New Tutorial: How to Conduct FREE Legal Research Online
Posted: March 12, 2013 Filed under: FindLaw, Google Scholar, Lexis, Seminars, YouTube | Tags: ABA, FedSys, FindLaw, Law Library of Congress, Tutorial, Video, YouTube Leave a comment »This new video tutorial from the ABA is surprisingly comprehensive and focuses primarily on resources in the Law Library of Congress, the “largest law library in the world.” For international legal research, the LLoC is where it’s at. The law library is also one of the biggest online portals to legal resources available. In addition to surveying the LLoC’s website, this video also offers tutorials on Lexis’ free services, FindLaw, Google Scholar, and government websites such as the GPO’s FedSys. The presentation materials can be located here.
Here’s a summary of the presentation from the ABA:
This free program focuses on the legal research services and resources available from the Law Library of Congress, as well as several other free online collections. Following a general overview of the Law Library and its services available to lawyers, librarians, and researchers around the world, there is an explanation of the organization and content of Congress.gov and THOMAS, the Library of Congress’s federal legislative information sites, which together contain the full texts of House and Senate bills and resolutions, the
Congressional Record, and much more, starting with the 101st Congress (1989-90).
Special emphasis will be given to Congress.gov, which was launched by the Library of Congress in September 2012, and is in an initial beta phase, with plans to transform the Library of Congress’s existing congressional information system into a modern, durable, and user-friendly resource. Eventually, it will incorporate all of the information available on THOMAS.
Learn about the Law Library’s global research services, its vast collections in 195 languages from over 220 jurisdictions worldwide, and its expert staff equipped to answer your legal research questions.
The program also highlights other free, yet trustworthy, online legal collections and search engines, such as the U.S. Government Printing Office’s Federal Digital System (FDsys), Cornell University Law School’s Legal Information Institute, the University of California, Santa Barbara’s American Presidency Project, HG.org, FindLaw, Justia, LexisWeb, Google Scholar, and a number of others products.
Lexis Now Permits Unlimited Access to Lexis Advance for Summer Research
Posted: March 11, 2013 Filed under: Bloomberg, Lexis, Westlaw | Tags: Advice, Bloomberg, Lexis, Summer Jobs, Westlaw Leave a comment »This is an update to my post last spring warning students about the potential repercussions of using Westlaw and Lexis passwords for summer employment. It appears that Lexis Advance has joined Bloomberg Law in permitting unlimited access to their research platforms for summer academic and employment purposes.
Since it has become clear that Lexis has its continued existence riding on the success of the Lexis Advance rollout, it makes sense that Lexis would make such an offer this year. So far, word of mouth is that the offer has worked well for Bloomberg.
Here’s the text of the email my students recently received:
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Unlimited Access to Your Lexis Advance® ID this Summer
We are happy to announce that your law school Lexis Advance ID will remain active during the summer and that you will have unlimited access to the content available to you in law school to be used for your academic, as well as any summer associate or internship/clerkship purposes*. Whether working in a firm, government agency, any of the courts, or brushing up on your cost effective research skills, you will have unlimited access to Lexis Advance.
We understand that as a law student, your legal education does not stop during the summer. In fact, some of your most valuable and practical legal education occurs during your participation in summer associate and internship or clerkship programs. In recognition of this, for the months of June, July and August of this year, we are expanding the permissible uses of your law school Lexis Advance ID to include use by you in these programs, including all research or other work you perform for the firm, agency, or court. You simply need to be registered for Lexis Advance.
Registering for Summer Access
- If you’re already a registered Lexis Advance user, you don’t need to do anything else to get Summer Access. Your current ID is all you need.
- If you aren’t a registered Lexis Advance user yet (or aren’t sure), click here for assistance from your Account Executive.
Support throughout the Summer
Your school’s LexisNexis® Account Executive is available to you during the summer for training and support. Feel free to contact him or her early to let them know your summer research goals.
You also have access to 24/7 customer support for help with Lexis Advance, summer access or research questions at 1-800-45-LEXIS (53947).
Enjoy your “All Access Pass” to Lexis Advance this summer!
Instant Poll: Free Research Tools in Practice
Posted: December 5, 2012 Filed under: Polls | Tags: polls Leave a comment »Fantastic Free Legal Research Guide from George Mason
Posted: September 10, 2012 Filed under: Directories, Guides | Tags: directories, guides, law libraries Leave a comment »For anyone looking for a comprehensive directory of free legal legal research sites, Debbie Shrager at George Mason has put together a fantastic compilation of Free Legal Research sites. This guide pushes much further than popular free resources (e.g., Findlaw, Justia, Fastcase, and LII). Debbie has included law-specific search engines– and no … Google Scholar is not the only one listed. I’m also impressed by the depth of this guide with respect to federal statutory law, case law, administrative law, secondary resources, and legal news and blogs.
Indeed, this is one of the best curated guides I have come across. Check it out here.
New Research Links to Love
Posted: July 24, 2012 Filed under: Articles of Interest, Guides, Links, Seminars | Tags: CLE, guides, law libraries, Seminar Materials 4 Comments »Harvard’s New Free Legal Research Guide: Et Seq. Library Blog.
New Guide to Free Internet Legal Research: John Marshall Law Library.
Updated Guide to Legal Research Apps: UCLA Law Library.
Free Access to Extensive CLE Database: Lawline via The Sociable Lawyer Blog.
“Free Legal Research in a Digital World” Seminar Materials: Stetson Law Library.
Big Changes at Google Scholar | Law Technology Today
Posted: July 24, 2012 Filed under: Articles of Interest, Google Scholar, Productivity | Tags: free legal research, Google Scholar, Tutorial Leave a comment »From Law Technology Today: “Google is known for constantly working to upgrade and improve its services – and Google Scholar is no exception. Often these improvements are introduced with little or no announcement or documentation. Some of these “improvements” are for the better and some are not.
The first change at Google Scholar that is NOT for the better is that it’s now harder to find because it’s no longer located on the “More” drop-down menu. Instead, to navigate to Google Scholar you’ll need to click the “More” tab and then “Even More” (see Illustration 1).”
Step by Step: Creating a Free Citation Alert in Google Scholar
Posted: July 23, 2012 Filed under: Citators, Google Scholar, Productivity, Westlaw | Tags: alert, email, Google Scholar, keycite, Updating, Westlaw 2 Comments »
One of my favorite Westlaw features is the ability to create a KeyCite Alert that sends email updates whenever a new case cites a specific case. This feature is extremely effective at helping practitioners update cases. I’m happy to report (at the risk of sounding like a shill for Google Scholar) that you can now accomplish the same thing — for free — with Google.
The Process
Choose a case. Let’s say you’d like to keep abreast of the latest cases mentioning Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. 137 (1803). Here are the five steps required to create an alert for this case:
STEP 1: Simply navigate to the case in Google Scholar.
STEP 2: Once you’ve pulled up the case, locate and click the “How cited” link in the upper-left horizontal menu. You’ve just navigated to Google’s equivalent to Shepard’s. (See my previous post about Shepardizing using Google Scholar’s How Cited feature.)
STEP 3: On the How Cited page, we’ll be focusing on the “Cited by” heading. After a selection of documents listed under “Cited by” click “all [n] citing documents >>”. In the case of Marbury, the link reads “all 22,570 citing documents” (at this writing).
STEP 4: You’ve just navigated to a page listing all database documents citing to the document you’d like to track. On the upper-right-hand of your screen, click the button with the email logo next to “My Citations”.
STEP 5: Enter your email information and select the number of results you’d like to receive. Press “Create Alert and … Voila! You’re one step closer to staying abreast of recent treatment of a particular case.
Now for the disclaimers: Remember that Google Scholar has its limitations. Keep in mind that there may be some delay between the date of opinion issuance and database integration. Also, be aware that Google Scholar may not index every decision issued. You’re always at the mercy of Google’s bots and algorithms. And, of course, this post should not, under any circumstances, be considered legal advice and is not a substitute for complete updating of cases.
Google Workshop for Attorneys
Posted: June 6, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Blogs, Conference, Events, Google Leave a comment »The folks over at SociableLawyer recently hosted an event with some folks at Google to debrief attorneys about the wealth of Google tools available to them. I’m sorry to have missed this one. If anyone has any materials they can share from this conference, please email me (potter@sandiego.edu)!
Upcoming Seminar on Free Legal Research, June 27, 2012 – San Diego
Posted: May 3, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: California, CLE, law librarian, seminar Leave a comment »On June 27, 2012, the National Business Institute is sponsoring a seminar in San Diego entitled, “Find it Free and Fast on the Web: Strategies for Legal Research on the Web.” Albeit the seminar carries a $339 registration fee, the NBI is offering the seminar for six (6) California CLE credits. I’m planning on attending, so save yourself the registration fee and I’ll offer up a full report.
An excerpt of the program description follows, and for a link to the registration site, click here.
| Harness the Many Uses of the Internet
The way we use the internet today is leagues away from how it was being used even five years ago. In order to keep the pace, you need streamlined research skills that will make the internet an asset rather than a liability for your firm. How do your skills stack up? Do you know the best, most efficient ways to get what you need? At this informative seminar, we can show you how to harness the internet as an excellent resource. Register today!
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Just Because the Ninth Circuit Cites Wikipedia Doesn’t Mean You Can
Posted: April 24, 2012 Filed under: Wikipedia | Tags: Blogs, Federal Courts, Wikipedia Leave a comment »
I’m suprised to learn the extent to which the federal appeals courts incorporate Wikipedia references into their opinions. In this post from the WSJ’s Law Blog, Joe Palazollo notes that every federal court of appeal except the D.C. Circuit and the Federal Circuit has cited Wikipedia at least once. Here’s an excerpt of Joe’s findings:
The two court of appeals most comfortable with Wikipedia were the Seventh Circuit and the Ninth Circuit, with 36 citations and 17 citations, respectively. The 10th Circuit and Sixth Circuit recorded eight and six citations, respectively. The First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Eighth and 11th circuits all had five or fewer Wikipedia citations.
