Legal Boolean Search Builder

1. Build Your Concepts

A concept is a main idea, party, action, or legal issue. This tool will help you group synonyms for the same concept together (e.g., spectator OR fan.

2. Your Search String

Copy the final string and paste it into the search bar of your favorite legal research tool.

Note: This tool is optimized for the syntax of major legal databases like Westlaw and Lexis. Other platforms may use different rules, so always check their advanced search tips for best results.

Review Your String

A final check is crucial. The ultimate check is to run the search and see if you are getting expected results. If anything seems off, or if you just want to be sure, use this checklist:

Grouping: Are my () correctly separating each unique concept?

Synonyms: Have I included all relevant alternate terms with OR?

Truncation: Is my use of ! capturing all variations? Be careful that the root isn't too broad (e.g., defin! finds definition and define, but also definite and definitive) or too narrow (e.g., migrat! finds migration and migrate, but misses migrant).

Connectors: Is the main connector (AND, /p, /s) linking my concepts appropriately for the results I need?