INTERNET LEGAL RESEARCH WEEKLY
July 1, 2007
Tom Mighell

Welcome to Issue #272 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

Give Google Some Zing (In Firefox)
I've been using a Firefox extension called Customize Google for a couple of weeks now, and it does some pretty nifty things. Although it helps to customize lots of Google sites, it has more features for the search engine than anything else. Once you install it, your search results will have a few extra links -- at the top, there are links to try your search in other search engines (based on this feature alone, I'm surprised Google hasn't tried to squash this extension), and after each result there are links that allow you to Filter your search by that particular site, or click through to the Internet Archive to see this history for that page. The extension also lets you remove all advertising from your search results (which is the other reason why Google shouldn't like this extension).

Organizational Charts, Via Wiki
Forbes is making an interesting (and logical) use of the wiki format at its Corporate Organizational Chart Wiki. It features organizational charts of major companies, that you can edit too. Anyone can add information or correct data that's already there.

Blawgs of the Week
Here are a few of the great law-related weblogs I covered last week in Inter Alia:

  • The Nonprofit Law Blog is providing "information to empower and protect California nonprofits," but I'm sure nonprofits from other parts of the country can benefit, too. It's written by Gene Takagi, a San Francisco lawyer who focuses on nonprofit law and providing first-rate customer service to public charities, private foundations, and other nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations.
  • Steve Gustitis is an Bryan/College Station attorney and criminal defense lawyer. His relatively new blog, The Defense Perspective, offers a "chronicle of criminal defense practice for the client." He's discussing such topics as eyewitness misidentification, habeas corpus, expunction, search warrants, and more.
  • Here's a great niche blog for you: Louisiana Pet Lawyer brings you information about all aspects of pet law, including estate planning, pet custody, pet care contracts, pet care business planning and pet-related disputes. It's authored by Laurie Kadair Redman, a Baton Rouge attorney.
  • A so-far anonymous lawyer is publishing Practical Lawyering, as he documents his journey from a large, government law practice into the world of the solo estate planning law firm. His posts discuss the decisions he's making as his transition to solo practice continues. Hopefully, once he leaves his current job he'll let us know who he is, so we can put a name with the blog.

Help Desk

One of the Word tips that gets mentioned a LOT, but probably not often enough, is that of Paste Special -- the ability to paste text into a document without all that ugly formatting following you is great. If you don't know how to use Paste Special, check out this tip from my friend Dan Pinnington. My tip today is for people who already used Paste Special, but like me, wish there were an easier way then clicking Edit, then Paste Special, then Unformatted Text, then OK. There is! Let's create a macro that will allow you to do a Paste Special with a simple keystroke:

  • In Word 2003, click on the Tools menu, then Macro, then Macros. In Word 2007, click on the View ribbon, then click on Macros on the far right.
  • In the dialog box that comes up, type PasteUnformattedText in the space next to Macro name:. Click Create. The Microsoft Visual Basic Editor pops up.
  • On the line above End Sub, type the following:
    Selection.PasteSpecial DataType:=wdPasteText
Then click on File, and select Close and Return to Microsoft Word.
  • Now that you've created the macro, let's assign a HotKey to it. In Word 2003, select Tools, then Customize, then click the Keyboard button and choose Macros. In Word 2007, Click the Word button at the top, select the Word Options button, then Customize, and then Customize next to Keyboard Shortcuts. Under Categories, scroll down and select Macros.
  • In both versions of Word, you should now have all of your macros visible to you (or just one, if this is the only one you have created). Select PasteUnformattedText, and then press the new shortcut key you want for Paste Special. WARNING: Don't use a shortcut you already use; I used CTRL+Q for mine. Then click Assign, and then Close.

That's it! Now, the next time you want to Paste Special, just press your new shortcut, and you're all done.

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

Chirobase
This site is billed as "Your Skeptical Guide to Chiropractic History, Theories and Practices." It's operated by a doctor and a chiropractor who want to provide in-depth, critical information about chiropractic to consumers. The site is primarily a collection of articles dating back to the late 1990s, in categories such as Dangers, Questionable Practice-Building Techniques, Victim Reports, Journal Articles, Investigative Reports, Insurance Issues, Chiropractic Education, Consumer Strategy, and much more. Although many of the articles are old, the site was last updated in March 2007, so it's being regularly maintained.

National Atlas
What would you expect a site named the National Atlas to provide? Maps, of course, and lots of them. You can access printable maps, wall maps, dynamic maps, articles, and information for mapping professionals. The maps stored here are also available by subject topics such as Agriculture, Biology, Climate, Environment, History, People, and Transportation, among others. The MapMaker feature allows you to create your own customized map, then save and print it.

International Environmental Law Research Centre
This organization primarily provides policy-relevant research on environmental issues at the international level. Although much of the site is devoted to the work of the Centre, legal researchers should take a look at the Research topics, as well as the publications available (books, articles, working papers, and newsletters, among other things).

A Jailhouse Lawyer's Manual
Hopefully, none of the people reading this newsletter will ever have to use the Jailhouse Lawyer's Manual. It's maintained by the law student members of the Columbia Human Rights Law Review, and intended as a legal resource for inmates. It's really just a collection of PDF files, with 35 chapters of information on criminal law topics, from How to Find a Lawyer to Parole.

Medical Feeds
Here's an interesting site for those of you who use RSS to keep up with the latest information. It's a page connecting you with hundreds of RSS feeds on medical topics. Just select a type of feed -- from Addiction to Vaccination -- and you'll get a listing of various sites that offer feeds on that topic. You can subscribe to the RSS feed there, or visit the site itself to learn more before subscribing. Don't get this whole RSS thing? Drop me an email and I'll be happy to clue you in.

Finally, some fun and useful sites to start out your week:

LifeTips offers 100,182 tips for both work and play, in more than 25 categories. And if you have your own tips, just sign up and start giving advice!

If you have a high IQ, prove it by taking the tests offered by the International High IQ Society.

Well, that’s it for Issue #272 – 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.

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