How to cite a Westlaw or Lexis case

Rule 10.8.1(a) lets you cite a case to Westlaw, Lexis or another widely used database when no reporter has printed it, and Bluepages B10.1.4 gives the same form for memos and briefs. In order: the case name, the docket number, the database cite, a star page when you point to one, and a parenthetical with the court and the exact date.

The database cite is the year, the database's code and the document number: 2021 WL 4170932, or 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 88213. Copy the docket number as the court gives it, after “No.”

The parenthetical names the court, because a WL number doesn't say which court decided the case, and it gives the month, day and year rather than the year alone.

• Orrin v. Bask Logistics, Inc., 2021 WL 4170932, at *4 (D. Del. Sep. 9, 2021).Orrin v. Bask Logistics, Inc., No. 1:20-cv-00877, 2021 WL 4170932, at *4 (D. Del. Sep. 9, 2021).A database cite carries the docket number. R 10.8.1(a)
• …, 2021 WL 4170932, at *4 (D. Del. 2021).…, 2021 WL 4170932, at *4 (D. Del. Sep. 9, 2021).An unreported case takes the exact date. R 10.8.1(a)
• …, 2021 Westlaw 4170932, at *4 ……, 2021 WL 4170932, at *4 …Westlaw's code is WL. R 10.8.1(a)
• …, 2021 WL 4170932, at *4 (Sep. 9, 2021).…, 2021 WL 4170932, at *4 (D. Del. Sep. 9, 2021).The WL number doesn't name the court. R 10.4, R 10.8.1(a)

Westlaw and Lexis number their own screens with stars, so a pin cite to a database case is a star page: a comma, “at”, then the star and the page, as in 2021 WL 4170932, at *4 (Rule 10.8.1(a)).

The short form keeps one party's name, the database cite and the star page, and drops the docket number and the parenthetical: Orrin, 2021 WL 4170932, at *5 (Rule 10.9; the database short form is Rule 18.12(b), 18.9(b) in the 21st edition). When the case was the only authority in the citation just before, Id. at *5 works too.

• …, 2021 WL 4170932, at 4 (D. Del. Sep. 9, 2021).…, 2021 WL 4170932, at *4 (D. Del. Sep. 9, 2021).Database pages are star pages. R 10.8.1(a)
• …, 2021 WL 4170932 *4 ……, 2021 WL 4170932, at *4 …A comma and “at” come before the star page. R 10.8.1(a)
• Orrin, at *5.Orrin, 2021 WL 4170932, at *5.The short form keeps the database cite. R 10.9, R 18.12(b)
• Orrin, No. 1:20-cv-00877, 2021 WL 4170932, at *5.Orrin, 2021 WL 4170932, at *5.The short form drops the docket number. R 10.9, R 18.12(b)

A Lexis cite gives the year, the court's abbreviation, LEXIS in capitals and the document number: 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 88213.

The 22nd edition also accepts LexisNexis's newer LX cite, which has no court abbreviation, such as 2025 LX 334288 (Rule 10.8). The LEXIS form is still correct, and under the 21st edition it is the only one. Either way, the parenthetical names the court and gives the exact date.

• Tamsin v. Ure, No. 1:18-cv-11734, 2019 U.S. Dist. Lexis 88213, at *6 (D. Mass. May 24, 2019).Tamsin v. Ure, No. 1:18-cv-11734, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 88213, at *6 (D. Mass. May 24, 2019).LEXIS is written in capitals. R 10.8.1(a)

Abbreviate the month as table T12 does: Jan., Feb., Mar., Apr., Aug., Oct., Nov. and Dec., and Sep. under the 22nd edition (Sept. under the 21st). May, June and July stay whole.

A database cite is a fallback. Once a reporter, including the Federal Appendix, prints the case, cite the reporter (Rule 10.3). Its parenthetical keeps the court but gives the year instead of the exact date (Rule 10.5).

• … (D. Del. Sept. 9, 2021).… (D. Del. Sep. 9, 2021).The 22nd edition writes September as Sep. T12
• … (D. Mass. Jun. 28, 2019).… (D. Mass. June 28, 2019).May, June and July are never abbreviated. T12
• Halvard v. Pemberly, No. 19-3141, 2020 WL 7715520, at *3 (3d Cir. Dec. 29, 2020).Halvard v. Pemberly, 838 F. App'x 712, 714 (3d Cir. 2020).Once a reporter prints the case, cite the reporter. R 10.3, R 10.5