INTERNET LEGAL
RESEARCH WEEKLY
December 21, 2003
Tom
Mighell
Welcome to Issue #138 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 visit Inter Alia and fill out the subscription form -- it's free!
I wish each of you a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, Joyous Kwanzaa, happy holidays, and all the rest!
And away we go…..
Don't take your passwords to the grave
I talk quite a bit here on the issue of security, and keeping your PC and its contents safe from invasion. Strong passwords are a big part of that security picture. But what if something happens to you, and your loved ones need access to your computer files? If you have information on your PC that others will need to find when you are gone, make arrangements to have those passwords available. One (albeit archaic) way is to keep a list of all your passwords in a safe-deposit box. Another is an interesting Internet service mentioned in the article, My Last E-Mail, which will deliver stored e-mails to the people of your choice after you have gone. Creepy, I know -- but there might be a value to this service.Research while you sleep
There has been quite a bit of talk lately about the latest trend with law firms -- moving legal research and other back-office work offshore. The article (based on a Berkeley study) states that paralegals in India earn about a third of what their U.S. counterparts make -- an undeniable savings. A friend of mine here in Dallas has been using foreign research support for some time now. His company, Atlas Legal Research, utilizes lawyers in India, not paralegals, to conduct legal research. You can request a research project, and when you wake up the next day, it's done. I haven't spent a whole lot of time thinking about this issue, but it seems that from a business standpoint this idea has undeniable value. From the view of quality of research, I have to agree with Tim at K&E Research Services, who doubts that the overseas researchers will be able to "interpret and filter, evaluate and deliver" the research results.Where "expert" isn't necessarily better
Hopefully, you're all familiar with using the terms "And," "Or," "But Not," and others to limit the scope of your search query. A recent study from Penn State University finds that using these terms does not return more relevant results than simple, dressed-down submissions. This study seems to come into conflict with the current debate about whether Boolean searching should still be taught -- Genie at the Virtual Chase has a terrific collection of everyone's comments on the subject.The battle to end all battles
No, it's not Return of the King (although it comes close -- I can't wait to see it!). Instead, it's the war over search engine supremacy, according to Time Magazine.A new Google trick
They come up with something new at Google every day, don't they? Now, it's airport conditions. Just type in an airport code and the word "airport" -- for example, dfw airport -- and the first result is a link to current conditions at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.Search inside the book? Not Really
Google has introduced yet another new feature this week -- it's Google Print, which indexes excerpts of books, and includes them in search results. It's different from Amazon's Search Inside the Book feature, which shows you actual pages from the book. Google's new option only shows a brief excerpt from the book, usually a review or something inside the book cover. In his article, Chris Sherman mentions that the results for certain books often don't appear in the top 100 results of search query, making it difficult to find information on the books contained in Google's database. That's easily fixed in Google, if you're specifically looking for information on a book. Just use the syntax site:print.google.com along with the title of your book, and the only results you'll receive are from the Google Print book excerpts. Of course, I agree with Chris: the information over at Amazon or Barnes & Noble is a lot more comprehensive.Organizing your research
AScribe raises a good point: after we spend time searching for that important website, we still have trouble keeping track of the information we find. Sure, we can always "Add to Favorites," but a Favorites folder can become unwieldy very quickly. Plus, there's always the danger that the site you find may disappear or become unavailable soon after you bookmark it. I use a program called Net Snippets to organize my research. It allows me to save an entire web page, or even a small selection, to my hard drive. I can annotate the site with notes or other information, and I can organize the research into separate folders. It also saves PDF files. Only problem is, it's a bit pricey -- $79.95 -- but well worth it, in my opinion. Check out the 30-day free trial!Blawgs of the Week
As always, there's a new crop of law-related weblogs to visit this week. The first up is not a law-related weblog -- Daniel Bazac has been publishing the Bazac Weblog since July. Daniel discusses search engines, search engine optimization, meta-search, and much more. LLB is a law student's blog, published by Swoop, who also writes Financeedu, a financial education weblog. Michael Arkfeld is writing a weblog on the Digital Practice of Law. Knowledge Aforethought is a weblog on knowledge management which spends time "thinking about how legal knowledge workers collect, and then connect, the dots."Is your PC's clock always dragging you down? Make sure the time is always right, with XP's Internet Time feature. Just double click the time in your system tray (just to the right of the taskbar), and select Internet Time. Check the box that says Automatically synchronize with an Internet Time Server. Choose time.nist.gov from the drop down menu, click OK, and you're set. If you use Windows 98, ME, or 2000, download and install Atomic Clock Sync -- it will keep your clock up to date (or up-to-time, rather).
Do you have a question about searching the Internet or your computer in general? Drop me an e-mail at tom(at)inter-alia(dot)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
Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction
This is the new website for CALI, a non-profit consortium of law schools that researches and develops computer-mediated legal instruction and supports institutions and individuals using technology in legal education. The site is still under construction, but it seems to have most of the content of the old site. In the Library of Lessons you'll find over 300 interactive, computer-based lessons on 28 subjects of law. There are also resources for using CALI lessons in the classroom, or introducing technology to your law school. Full access is limited to students, faculty and staff of CALI-member organizations, but you can receive limited access to the materials even if you're not in law school.Chronic Disease Prevention Databases
These databases "were developed to provide access to information on chronic disease prevention and health promotion to health professionals responsible for supporting, planning, developing, implementing, and evaluating chronic disease prevention and risk reduction efforts." There are five databases: Health Promotion and Education, Cancer Prevention and Control, Prenatal Smoking Cessation, Epilepsy Education, Management and Prevention, and NCCDPHP Publications. You can use the Simple or Advanced Search pages to find citations and abstracts of various types of materials including journal articles, monographs, book chapters, reports, curricular materials, fact sheets, and proceedings.Corporate Social Responsibility Newswire
Brought to you by SRI World Group, Inc., CSRWire claims to be the leading source of corporate responsibility and sustainability, press releases, reports and news. Across the top of the page are tabs that take you to Press Releases, Reports, CSR Events, and Resources. You can also sign up for free e-mail alerts on new stories.eLawyering
If you're reading this newsletter, a part of you is somewhat open to the concept of e-lawyering. This site from the American Bar Association's Law Practice Management Section wants to provide resources that can help you practice law over the Internet. There are four major areas to the eLawyering site. First is an area describing the concept in pretty thorough terms. There's a section discussing the different ethical issues confronting eLawyers, as well as news and discussion groups on the topic. The "Tech Tools and Standards" and "Skills, Competencies and Training" areas offer practical information that will start you on your way to virtual lawyering (so to speak).First District Appellate Project
This site is for my California readers. The First District Appellate Project is a non-profit law firm created in San Francisco back in 1985. The purpose of FDAP is to ensure quality representation of indigent appellants in criminal, juvenile, dependency and mental health appeals in the First District Court of Appeal of California. There are some valuable tools on here, especially under the Practice Tools and Research Resources tabs. Practice Tools gives you access to filing requirements, contact info, forms, an appeal checklist, and more. The Research Resources provides you with a brief bank, a free library, case summaries, and ways to stay current.
There's a whole gaggle of holiday sites for you this week:
Check out the NPR Holidays 2003 page -- you'll find links to streaming audio stories on the Grinch, holiday books, gift ideas, movies, food, and more.
Not exactly a happy holiday site, but a necessary one: Toy Safety Publications from the Consumer Products Safety Commission.
We should always remember those less fortunate at this time of year, and set some aside for charitable giving. With that in mind, visit the Holiday Giving Guide from Charity Navigator.
If you're really a hard-core holiday fan, you don't need to buy your holiday decor, gifts, or crafts, do you? You Do It Yourself. Here you can, among other things, learn how to make roasted pepper hummus, create a jolly snowman lawn figure, or even a mock-chenille stocking.
Ever wonder what would happen in a fight between Frosty the Snowman and Santa Claus? No? Apparently someone has, and it's all here in the XMAS Bash.
Didn't make it to the mall to visit Santa this year? Your child can still write Santa a letter, at Dear Santa.
For those of you who are feeling festive and a little bit violent at the same time, try shaking up this snowglobe.
Well, that’s it for Issue #138 – 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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