Westlaw tip: Searching for dollar amounts

June 8, 2011

From the Westlaw Reference AttorneysWhat is the best way to search for a specific dollar amount?  Look at the following searches:

Search – 10,000,000 (486 Docs) ALLFEDS
Search – $10,000,000 (3688 Docs) ALLFEDS

As you can see, you get different results depending on whether you include the $ sign or not.

Just like searching for a percentage, the dollar sign is read as being attached to the numbers if you include it in the search.

To be on the safe side you probably should include the dollar amount with the dollar sign and without.

The commas should not factor into the search.

(Provided by West Reference Attorneys)