INTERNET LEGAL
RESEARCH WEEKLY
March 6, 2005
Tom
Mighell
Welcome to Issue #182 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!
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And away we go....
Because Government is Cool....right?
Jon and Elizabeth have put together the CoolGov weblog to highlight all of the cool and neat resources provided by the U.S. Government on the 'Net. Sign up for the RSS feed -- it's an excellent way to receive new legal research resources without lifting your finger.Getting around just got easier (for me, anyway)
I love online mapping sites. One thing I don't like is having to print out directions when I'm trying to get somewhere -- I'd rather be able to view it on my phone. For awhile I used the AvantGo service, but it required me to sync my Treo before heading out. Yahoo! has granted my request. Now when you search through Yahoo! Local or look for directions through Yahoo! Maps, you can have the directions sent directly to your cell phone. The text message contains a link to a web site with the directions, so your phone must be web-enabled. Very cool.One-stop searching from TurboScout
Here's a nice interface for searching -- TurboScout is a meta-search interface that allows you to perform the same search at multiple sites without actually having to go to those sites. You can search the Web, for images, reference, news, products, weblogs, and audio and video from here. This page is very similar to the previously-reviewed MrSapo, but it's a lot cleaner.Using Technology in Your Practice
David Swanner of the newly-minted South Carolina Trial Law Blog offers these Twelve Ways Technology Can Make You a Better Lawyer. It's a terrific concise (but jam-packed) listing of terrific ways attorneys can use technology to their benefit.A fine line between spam and sanctions
An Indiana lawyer has learned that it's possible to set your spam filter settings too high. Jeffrey J. Stesiak of South Bend was nearly sanctioned in a case after his firm's spam software blocked a court notice of a status conference. E-Mail is supposed to make lawyers more efficient. Don't let an over-aggressive spam filter prevent you from communicating with your clients, other lawyers, or the court.A whole mess of desktop search tools
In case you haven't made up your mind which desktop search utility to try (and you should be trying one, by the way), The Goebel Group has created this handy Desktop Search Matrix that shows all of the various features.RSS Made Easy
Lately I've been giving a number of seminars on RSS, and how it represents a revolutionary way we think about conducting research on the Internet (I'll also be talking about it at ABA TECHSHOW). I also notice a lot of glazed-over expressions once I'm done talking about subscribing to RSS feeds. That's why I was so glad to see that Alex Barnett has put together an online tutorial called Using RSS 101, which shows how to subscribe to RSS feeds, as well as downloading and using FeedDemon.Your Newspaper via RSS
For those of you who are coming to prefer reading your news headlines via an RSS feed, here's a great list of Newspapers with RSS around the country. As of today, there are 1178 papers listed, and only 90 have RSS feeds. I thought it would be more.Trick Out Firefox
One of the best things about the Firefox browser is its ability to customize via extensions created to enhance the search experience. A while back, PC Magazine posted a list of its Top 15 Firefox Extensions -- they will definitely change the way you think about browsing. If you want even more extensions, check out the Firefox Extensions page.Blawgs of the Week
Back to my normal schedule, and 7 new law-related weblogs for you to check out: If you're interested in news of New Jersey's divorce mediation, litigation, or arbitration, then Charles Abut's New Jersey Divorce Mediation, Litigation, & Arbitration blog is right up your alley. Phillip Wilson is an attorney in Tulsa Oklahoma, and he's been blogging since last August at Laboring Away at the Institute, featuring "the musings, meanderings and occasional cogent thoughts of a labor relations author, lawyer, organization development consultant and professor." blog do dip is a blog written by "EL PBX," and features information about private international law written in both English and Portuguese. David Swanner is the proud owner of a new lexBlog blog, and he's discussing using technology to be a better trial lawyer over at the South Carolina Trial Law Blog. Lawrence Velvel, the Dean of the Massachusetts School of Law, is blogging about his personal views on national events at, appropriately enough, Velvel on National Affairs. The Law Librarians of New England are posting recent news and other information for chapter members at LLNE News. Finally, the firm of Nirenstein, Ruotolo, and Gonzalez is blogging about Arizona Family Law, with a site courtesy of the folks at lexBlog.
Caught in the Net -- This Whole Google Toolbar Brouhaha
A little over a week ago, Google announced the release of its latest Google Toolbar, which features some interesting new features. The toolbar now gives you the ability to check your spelling, translate any word into another language instantly, and automatically create links to certain types of information.
It's the last feature that's raising all of the commotion. Google's AutoLink will find information on a web page and create links to additional information. Currently it seeks out addresses (to link to maps), UPS and FedEx tracking numbers (to take you to tracking information for a shipment), VIN numbers (to a CarFax report on that particular vehicle), and ISBN numbers (which links to information about the book on Amazon.com).
This technology isn't really new -- it echoes the "Smart Tags" that were abandoned a few years ago. There has been a good deal of discussion about Google's use of this technology over the past week -- from the positive (see Anil Dash) to the negative (see Dave Winer, Dan Gillmor, and Steve Rubel). Interestingly, Barnes & Noble has already taken action to override the toolbar, by already making links out of the ISBN numbers found on its site. Search Engine Watch has a nice discussion of the pros and cons of the toolbar at Google Toolbar's AutoLink and The Need for Opt-Out.
What do I think? Well, I have always been of the opinion that tools like this tend to make it easier to find relevant information, and I think in general that's a good thing. However, it's also a dangerous thing, if it can "hijack" someone's web site and direct traffic away from it -- if BN hadn't taken action, anyone using the Google Toolbar on its site would have been redirected to Amazon if they clicked on an ISBN link. I agree with some of the critics that this idea still needs refining.
Until Google develops a toolbar for Firefox, though, I'm not likely to even try out the feature. So for me it's somewhat of a moot point.
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
U.S. Senate Reference Home
I had to use a shortened URL for this page, because the real URL is outrageously and unnecessarily long. The site, however, offers some truly information about the U.S. Senate and federal government in general. There are two areas: Statistics and Lists and the Virtual Reference Desk. In Statistics and Lists you can find all sorts of interesting statistics (for example, who has the most Senate votes? Answer: Quentin Burdick, with 11,932). The Virtual Reference desk organizes information by subject, from Agencies through Women in the Senate.Bankruptcy Sales
This site describes itself as "the premier web site for the discovery of asset sales from bankruptcy estates by bankruptcy trustees, debtors in possession, or others having the authority to sell such assets by the United States Bankruptcy Court." Here you can browse amongst the boats, aircraft, real estate, farming equipment and other assets to see if anything strikes your fancy. For $50/year, you can have notification sent to you if a particular item comes up for sale or auction.The Trumbull Group ($$)
The Trumbull Group employs attorneys, consultants, paralegals, analysts, and others to administer large, complex bankruptcy and/or class action cases. Among the services it provides are schedule preparation, noticing, call center, imaging, claims processing and reconciliation, web site design, and more. The class action services include media campaigns, noticing, locator services, imaging and document management, and others.Workers Compensation
If you're looking for workers compensation information, this is a good place to start. Just click on a state for the workers comp rules, statutes, news, forms, medical fee guidelines, and more for that particular area. You can also read the latest workers comp news, take advantage of employee background check services, find an insurance quote, and more. There's a free newsletter, and for $4.58/month you can become a Preferred Member, with even more benefits.Conference Alerts
If you only go to continuing legal education seminars, then this site probably isn't for you. It is a directory of worldwide academic conferences in just about any subject imaginable. For example, you can find that the International Congress of Bioethics will take place in Tehran at the end of this month, and you'll get a link to the conference site. You can browse by topic, or by region of the world.
Finally, some useful sites to begin your week:
Mac user? Not me. So if you need any advice with your Mac, check out MacFixIt, which provides troubleshooting solutions for the Macintosh computer.
Those of you whose life is not quite the model of order and harmony you'd like it to be, take heart: LifeOrganizers will help you with home, office, clutter, time management, finances, moving, school and family, and more. Where have they been all my life?
Well, that’s it for Issue #182 – 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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