INTERNET LEGAL RESEARCH WEEKLY
November 4, 2001
Tom
Mighell
Welcome to Issue #46 of the Internet Legal Research Weekly, a newsletter that delivers relevant and timely legal research information, and other fun stuff, to your inbox every Sunday. If you like what you read, please forward this newsletter to anyone you think might be interested, and encourage him or her to do the same! To subscribe, all you have to do is send an e-mail to ilrw-subscribe@topica.com. It’s free!
And away we go…..
News Update
It has been a busy week for news:Google’s At It Again
The best search engine around has added some new features, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint formats in its data base, and a test to position snapshots of Web pages next to the search results.Way back To Where We Started From
Want to view a web site, but the old site is gone? The Wayback Machine can help. Its collection holds ten billion archived web pages.One-Stop Shopping for Reference Sites
The American Library Association has released its list of the best free reference web sites on the Internet.Prospecting For Business Information
The New York Public Library offers a reasonably priced online seminar designed to assist internet users find business resources.Learning About Electronic Docket Information
Legal Dockets Online offers a brief review of electronic dockets and document retrieval.
Point and Click, Earn CLE Credit
In past issues, I have discussed one or two websites offering attorneys the opportunity to satisfy their continuing education requirements online. If ever there was an opportunity for which the Internet is perfect, it is continuing legal education. Online continuing education is extremely convenient for attorneys, and is also reasonably priced. A lawyer doesn’t have to travel to a far away location, and he or she can stop and start the seminar to suit his or her schedule. It can also be a lifesaver for those attorneys who seek their continuing education at the last minute.
Unfortunately, not all state bars allow their attorneys to obtain continuing education credit online. The states that so far have not caught up are Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Wisconsin. If you don’t live in these states, read on; the following sites might be able to get you some continuing education credit. My only disclaimer is that I have only taken one online CLE course, from CLE Online – so I can’t actually vouch for the quality of the other sites’ seminars.
Let’s start with a few familiar names, West and Lexis. West’s LegalEdcenter offers content from the National Practice Institute, Practicing Law Institute, and Association of Trial Lawyers of America, among others. The price depends on the seminar; a Chicago Bar Association seminar on discovery strategies costs $100, but an upcoming seminar on the legal implications of terrorism (November 15-16) is free. Lexis provides continuing education through its LexisOne site. Lexis also features content from various providers, with over 136 accredited courses in 30 states. Again, the pricing depends on the seminar taken – some seminars I looked at cost $49.95, but a 9-hour course on licensing agreements was $750.
Law.com has some great continuing education selections; most seminars cost between $29 and $69, and many of them come in streaming video. There’s a nifty feature called “My Notes” that allows you to take notes under the video screen during the seminar. The site I’ve used before is CLE Online, with prices ranging from $25 for a one-hour seminar to $59 for three hours. The seminars here also give you a bulletin board, where you can communicate with other seminar registrants and ask questions to the speakers.
One company that has been around since 1998 is LegalSpan. This site has very little original content; it works primarily with affiliates, so not all of the seminars will be available to every state. LegalSpan also puts a timer on your program, and you won’t get credit unless you watch the whole seminar. Although I have no idea what the name means, Taecan bills itself as “The Recognized Leader for Online Continuing Legal Education.” Taecan offers a number of seminars to lawyers in 22 states. The cost is $25-$30 per credit hour. If you are familiar with Rutter Group publications, check out Rutter Group Online -- the site offers over 50 seminars, at prices ranging from $35/hour to $105/3 hours. You can become a Rutter Group Passholder for $395, which allows you access to all seminars. The American Bar Association also offers a number of seminars at prices ranging from $49/hour to $89/2 hours.
Two other websites I have mentioned before in this newsletter. First is Celesq, managed in part by Harvard Law professor Arthur Miller. A $459 fee gets you access to all programs; otherwise they cost around $65 each. Our final stop is LawyersEd. When I mentioned this site a while back, LawyersEd offered only text seminars. While it hasn’t yet added video and audio, I understand it’s coming soon. There are about 100 seminars here in 34 subject categories. Beware; you’ll have to take a quiz here before you can receive credit for the seminar.
Keep in mind I haven’t taken any courses at most of these sites, so you’ll have to figure the quality of the seminars out for yourself. If you have already tried one of these sites, drop me a line at tom@inter-alia.net and let me know how you liked the experience!
Help Desk
How often do you empty your Internet cache? If you surf the Internet often, those sites can start piling up in your browser’s cache, slowing your system down significantly. How do you get rid of them? I’ll tell you about 2 ways – a simple fix, and a more complete fix.
This area is for you: if you have questions about search engines, websites, or using your computer in general, send me an e-mail and I’ll feature your question in an upcoming issue! (I promise I won’t use your real name…..)
Legally Relevant – Sites on the Internet
Violence Against Women Office
The Violence against Women Office was created to implement 1994’s Violence Against Women Act, and to lead the national effort to stop domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking. The site provides information on how state and local communities can set up programs to combat domestic violence, helpful publications on sexual assault, DNA evidence, and the like, and a terrific online resource guide provided by the University of Minnesota. Copies of the relevant statutes, regulations, and statistics are also available.Harley Hahn’s Master List of UseNet Newsgroups
If you’re never used Newsgroups, you should give them a try. Newsgroups are like bulletin boards, where people can post questions or discussion on specified topics. There are literally tens of thousands of newsgroups out there on every topic imaginable, from animals to transportation. I use newsgroups frequently when I’m having a computer problem for which I don’t want to have to pay technical support. The problem, however, is that it’s hard to even know what newsgroups are available. Harley Hahn has come to the rescue with his list of newsgroups. You can browse the index and select areas of interest -- then just click on the newsgroup and browse the messages there, or post your own message. You must have a newsreader, of course – the most readily available is that provided with Outlook Express (drop me a line if you’d like to learn more about newsreaders).American Dental Association Member Directory
If you’re looking for an expert witness in the dental field, the American dental Association Member Directory may be able to help. Just select from the areas of practice and you use a city and state, and you’ll get a list of practitioners in that area. I was able to find seven periodontists in the Salt Lake City, Utah.RegScan ($$)
If you’re heavily into the Code of Federal Regulations, and you’re willing to pay for it, RegScan is for you. This service offers many different types of products, but in general they’re all geared to providing you with the most up-to-date federal regulations available. You can request a pass for an hour ($14.95) to a week ($149.95), or purchase a license for uninterrupted service. There’s also a service
for creating Hazardous Materials labeling, and an e-mail alert service for $175/year. If you just dabble in the CFRs, RegScan is probably not worth the cost for you. But if you require the most recent regulations, check it out.RocketNews
As much as I love Google, it (and other search engines) is no good at finding current news – they just don’t crawl the news pages that regularly. Enter RocketNews – this site only finds and delivers current news. You can search for news up to five days old – I did a search for today’s news on “anthrax,” and I found 121 articles for today alone! There are more advanced services for a subscription fee. This is a great addition to your search sites.
Now, a few fun sites to end the week…..
Do you ever wonder what your co-workers call you behind your back? Wonder no more – the Work Nickname Generator is here to help you.
If it turns out your work nickname isn’t flattering, fight back with Tim Morgan’s Guide to Shooting Rubber Bands.
Finally, if you’re wondering what you can personally do to fight terrorism, Microsoft has the answer: buy Windows XP.
Well, that’s it for Issue #47 – I hope you liked it! If you did, pass this along to anyone you think might be interested, and encourage him or her to subscribe. Also, feel free to drop me an e-mail any time if you have questions, or if you have websites or other topics you want included in a future issue.
Tom Mighell
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