“Keeping Current Can Be Hard to Do for Law Librarians”

I bet! In fact, I've often thought that being a law librarian would be a most interesting job. Just think about everything you would learn!"Librarians are curious people. We like to skim magazines and books, we like to surf the Web and we have some interest in a lot of topics. A former co-worker used to say that librarians are 'trivial' in that we are always picking up trivia -- a definite...

Website: Famous Trials

This admittedly bare-bones website was created & is maintained by professor Douglas O. Linder at the University of Missouri-Kansas Law School. Linder says: "My vision was to create the Web’s largest collection of primary documents, images, essays, and other materials relating to famous trials from Salem to Simpson. Trials have long struck me as wonderful vehicles for exploring history...

“Cognition Launches New Linguistic Search Engine”

This new search engine could be very helpful for litigation support paralegals: "Every searcher's fear is that a search will produce too little of what you want or too much of what you don't want. And, even if you get a nice collection of the right stuff, is it all the right stuff out there or does it omit things you need to see? In technical terms, does your search strategy balance...

“Superior Legal Web Sites to Watch”

This article from our friends at Law Technology News offers a bunch of helpful law links: "We delve into our browser's bookmarks this month, to review the recently launched Web sites of interest to individuals in the legal profession. BLAWG SEARCH "Several sites help you search the content of blogs, but offer no way to limit your search to law-related blogs. "A new tool solves this...

Digitization of Print Materials

We all prefer digital over paper-based information, right? Right! "Companies from Google to The Thomson Corporation, from Microsoft to LexisNexis, are all undertaking large digitization projects focusing on better access to paper-based resources. Undeniably, many law firms have a need for some of the digitized products on the market today, and there will soon be many more sources available....

“Google launches search engine for US patents”

This news from Google sure sounds smart to me. But will patent paralegals be impressed? "Google was live with a service enabling Internet users to search through the more than seven million patents granted in the United States. "The beta, or test, version of Google Patent Search lets people sift through patents granted by the US Patent and Trademark Office as long ago as 1790 by using...

NY Trial Court Online Case Access

Legal Dockets Online describes new enhancements to New York State's case information databases: "Supreme Court and County Clerk dockets, decisions, monitoring, and calendar access is finally consolidating and improving. If you practice in New York, be prepared to be impressed. Here is a summary of the state's major case information databases now available to the public: "This system...

“The Making of a Public Records Researcher”

This most helpful article was written by Genie Tyburski of The Virtual Chase: "What constitutes public record, public information and private information sometimes is as clear as mud. (For a discussion of the differences, see The Art of Public Records Research.) In a recent e-mail exchange concerning a proposal for a distant education course for journalism students on public records...

“Half of government documents ‘born digital'”

Wow, this is amazing info (pointed to by The Virtual Chase): "Public Printer Bruce James recently returned to the Rochester Institute of Technology, his alma mater and the school that launched his 40-year publishing career, to talk about printing. "After nearly four years of leading the U.S. Government Printing Office into the Digital Age as its chief executive officer, James recently...

“Pushing Legal Research Beyond Google”

Good article about Internet research, specifically for paralegals: "When it comes to sleuthing for information there are no hard and fast rules for paralegals, except maybe this one: Don't ignore the Internet. "The courts may notice if you do. "Last year, an Indiana appeals court agreed to dismiss a lawsuit because the plaintiff took three years to find a postal address and serve...