INTERNET LEGAL
RESEARCH WEEKLY
May 28, 2006
Tom
Mighell
Welcome to Issue #234 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!
News Update -- from the Inter Alia Weblog
Tips for Outlook Users
I'm always on the lookout for better ways to manage e-mail, and last month Richard Kuo posted two real gems on dealing with the killer app. In his Optimize Your Life #3 -- How to Manage E-Mail Effectively (1/2), he discusses turning off those annoying alerts and other ways of getting your other work done. In Optimize your life #4 - how to manage e-mail (2/2), he incorporates the Getting Things Done method into his e-mail routine -- I started using the GTD method on my Inbox a while back, and it's a terrific way of getting control of the madness.Blawgs of the Week
Here are some of the best law-related weblogs, as featured on Inter Alia this past week:
- The University of Toronto Faculty of Law is blogging -- seven law professors are participating in the legal discussion.
- Someone known only as Robert Loblaw (say his name, "Bob Loblaw" fast, and you'll get the joke) is having some fun with appellate law at Decision of the Day, "a daily summary of the best (and worst) of federal appellate decisions."
- David Munn is providing information on technology to corporate counsel at his Legaltech.com Blog.
- Another day, another law firm intellectual property blog. This one is from Sacramento's Weintraub Genshlea Chediak, and it's the IP Law Blog.
- The word "intaxicated" is defined as "euphoric about getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with." The Erb Law Firm in Philadelphia is talking about tax law at Intaxicated, a blog about life, death and taxes.
- Rick Georges is the FutureLawyer -- he's blogging about law, computers, and legal technology.
- And Counterfeit Chic is the blog of Susan Scafidi, a law professor at Georgetown University School of Law. She's addressing the interesting niche of counterfeit fashion and how and why it happens.
Caught in the 'Net
Desktop Search -- Now You Have No Excuse
For several years now I have been a passionate advocate for desktop search products -- they work so much better than Windows' feeble Search feature at finding e-mail, documents, music files, pictures -- just about anything you would want to find on your computer.
Recently I started using X1 on my computer at work, and I love it. The program keeps a constant index of the files on my computer, and there's even a handy toolbar built within Outlook that I can use to perform a search without booting up the program itself. The search feature is lightning-fast, changing the search results literally with every new letter I type. And X1 also highlights my search terms in the preview window, so I can see exactly where in the file those words appear. And X1 doesn't work just on your desktop -- it will also search across your shared network files, too.
The folks at X1 were kind enough to let me share a good thing with you, and they have given me some free licenses for their product. If you're interested, just click here to download it, for free. You'll be glad you did.
Help Desk -- Improving E-Mail Responsiveness
Now that our clients are starting to use e-mail as a primary means of communicating with us, they have come to expect (or demand?) that we respond much more rapidly than we would have for say a letter, fax, or phone call. But let's face it, sometimes we're just too busy to reply to an e-mail when it comes in.
My new acquaintance Itzy Sabo at Email Overloaded has a great two-step process for dealing with this problem in How to reply to all email messages within 24 hours, consistently:
Great productivity tip.
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
American Judicature Society
The American Judicature Society is a group of judges, lawyers, and others, that works "to maintain the independence and integrity of the courts and increase public understanding of the justice system." The tabs take you to resources on Judicial Ethics, Independence, and Selection, as well as Forensic Science, a Pro Se Forum, and the Jury Center. Each section has several articles for review, as well as publications that you can purchase from the Society.ASIL International Criminal Law
This is just one page from the terrific American Society of International Law site, but it packs a wallop. Here you'll find a terrific guide to international criminal law, with links to research guides, treaties and other agreements, information on courts and specific crimes, statistics, and more.Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law
The Bazelon Center was founded back in 1972 by a group of committed lawyers and professionals in mental health and mental retardation. The mission of the organization is to protect and advance the rights of those with mental disabilities. Here you'll mostly get relevant news headlines, but you can also download (for free) or purchase copies of publications. Better still, e-mail alerts and RSS feeds are available so you can keep up without having to revisit the site.Campus Legal Information Institute
A collaborative effort between the American Council on Education and the Catholic University of America's Office of General Counsel, the Institute is designed to provide information on specific topics of federal higher education legal compliance. The topics include Affirmative Action, ADA Compliance, Copyright, Employment, Environment, Harassment, Religious Issues, Campus Security, and more. Each topic contains areas Quick Clicks (quick info on the subject), FedLaw (links to statutes), Publications, Video and Web Tutorials, and Q&A.ClinicalTrials.gov
This site provides, as you might expect, regularly updated information on federally and privately supported clinical trials. You can search for trials within specific fields, or just enter a condition and geographic area. I did a search for "dry eye syndrome" and found 11 studies, all of which are recruiting. The information for each study will show the criteria for inclusion/exclusion, as well as contact details on how to get more information about it. You'll also find some basic links on understanding medical trials, medical studies, in the news, and other interesting resources.
Finally, a few fun and useful sites to begin your week:
Okay, it's a holiday weekend, so we'll only do some fun sites. First up is Fancy Pants Adventure.
If you like moving at more of a snail's pace, check out "Escargot!" -- and no, you don't have to know Japanese to play.
Well, that’s it for Issue #234 – 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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