INTERNET LEGAL
RESEARCH WEEKLY
December 12, 2004
Tom
Mighell
Welcome to Issue #174 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…..
If you can't beat them, make art with them
Did you ever think to take the subject headlines from spam e-mail and turn them into cartoons? You haven't? Well, somebody has, and he's posted the cartoons for you at Spamusement.Legal research a la carte
We all know (and complain about) the high cost of researching services like Lexis and Westlaw. Lexis (sort of) feels our pain, because it is now offering LexisNexis AlaCarte, which offers searches priced on a per document basis. You can search for news, business information, legal (available soon), business and public records, and more, all for free. The average cost per document is $3, which makes this a reasonable research alternative -- right?CEOs who blog
As blogs become more a part of the Internet mainstream, corporate leaders are using them to discuss their companies and the business world in general. That's why a site like the CEO Blogs List is so cool -- it's a list of CEOs (and others in leadership positions) who are currently blogging. Better, it's also a wiki, so anyone (who registers) can edit the bloglist. There's also a CEO Blogger's Club, where all the CEOs get together and share their collective experiences in blogging.An online Grinch, for real
Those dastardly phisherpersons are at it again. Now they are setting up legitimate-looking shopping sites for the purposes of downloading a trojan to your computer. When you click on an image of a product, it instead downloads a zip file that automatically installs itself, and it's then poised to steal your personal and financial information. Be warned.Wide open spaces?
Last week, Microsoft debuted its first journey into the world of blogging. MSN Spaces is free to use, and has some interesting (if somewhat limited) features. A good place for a newbie blogger to practice the craft. Charlene Li has set up a blog there, and gives this review.All law talk, all the time
Attorney Jan Schlichtmann, of "A Civil Action" fame, has turned his attention to talk shows -- the Legal Broadcast Network features eight shows with titles like "Tort Talk" or "Mass Torts Made Perfect." You can listen to any of these programs, either live or archived.SEOB (Search Engine of Bill)
For some reason, Bill Clinton is touting a new search engine, Accoona. Gary Price reviewed it over at Search Engine Watch, and so far he's not impressed. But he also says to give it time -- it's another "unique voice" in the world of online search.Step right up and win a prize!
Occasionally the eternal optimist (I realize the contradiction), I routinely go to IWon, spyware and all, to try for the $10,000 daily prize. Maybe it's time to move on to a new prize site and fulfill my search needs. With Blingo, you can do just that. Blingo is a search engine that awards prizes -- just type in a search, and if you're a winner you'll know before you can even see your search results. Current prizes include a year of NetFlix, a TiVo, Amazon gift certificate, and more. The search engine itself is pretty lightweight, and there are a ton of ads, but who's gonna let a few ads get in the way of a new TiVo? There's more on Blingo from John Battelle.Blawgs of the Week
Another week, another crop of new law-related weblogs. First up: my good friend Tom Mayo, late of the HealthLawBlog, has joined the other law professors blogging over at the Law Professor Blogs Network, and is now part of the HealthLawProf Blog. The Kentucky Insurance Defense Blog is a brand new offering from Louisville attorney Edward Brutscher. I think this may be the first Kentucky blawg -- am I right?The law librarians are organizing...the CS-SIS (Computer Services, Special Interest Section) of the American Association of Law Libraries has created a Blawgs Committee, and they're blogging about it. Keep up with the comings and goings of lawyers working in AmLaw 100 firms with Skallawwag. And Patrick Hindert is managing director of a firm that applies knowledge management to structured settlement and personal injury settlement planning -- that's a new combination to me. Anyway, he's blogging about it at Beyond Structured Settlements -- check it out.
Caught in the Net
Deposition Transcripts on the Net
Two weeks ago, Blog 702, otherwise known as Daubert on the Web, discussed some new sites to find expert deposition transcripts, including mdexonline and CrossExam.com. It also mentions TrialSmith, which is open only to folks in the plaintiff's bar. There are also a number of other websites that provide expert transcripts, including:
The state of state courts and technology
The National Center for State Courts has released its 2004 Report on Trends in the State Courts, and a number of articles are technology-related. They include:
We're halfway through our four-week series on maintaining your computer. Here's what to do every month to keep your PC in tip-top condition:
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
Thomson & Thomson ($$)
As you might imagine, T&T is a business owned by Thomson Corporation, the same company that owns Westlaw. T&T calls itself the "world leader in trademark and copyright services." You'll certainly find a lot of information here, most of it for a price. You can sign up for SAEGIS, the online trademark research service, or check out the other research services offered. There's a page of IP resources, including cases, articles, links to organizations, research, and more.U.S. States Trustee Program
This bare-bones site is the home of the agency responsible for overseeing the administration of bankruptcy cases and private trustees. It's just a page of links to information, but there's a lot here -- basic information about the agency, reference materials for trustees, listings of trustees, guidelines, policy, and decisions, among other things. If you're in Bankruptcy court and working with a trustee, this is a good page to keep handy.United States Sentencing Commission
Another U.S. agency, the USSC deals with criminal sentencing guidelines for the federal courts. Of course, various versions of the official sentencing guidelines are available here, as well as publications on other sentencing topics: statistics, annual reports, research projects, etc. The USSC also provides training to judges, lawyers, and others on the guidelines, and you can sign download training materials. There's also a listserv that will keep you up-to-date on the latest commission doings.LawHelp.org
This site helps "people find solutions to their legal problems." Just select from the 20 participating states, and you'll be taken to a site chock full of information for people seeking legal advice. The subject areas include Families & Kids, Consumer Issues, Disability, Employment, Seniors, Public Benefits, Housing, Life Planning, and a lot more -- the subjects change depending upon the state you choose. From there, you'll get a sub-menu full of lots of resources on that particular topic. A ton of stuff here.Ziggs
Ziggs asks the question, "what if there were a single site on the web with an up-to-date profile of every professional in the world?" I'd say, great! Right now you'll find profiles for 1,172,729 professionals -- sometimes just an address and phone number, sometimes a link to that person's own web page. You can search for people from the home page, or enter your own profile, if you like.
Finally, some fun and useful sites for you, including our first holiday link:
Check out Alek's Christmas Lights Webcam -- you can control the lights at night, turning them off and on. Fun stuff!
I regularly use the Spyware Guide Database to learn about particular types of spyware and how to remove them. You'll find it useful, too.
Well, that’s it for Issue #174 – 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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