[header] How to shepardize a case [title] Select the online database to which you have access. [step] Lexisnexis and westlaw are the primary online databases used by lawyers and law students for conducting legal research. Both are equally useful for shepardizing cases, though subscribing to either service as an individual consumer can be prohibitively expensive. 
For this reason, most lawyers and law students use the one to which they have free access through their law school or employer. [substeps] As a law student, you will likely be given free access to both lexisnexis and westlaw through your law school.