INTERNET LEGAL RESEARCH WEEKLY
March 10, 2002
Tom Mighell

Welcome to Issue #62 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…..

Notable News

WestDockets Now Online
West announced the release of WestDockets this week, designed to provide online access to court docket materials. Currently 138 federal and bankruptcy districts and New York are online, with more to come.

A Serious Look at Internet Use

Every now and then a survey on Internet usage is released, and I’m invariably obsessed with the findings. This week such a survey was released by the Pew Internet and American Life Project. It’s called “Getting Serious Online,” This week, we’ll take a brief look at the highlights of the report.

The survey began in March 2000, with an interview of 3,533 people. In March of 2001, they re-interviewed 1,501 of those same individuals. I think the study intends to revisit these same individuals each year for the foreseeable future -- a great way to measure changing attitudes about use of the Internet.

As of January 2002, 55 million Americans said they go online from work, compared to 43 million in March 2000. More people go online for work-related research, up 5% from last year. Users experienced in Internet research are four times more likely to conduct research online than “newbies,” suggesting that serious work on the Internet increases as one becomes more comfortable with the resource. Fifty-five percent of the “Long-Wired” report that the Internet helps them a lot on their job. The survey also found that Internet users are spending more time online at work, and less time online at home.

Although connections to family and friends via the Internet remain strong, one of the most interesting findings of the Pew survey is the decrease in such communications. In 2000, 79% reported e-mailing members of their immediate and extended family, a figure that grew to 84% in 2001. However, fewer users stated that e-mailing was useful for being in touch with family and friends, and as a result they have cut back on the frequency that such e-mails are sent. The Pew survey suggests this is the result of a maturation of Internet users; where once going online was a “wow” experience, over the past year it has become a fairly ordinary part of their lives. Although the frequency of communication is decreasing, Internet users seem to be more comfortable discussing difficult issues through electronic means – 44% e-mail family members with their worries, compared with 37% in 2000.

Another year of Internet usage has made users more comfortable with conducting transactions online. Fifty-three percent of the people surveyed have bought products online over the past year, compared to 47% last year. As you might expect, experienced users are more likely to purchase (68%) than newbies (32%). Further, more users access the Internet to find health or government information, but the largest increase in this category belongs to the veterans.

One clear effect of the past year of Internet experience is the amount of time spent online. In 2000, users reported spending 90 minutes online per day. Last year, that number dropped to 83 minutes per day. The survey states that Internet users “are less likely to herald the Internet’s connective effects, but they use it for more serious purposes. This all suggests that they learn what they value online and how to go about finding it.” The time spent online has also accounted for a decrease in time doing other things. Twenty-five percent report a decrease in the amount of television watched, 18% have done less shopping, and 14% do not read the newspaper as often (or read the online version instead).

One of the last findings, not surprisingly, is that Internet users are increasingly annoyed by spam. One-third of the 2000 respondents expressed irritation in receiving unwanted e-mail – in 2001, that number increased to 44%. Fifty-six percent of those interviewed have received an unwanted e-mail of an adult nature during the past year, and 78% report receiving sales solicitations.

The Pew survey shows that more and more Internet users are becoming comfortable with the medium, a good sign. Take a look at the report if you want to see all of the statistics

Help Desk

It’s always a good idea to clear out the History folder of your browser every once in a while. Sometimes, though, you just want to remove a particular entry—so your spouse won’t see you’ve been shopping for your anniversary, or so your boss won’t see where you surf at lunchtime. Here’s how to delete individual sites from your browser history:

In Explorer, click on the History button – you’ll get a listing of sites, usually organized by date. In Netscape, choose Communicator|Tools|History from the menu bar (Tasks|Tools|History if you’re using Netscape 6). Scroll down to find the entry you want to delete, right-click on it, and select Delete. That’s all there is to it.

Do you have a question about searching the Internet or your computer in general? Drop me a line at tmighell@swbell.net– 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

International Chemical Safety Cards
This site is part of the Centers for Disease Control, and is provided by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. “International Chemical Safety Cards” summarize essential health and safety information on chemicals for their use by workers and employers in factories, agriculture, construction and other work places. The site itself is not very user friendly; to get to the Cards just pick the International or U.S. National version at the bottom of the page. You can select Cards by one of several methods. From there, browse the Index until you find your intended chemical. The individual cards display Acute Symptoms/Hazards, Prevention, First Aid/Firefighting,
Spillage Disposal, Storage, Packaging/Labeling, and more. A great resource for finding quick and easy-to-understand information about chemicals.

LexisOne State Resource Center
If you haven’t tried LexisOne, you’re missing out on some great resources. LexisOne is designed primarily for solo and small law firms, but anyone can use the free resources, of which the Legal Internet Guide is a large part. The Guide provides over 22,000 legal links, including links to state resources. Just pick a state and you’re off. Each state provides links to home pages, government agencies and offices, legislative and judicial branch sites, court rules and forms, boards and commissions, counties, and more. Keep this in your Favorites folder the next time you need a link from another state.

Trade Compliance Center
Part of the Department of Commerce’s Government Export Portal, the TCC includes “active, binding agreements between the United States and its trading partners covering manufactured products and services.” You can search for agreements or simply pick from the long list. There are also links to WTO, NAFTA, and Bilateral Investment agreements. If you don’t want to read through all that technical language, check out the Exporter’s Guides, which are quick, concise explanations of the
individual trade agreements. The small links along the top of the page can also get you to some great information on trade barriers, technical regulations, bribery, and more.

World Legal Information Institute
If you use the Legal Information Institute (which I have mentioned before, and always recommend), try this worldwide version of the great North American website. There are world databases for Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, North America, and the Pacific Islands. You can also view the resources by topic, with links to legislation, case law, treaties, law reform, law journals, and others. For a site with such a global reach, there are not as many links here as I would like to see. Hopefully this is a work in progress, because the LII is really a terrific resource.

BriefSmart ($$)
I mentioned BriefSmart a few weeks ago, when I reviewed the Asbestos Litigation Library. But the whole site itself deserves mention, because the potential here is enormous. Established in March 2000, BriefSmart utilizes the “Smart Mediary System,” which makes possible the commercial exchange of electronic documents and files between many buyers and sellers simultaneously online. You can search for documents from the General, Asbestos, or Forms collection, or post your own documents that others can download. If you want to download a particular document, the
prices range from $6.00 to $25.00, from what I can see. You can also subscribe to a membership, but I didn’t see any value in that until you become a $500 subscriber, which entitles you to 10% off the cost of documents. Worth a look.

Now for some fun and useful sites this week:

First, a blast from the past – someone actually took the time to post the JC Penney Fall-Winter 1983 catalog online. It’s really a lot of fun
to browse (sorry, you can’t buy anything).

If you ever use the Zagat restaurant ratings, you’ll appreciate this page of diner comments the publisher deemed “Unfit for Print.” Lots of nasty comments here – it’s a shame we don’t know the restaurants they’re talking about…

Finally, a useful site. Going on vacation, but not sure what/how much to pack? The Better Homes & Gardens Ultimate Packing Guide can help – check out the “Interactive Packing List,” which will provide you with a checklist of items to include.

Well, that’s it for Issue #62– 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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