INTERNET LEGAL
RESEARCH WEEKLY
August 1, 2004
Tom
Mighell
Welcome to Issue #160 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!
And away we go…..
Introducing the Blawg Channel
I am pleased to announce the debut of The Blawg Channel, a group weblog featuring Dennis Kennedy, Ernest Svenson, Marty Schwimmer, Denise Howell, Rick Klau, Kevin Heller, and me. These folks are some of the brightest lights in the blawg-o-sphere, and I'm honored to be included in their ranks. The Blawg Channel represents something new in legal blogging, and we're planning even bigger things as we get this thing going. Give it a look!Tracking Your Content
Do you ever wonder if anyone is using your content on the web? Do you clients ever wonder this? Perhaps Copyscape can help. This site, which is powered by GoogleAlert, allows you to enter the address of your original web page, and receive back a listing of sites where your content is being used.Updating the News
One of the great things about the Internet is that information can be published to the entire world in a relatively short period of time. You would think that news organizations would be all over this, providing up-to-the-minute news on their sites. However, a recent study at UT-Austin shows that many news sites only update their pages once a day. The report does point you to news sites that provide frequent updates, which is nice.Is Google News Looking Over Its Shoulder?
Back last November I mentioned that Microsoft was testing a news service designed to rival the terrific Google News. Well, Newsbot is finally going live in the U.S., and in a review Chris Sherman over at SearchDay says the personalization services it offers are a lot like Findory. Give it a try.
Using the right tool
Mary Ellen Bates always has something good to say in her Tip of the Month column. This month she focuses on Specialized Search Engines, with tips on several websites that can help you look for specific information.Blawgs of the Week
Here's a sample of the law-related weblogs I have found over the past week: Crime and Federalism studies the interaction between federalism and federal criminal laws. A whole mess of people are writing over at Punishment Theory, a group blog on criminal law and philosophy. Arnie Herz, an attorney in Port Washington, New York, presents Legal Sanity, where he hopes to "raise public consciousness and facilitate discussion about our distressed legal profession and the ground-breaking work that’s being done to move it in a saner direction." Symtym follows the "meanderings of a board certified emergency physician at mid-career who tumbled into law school...." The Law Dawg Blawg provides research tips, library announcements, news and links of interest to the Southern Illinois University School of Law Community.Trying to find a website, but only know part of the URL? Not to worry -- use Google's "allinurl" syntax to find the site. Just type allinurl:[search terms], and Google will return a listing of all the sites with those words in the URL. Pretty nifty, eh?
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
Medicaid Resource Book
The Medicaid Resource Book is provided by the Kaiser Family Foundation, and describes "four pivotal aspects of how the Medicaid program operates -- who it covers, what it covers, how it is financed, and how it is administered." All of the resources here are contained in PDF files, so you can easily save them to your computer.MedicineNet Medical Dictionary
Part of the Medicine.Net website, this rather simple dictionary provides definitions for over 10,000 medical terms. Whether it's Hansen Bacillus or Sandhoff Disease, you'll find the definition here.National Employment Law Project
NELP "has advocated for over 30 years on behalf of low-wage workers, the poor, the unemployed, and other groups that face significant barriers to employment and government systems of support." Across the top of the site you'll find links to each of the projects currently underway: Immigrant Workers, Nonstandard Workers, Unemployment Insurance Safety Net, Welfare and Low-Wage Workforce, and Work and Family. You also have access to publications, materials for workers, cases litigated by NELP, and the latest news.Proxilaw ($$)
This site calls itself your "on-demand paralegal." If you need help preparing documents but don't have the time or the staff, take a look at Proxilaw. The types of documents prepared by the Proxilaw staff include incorporation, LLC, living trusts, divorce, trademark registration, search and monitoring, copyright, wills, prenuptial agreements, living wills, and powers of attorney. You have to register to learn the pricing.Illinois Offender Search
Here's where you go to check the custody status of offenders in the state of Illinois. You can search state, Department of Corrections, or county facilities, and all you need is the person's name. In addition to the custody status, the search results will tell you where the offender is currently incarcerated, and you can register to be notified of a change in status.Stanford Copyright and Fair Use Center
If you have seen the hilarious John Kerry/George Bush "This Land Is Your Land" video making its way across the Internet, you might know that the producers of that video have come under fire for potential copyright violations. It's only appropriate that we visit Stanford's Copyright and Fair Use Center. You can get a terrific overview of the law of copyright, view selected primary resources, learn about current copyright legislation, and sign up for a free monthly newsletter containing legislation alerts, opinion summaries, articles, and more. Interestingly, a search for "JibJab" (the producers of the Kerry/Bush parody) on the site did not return any results....
Finally, some fun and useful stuff to start off your week:
It's good to see that Google's clean interface hasn't changed any, since 1960.
Although summer's almost up, chances are your kids will find a way to get into trouble before school starts. Be prepared with the Mayo Clinic First Aid Guide, with the information you need to deal with medical emergencies.
Well, that’s it for Issue #160 – 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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Questions? New websites? Just want to talk? Send me an e-mail at tom(at)inter-alia(dot)net.
