INTERNET LEGAL
RESEARCH WEEKLY
November 27, 2005
Tom
Mighell
Welcome to Issue #215 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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The Alito Database
The folks at the terrific AskSam database company have gone and done something useful again -- they've created a database of the Published Opinions of Judge Samuel Alito. Right now there are at least 350 opinions contained in the database, which you can view online, or on your own computer (after a quick download).The Collaborative Legal Resource
Wex is a new resource from Cornell's fantastic Legal Information Institute. It's similar to the Wikipedia: a collaboratively-built, freely available legal dictionary and encyclopedia. Unlike Wikipedia, it can't be edited by just anybody -- you have to volunteer as an editorial contributor. So far the offerings are pretty small; 149 articles in the Dictionary and 126 articles in the Encyclopedia. In addition to the definition or description, the sidebar provides state and federal resources related to the topic. These are going to be great resources for legal professionals.Privacy Tips for Non-Techies
Chris Hoofnagle, the Director of EPIC West, presents this nice Consumer Privacy Top 10 list of things you can do with little money, effort, or knowledge of technology. It's a great list with non-techie things you can do to protect your privacy.New legal podcast offering
Well, it's not new, exactly, but Jim Milles at the University of Buffalo Law School has been podcasting at Check this Out! for a few weeks now. He's discussing blawgs, library news, and research stuff. I'd say check it out, but Jim already said that.Blawgs of the Week
Just because there's a holiday this week doesn't mean the law-related blogs take a break - here's a heaping helping of new ones. First up: another week, another blog by the Tennessee firm of Branham & Day. This one is titled ERISA and Disability Benefits Law Blog. I'm starting to wonder where they find the time to practice law.... The oneLblawg features two law students "on a Quest for the Holy Grail at different schools, comparing notes along the way." A San Francisco attorney is blogging at Legal Commentary, with the ambitious goal of providing "Commentary on the law, Universe, and everything." Thomas Brown is a New York lawyer, is discussing legal theory, case law, and current events at In Dicta. With a site called Everything Tax Law, you'd expect that tax practitioner Krieg Mitchell would be talking a lot about tax law. And he is -- check it out. Rachel Cotrino is blogging at The Amalgamation, billed as a "sporadic discussion regarding international and national concerns specifically dealing with public policy and the law." Finally, The Southern District of Florida blog is "dedicated to providing news and notes regarding federal practice" in..you guessed it, the Southern District of Florida. The author, David Oscar Markus, welcomes everyone to email any news of verdicts or rulings happening in the District.
Caught in the 'Net
Just the Links, Ma'am
I had the opportunity a few weeks ago to take a tour of a new research service called LawyerLinks. It's designed for corporate lawyers, and the offerings are definitely directed to that segment of the legal community. The simply-designed site provides Topics (or an Index) on the left menu, with the content displayed to the right. The Topics include Current Events, M&A News, Accounting Issues, Asset-Backed Securities, Deals, Industries, Notable Cases, SEC Information, Tender Offers, and more.
LawyerLinks works a lot like a research manual (or as Bob Ambrogi points out at the link below, a treatise). Just click on a link to drill down to more focused information. Much of the information is intended as reference, providing an overview of the legal issues. But you'll also find links to other web sites, forms, and case law summaries on these issues -- all updated regularly.
Bob Ambrogi wrote a pretty thorough review of the site and I echo all of his comments. I very much recommend the site for corporate law researchers, and offer just a few suggestions for future versions of the site:
You can get a free 30-day trial, but after that you'll have to pony up -- it's $1/minute for a la carte users, or you can purchase a group subscription for $1,495/year. Check it out.
Is your Start Menu sluggish? Want it to appear faster? Here's how to do it (Caution: this involves editing your PC's Registry, which can be dangerous -- so proceed with care):
Legally Relevant – Sites on the Internet
JudicialCheck.com ($$)
At my firm, I often get e-mails from other attorneys asking about the reputation of other judges or lawyers -- I'm sure we're not the only firm that does this. JudicialCheck is like a nationwide version of the "does anyone have experience with..." e-mail. Here you can review and read reviews of attorneys, judges, law professors, expert witnesses, and arbitrator/mediators in your community. Well, some communities, anyway -- right now the service is only available in California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Texas, and the District of Columbia. For unlimited access to reviews, you'll have to pony up $9.95/month or $94.95/year.State Statutes on the Internet
This is just one of the many terrific pages contained in Cornell's Legal Information Institute. Here, in one place, you'll find links to state statutes on more than 30 areas of law, from Agriculture to Water Code. Just click on an area of law, and you'll have access to links of each state's law on the topic. Very simple, but very helpful.National Consumer Law Center
The NCLC wants to help consumers, their advocates, and public policy makers to use powerful consumer laws to build financial security and assure marketplace justice for vulnerable individuals and families. Toward that end, you'll find a lot of helpful information here, particularly under the Action Agenda link on the left. There you'll find links to resources on Home Ownership and Consumer Credit, Energy and Utilities, and other consumer protection issues. You can purchase one of several instructional manuals, or register to attend educational conferences organized by the Center.National Governor's Association
The mission statement of the NGA is "The National Governors Association--the bipartisan organization of the nation's governors--promotes visionary state leadership, shares best practices and speaks with a unified voice on national policy." There are a number of great resources here -- the NGA Center for Best Practices features pages on five core areas - education, health, homeland security, environment, and social/economic/workforce -- with information on these key issues, as well as many others. You can also view detailed biographies of our current governors, as well as information on the past governors of each state.National Crime Prevention Council
The home of McGruff the Crime Dog, the NCPC's goal is to enable people to create safer and more caring communities by addressing the causes of crime and violence and reducing the opportunities for crime to occur. Just click on the Topics in Crime Prevention link in the upper right of the home page, and you'll be treated to dozens of links on different types of crime prevention issues -- each subsequent page offers articles, tips, and brochures on these issues. That page alone makes the site valuable, but there's more -- give it a look.
As always, some fun and useful sites for you this week:
There's a new site called Wayfaring that takes advantage of the new powers of Google Maps to allow users to create their own maps. Create a map of sites to see on an upcoming vacation, bicycle tracks in your town, househunting locations, or use your own imagination.
Here's another game for the brain: play Counterfeit and see how the pictures differ.
Well, that’s it for Issue #215 – 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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