Since 2014, Fastcase’s legal research has been one of the most important benefits for members of the State Bar of Texas, offering free access to Texas cases, statutes, and regulations.
In 2023, Fastcase merged with vLex, a global legal intelligence company, and some members have wondered what this might mean for the free research benefit. On November 12, the State Bar of Texas will launch vLex Fastcase, a significant upgrade to the legal research program, offering the same core services for free, with some major improvements.
To help you make the most of this new tool, State Bar members are invited to join an upcoming webinar. During this session, vLex Fastcase will demonstrate the new features of the platform and show you how to maximize its potential for your legal practice.
Webinar Details:
- Date: November 4
- Time: Noon to 1 p.m. CST
- Register here
The improved vLex Fastcase service will provide free access to extensive primary law collections, including caselaw, statutes, regulations, and constitutions. Texas materials are especially well represented, with a complete collection of Texas caselaw, including statutes, the Constitution, attorney general opinions, administrative code, and court rules. Simply search by citation, keyword, or natural language query and instantly retrieve the legal authorities you need.
In addition to primary law, members will have access to a rich selection of treatises, practice guides, legal forms, and secondary sources. Texas-specific guides cover civil procedure, foreclosure law, legal malpractice, and trust and estate practice. National materials on bankruptcy, employment law, and intellectual property will also be available, providing analysis and practical guidance.
A key feature of the upgrade is the new Cert citator, which flags negative treatment and other citing references to a case. Cert is an improvement over Fastcase’s previous citation service, Bad Law Bot, with more extensive coverage and more types of negative treatment. The real advantage of Cert is the review by editorial experts that was missing in Bad Law Bot.
The new version also includes skills from Vincent AI, vLex’s AI research assistant. State Bar members will have free access to automated headnotes, case summaries, and the ability to find similar legal materials using Vincent. Additional skills, such as answering legal research questions, drafting arguments, running 50-state surveys, and generating next steps from legal documents, will be available by subscription.
vLex Fastcase’s streamlined tools and interface make finding documents easier. Enter a citation in the search bar and select the document from the suggested list. Filters help narrow searches by jurisdiction and content libraries for relevant results. The interactive outline allows browsing and searching individual sections of statutes, regulations, and practice guides. Tag frequently used documents for quick access later.
The platform’s alert system keeps you updated on new developments in your area of interest. Sign up to receive notifications on the latest rulings and updates affecting clients, ensuring no critical developments are missed. This feature is particularly useful for staying current without manual searches.
Perhaps best of all, members of the State Bar of Texas get all of these features for Texas law completely free (the service costs $1,140 per year for non-members).
With its new look, the improved vLex Fastcase service remains one of the most important member benefits of the State Bar of Texas.
Experience the new vLex Fastcase benefit by logging in to your My Bar Page at texasbar.com and explore your improved legal research benefit.