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Welcome to Issue #156 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!

Ask for a shortcut
Following on the heels of Google and Yahoo, Ask Jeeves announced several search shortcuts last week, as well as a page preview feature called Binoculars Site Preview. Check out the new features at SearchDay.

Search Engine Watch Forums
It's 2:00 a.m., and you're deep into online researching mode. Your search engine of choice isn't returning the results it should. There's no one to ask -- or is there? My favorite search engine site, Search Engine Watch, recently introduced discussion forums for posting questions. There are folders for specific engines, as well as other searching issues. Give it a look!

Access to your PC after you're gone
Have you thought about it? Do you have information on your PC that should be accessed by co-workers or loved ones after you are gone? Unfortunately, many don't think about this, and relatives and lawyers are facing computers filled with data and protected by strong passwords. It's probably a good idea to have a way to let others know how to get into your computer after you're gone. Perhaps make a list of your passwords and put them in a safety deposit box.

New bookmark manager
Looking for a new online bookmark manager? Spurl is there for you. Store your bookmarks online so you can access them anywhere, share them with others, see pages that others have found, and it's all anonymous.

Blawgs of the Week
Another fresh crop of law-related weblogs for your review, including Professional Recruiters, Inc., which has its own blog, with news for legal recruiters. The most recent post was March 24 -- let's hope it's not the last. Douglas Berman, a Professor of Law at Moritz College of Law at Ohio State University, is writing Sentencing Law and Policy, providing resources, information and commentary about both capital and non-capital sentencing developments. Underneath Their Robes, a new blog by "Article III Groupie," and features news, gossip and colorful commentary about the federal judiciary. Rain Man is really Raymond Ward, a New Orleans attorney and legal writing instructor. Here he holds forth on legal writing and language. If you're interested in more on legal writing, check out his other site The Legal Writer. Finally, an attorney working with GCE (Ginormous Corporate Entity) is publishing Running With Lawyers, an irreverent look at lawyers, the law, and other issues.

That oft-forgot research tool, the library

The New York Times runs the article Old Search Engine, The Library, Tries to Fit into a Google World (NY Times Article, registration required), that discusses how online resources have supplanted the library for information gathering. Our summer associates just completed their 6-week session with us, and I find that more than ever, law students rely almost exclusively on online research, especially Lexis and Westlaw. I don't recall seeing them in the library very much at all during the 6-week period. Scott Stolley, a lawyer at Thompson & Knight here in Dallas, has a great article on The Corruption of Legal Research (PDF File;scroll down to Page 39 -- Page 20 of the PDF), which discusses this very issue. Although you won't find a stronger advocate for online research, I also recognize that this increased reliance on electronic resources may actually produce weaker researchers. How can this be better addressed in law school?

Help Desk

Here's a tip for managing your Favorites in Internet Explorer. You can always click on Favorites, and then Organize Favorites, within IE itself. But that's such a pain. Try this instead: in Windows XP or 2000, navigate to C:\Documents and Settings\your-username\Favorites. Right click on the Favorites, icon, and select Explore. You'll get all of your Favorites folders on the left, and you can drag and drop files wherever you want. If you want to see thumbnails of the sites, just click on Favorites, then select View, and Thumbnails. Dragging and dropping will be a little more complicated, but you can always cut and paste the links.

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!

Natural Disaster Reference Database
Looking for a disaster? NASA has some documents for you. You can browse by type of natural disaster, or type in some keywords and see where it takes you. The database only has 565 documents in it right now, and they are just abstracts of the actual documents, but if you're doing research on these types of events this site might be a good starting point.

Watching Justice
Watching Justice is a "non-partisan, watchdog website that monitors the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), offering regularly updated and comprehensive information to the public about how the DOJ administers justice in America." On the home page you'll find recent news stories involving the Department of Justice. The area entitled Resources and Commentary offers links to publications, articles, and briefs on current issues affecting the justice system. There's also a page highlighting upcoming relevant events around the country.

ZipDecode
This is a cool page, especially if you're trying to locate the source of a zip code. Once the page loads, just start typing in the numbers of a zip code. Do it slowly, because as each number is typed, the U.S. map on the screen is highlighted with the possible areas where that zip code is located. Watch the area get smaller and smaller as your finish typing the zip code.

American Legal Publishing Online Library
American Legal is one of several publishers of municipal codes and ordinances for cities and towns across the county. Here you can find municipal codes from 30 states, and you can browse and search those codes and ordinances. A great site -- I only wish there were a place where you could find all codes in one place, instead of having to go from site to site.

Bankruptcy Clearinghouse ($$)
Claiming to be "the single best source for nationwide bankruptcy information," the Bankruptcy Clearinghouse offers an impressive amount of data from bankruptcy courts, some dating back to 1982. Searches cost $1.00 each, with additional charges of 50 cents incurred for viewing of "details." Unlimited use per month is only $50.

CCH Business Owner's Toolkit
This site provides just what it promises: a toolkit of information for people interested in starting, running, and growing a small business. The best resource available here is the CCH Small Business Guide, with thousands of pages of information. You'll also find downloadable checklists, model business plans, forms, and other documents. Don't forget to subscribe to the free newsletter, so you can receive regular tips, news and advice for small business owners.

If you're interested in learning a new language, or just want to brush up on a language you already know, check out the BBC Languages page, where you can work on your French, Spanish, German, and Italian.

Well, that’s it for Issue #157 – 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.

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Questions? New websites? Just want to talk? Send me an e-mail at tom(at)inter-alia(dot)net.