sent from my iPhone

> On Sep 27, 2026, at 11:08 AM, Abdulrahman Bagais via BlindLaw <blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Thanks so much, Syed - I'll check with the accessibility team!
> 
> Get Outlook for iOS<https://aka.ms/o0ukef> 
> ________________________________
> From: Syed Rizvi <syedrizvinfb at gmail.com>
> Sent: Sunday, 27 September 2026 11:04:00
> To: Blind Law Mailing List <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Abdulrahman Bagais <abagais1 at hotmail.com>; Blind Law Mailing List 
> <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Re: [blindLaw] WestLaw and LixesNexis Accessibility with the 
> Screen Reader
> 
> Hi Abdul, West Law has a dedicated accessibility team you can contact and even arrange a call with. Also they have a 24/7 hotline with reference attorneys who can help you run your searches and then send you an email with the relevant cases attached.
> Sent from my iPhone.
> 
>> On Sep 26, 2026, at 6:54 PM, Abdulrahman Bagais via BlindLaw <blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> 
>> Hi Everyone,
>> 
>> I am a new master's in law student in the United States. I started using WestLaw and LexisNexis, and I am assuming they will be my main source in law school. I found WestLaw in particular a bit confusing with the screen reader. For example, I wrote a word in the search box's and I found the suggestions do not work with the screen reader. Also, navigating through the results page of the dictionary (e.g., BlackLaw) and reaching and expanding the target result do not work with the screen reader as well.
>> 
>> I would appreciate any resources or tips that might help with both WestLaw and LexisNexis. Thank you!
>> 
>> Kind regards,
>> Abdul
>> 
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