INTERNET LEGAL RESEARCH WEEKLY
December 30, 2001
Tom
Mighell
Welcome to Issue #53 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!
This is my last holiday issue – next week we’ll back to the regular format, article and all. In the meantime, have a safe and happy new year!
And away we go…..
News Update
Given the holiday week, the news was extraordinarily light – so let’s move on to……
Help Desk
Last week I mentioned a way to keep spammers out of your Outlook inbox. Let’s stick with Outlook this week – did you know there’s a way to view a web page in your e-mail program? There’s a Favorites menu there, just like in Internet Explorer, or you can display a web toolbar by selecting View, then Toolbars, then Web from the menu bar. From there, you can surf the web just like in Explorer. I’m not sure *why* you’d want to do this, but if you do, this is how…..
Do you have a question about searching the Internet or your computer in general? Drop me an e-mail– I’ll post your question (don’t worry, I won’t use your real name) and try to get an answer for you!
Legally Relevant – Sites on the Internet
SciTechResources.gov
This site, a partnership with FirstGov, aims to provide the scientist, engineer, and science-aware citizen with easy access to key government web sites. If you’re new to the site, check out the “First Time Users” page, with helpful searching hints. There are several ways to find information, from browsing all the way to entering advanced search terms. There are also lists containing science portals and gateways, sources of R&D publications, resources by government agency, and popular general interest sites. Keep in mind the site is still in a “data-gathering” stage, so you might not find all the information you’re looking for – SciTechResources also allows you to suggest sites that should be added.Directory of National and Regional Intellectual Property Offices
Talk about your bare-bones sites. This is actually an internal page from the World Intellectual Property Organization. The Directory is a handy page to keep in your Favorites folder if you need intellectual property law information from other countries. You’ll get the name, address, and phone number of that country’s agency, e-mail addresses, and web pages. Unfortunately, the information isn’t hyperlinked, which would have been tremendously helpful. Still, this is a great resource.HR LegiState ($$)
Presented by CCH Incorporated, HR LegiState is “your online resource for up-to-the-minute information about Federal and State employment law.” Unfortunately, to access the features, you gotta pay. It’s only $150/year for Federal and one State’s employment law updates, up to $700/year for all the states. With the subscription comes timely information about new developments, complete law summaries of new cases, survey tools to research state law, and answers to common employment law questions. If you’re interested, there’s a trial test drive you can take to see if it suits your employment law research needs.Export Alert Service
Another federal government website, this one from the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The main feature of this site is to sign up for Export Alerts – subscribers (it’s free) receive regular e-mails with notifications of drafts or changes to foreign regulations for exports in a particular industry or country. There are also links here to Information and Research Services, Exports, and Standards Committee Participation.SearchSystems.Net
I’ve already mentioned this site, back when it was named Pac-Info.com. The renamed SearchSystems still offers the same services – access to public records for every state, and other countries, as well. The site claims 5,573 free searchable public record databases, which should be more than enough to get you started on your public record search. There are also links to sites that require payment, which are designated by a green $. A must-have investigation site.The National Crime Victim Bar Association
This site is not much more than an online brochure for the Crime Victim Bar Association, but attorneys are encouraged to join (for $195/year) and take advantage of the members-only services. These include message boards, a nationwide directory of other crime victim attorneys, access to the Association’s Pleadings and Depositions bank, and other perks. There are also some free resources to browse, especially helpful if you (or someone you know) happens to be a victim of crime.World Law Direct
This is an interesting site, but probably more directed at consumers than those in the legal profession. World Law Direct was conceived three years ago by partners at several international law firms, as well as professors at U.S. law schools. The goal of the site was to provide answers to common questions in virtually every area of law, including international, business, family, criminal, immigration, property, internet, and finance law. Each section has some pretty impressive resources for consumers – if you’re an employment lawyer who has a criminal law question, this is a pretty nifty place to get a quick and easy answer. Lawyers can also sign up to be an “affiliate” of World Law Direct – the site attempts to direct potential clients to affiliates, based upon their area of expertise.SEC Rules and Regulations
Bowne & Co. has been providing financial information to the public since 1775. Here they present a page of links to SEC Rules, Regulations, and forms, all in PDF format. Links on the left allow you to subscribe to one of Bowne’s newsletters for the securities lawyer, or surf a nice collection of websites related to securities law.Center for Reproductive Law and Policy
This site is hard to read – the CRLP uses lots of small fonts in its links, and they are very difficult to see. However, the content provided here is pretty strong – you can find all sorts of information on reproductive issues including human rights, abortion, world laws, contraception, and adolescents. There are links to information about what’s happening on Capitol Hill, in the courts, and worldwide. And like so many other sites today, you can subscribe to the free Reproductive Freedom News, and catch up in the site’s extensive archived collection.FedForms
I started with a FirstGov site, so I’ll end with one, too. FedForms is designed to provide “one-stop shopping” for federal forms most used by the public. That goal alone fits my criteria for a valuable website. However, the next sentence, “FedForms does not contain every form issued by Federal agencies,” makes me curious as to how complete the site really is. For example, I did a search for all State Department forms – I only came up with two, an application for a passport and an application for a visa. The forms from the Department of Veteran’s affairs, by contrast, had a lot of forms. I would imagine the IRS would offer a great number, but it had only 288. Hopefully this site will have the form you need.And finally, for some end-of-the-year links:
Time Magazine has put together some terrific shots for its 2001: Year in Pictures spread – give it a look.
If you plan on celebrating on New Year’s Eve, you might want to download the fact sheet from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
Want to improve your karma? Check out the Karma Machine. The site lets you send out secret messages to up to three friends, to let them know you care about and appreciate them.
Well, that’s it for Issue #53– 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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