CHAPTER 8 Online Legal Research

Introduction Computers and online databases have improved the ability of paralegals to do high-quality legal research New case decisions and changes in statutory law are entered almost immediately into certain online legal databases If you master the basic principles of online research, you will be able to conduct research on the Internet no matter how much its content changes

Free Legal Resources on the Internet Internet Tools Navigating the Internet Similar to an enormous library No centralized, comprehensive card catalog Browsers, guides, directories, and search engines Browsers Programs that access the web Enable computers to roam the content of the web

Free Legal Resources on the Internet Search Engines Scan the web for words and phrases Search operators These can greatly refine results Quotation marks are one of the most useful operators Advanced search Makes it easier to run searches that contain all the words in your search or that eliminate certain words from your search Internet: The Most Used Research Tool Learning Objective: Strategies for planning and conducting research on the Internet.

Free Legal Resources on the Internet General Legal Resources www.justia.com lp.findlaw.com dockets.justia.com www.loc.gov/law www.oyez.org www.law.cornell.edu www.washlaw.edu Learning Objective: How to find some of the best legal resources available on the Internet.

Free Legal Resources on the Internet Specific Legal Resources Secondary sources of law Court opinions Other resources Federal Law Starting Points www.usa.gov Federal legislative home pages Business information

Tips for Doing Online Legal Research by Matt Cornick Think before you begin the research. There is no need to reinvent the wheel. Both Westlaw and Lexis offer online training lessons. There is more to online legal research than Westlaw, Lexis, and other similar services. When using online legal research services, time may literally be money.

Tips for Doing Online Legal Research by Matt Cornick Keep your skills current. Keep track of your research. Perhaps the most valuable online legal research skill you can develop is the ability to cite check primary authorities. Know when to walk away. Don’t worry.

Lexis and Westlaw Dominant Fee-Based Providers Services Are Comprehensive User Friendly Expensive Different Law Firms Pay Different Rates Include Searchable Versions of Federal and State Cases, Statutes, and Regulations Learning Objective: The advantages of the major fee-based online programs.

Lexis and Westlaw Accessing Westlaw or Lexis www.westlaw.com www.lexis.com You must subscribe Password required

Lexis and Westlaw Conducting a Search Court case or statute Quickly call up the document Legal topic By case or party name By publication Word searches Second platform for searching: WestlawNext

Lexis and Westlaw

Lexis and Westlaw Checking Citations Citator KeyCite Shepard’s References that have cited or interpreted a case A history of the case Determine the validity of a case Locate additional sources KeyCite Shepard’s

Lexis and Westlaw Shepard’s Citations Information provided by Shepard’s and KeyCite Parallel citations Other cases References to periodicals, treatises, A.L.R. annotations Case history Use of symbols Elaborate abbreviated system Color-coded symbols

Lexis and Westlaw Selecting a Database Searching for Databases Search for a database: enter database identifier Directory: unknown abbreviation for database Searching for Databases Find a database wizard WestlawNext Not necessary to choose a database

Lexis and Westlaw Searching a Database Searching within Results The terms and connectors method The natural language method Searching within Results Locate in results: scan documents in search results Focus: same feature in Lexis Search within results: same feature in WestlawNext Remember that service online is costly Print or download

Lexis and Westlaw Is Lexis or Westlaw Better? Different formats Different specialty publications offered Stanford University survey 245 picked Westlaw 89 picked Lexis Legal researchers can switch between systems and use KeyCite or Shepard’s to accomplish same tasks

Alternative Legal Research Sources PACER Public Access to Court Electronic Records www.pacer.gov Court cases and docket information Run by the federal judiciary View the documents filed in federal litigation View a complaint Read a judge's ruling

Alternative Legal Research Sources Fastcase www.fastcase.com Access to all Supreme Court decisions Federal appeals decisions back to 1924 Federal district court decisions back to 1932 Authority check Can link with Shepard’s or KeyCite Lower fees than Lexis and Westlaw Becoming more widely used

Alternative Legal Research Sources Loislaw www.loislaw.com Wolters Kluwer Publisher of CCH Owns Aspen Publishers Large federal and state case, statutory, and regulatory databases

Alternative Legal Research Sources Loislaw (continued) Access to specialized databases of secondary sources Key words in context GlobalCite LawWatch

Alternative Legal Research Sources Casemaker www.casemakerx.com Part of state bar membership Federal and state case reports, statutes, regulations Some state-specific documents Undergoing expansion

Alternative Legal Research Sources VersusLaw www.versuslaw.com Low-cost service Highest level plan U.S. Code and the Code of Federal Regulations Limited access to publications not in public domain

Alternative Legal Research Sources Google Scholar scholar.google.com Free service Basic key word searches on state and federal case law Limited number of reviews and journals Advanced scholar search allows full range of features

Conducting Online Research Plan Ahead—Analyze the Facts and Identify the Issues Plan your research steps before going online Know what you are seeking Avoid wasting time and money Outline your objectives clearly Understand your goals Know the reason for research or how results will be used

Conducting Online Research Online Research Strategies Starting points Directory or guide Search engine Discovering available resources Check the law libraries Blogs Browsing the links Narrowing your focus

Conducting Online Research Evaluating What You Find Consider reliability and credibility Primary, secondary, or tertiary source Reputable source Evaluate websites

Conducting Online Research Updating Your Results Stay current with events in the law Go online News sites Corporate press releases E-mailed newsletters and bulletins

Conducting Online Research Locating People and Investigating Companies Finding people Broad searches Narrow searches Specialty search tools Fee-based searches Learning Objective: How you can find people and investigate companies using Internet search tools.

Conducting Online Research Locating People and Investigating Companies (continued) Investigating companies Finding company names and addresses Uncovering detailed information about companies Additional sources Associations and organizations Learning Objective: How you can find people and investigate companies using Internet search tools.

Summary Today’s legal professionals can access a vast amount of information using the Internet A great deal of legal information, especially public documents such as statutes and cases, is accessible through free Internet sites For serious legal research, legal professionals often use online commercial legal research services, particularly Lexis and Westlaw

Summary Less expensive and less comprehensive research alternatives have become more popular Alternative programs may be adequate for some projects and may also be used for preliminary research Paralegals must become proficient in conducting extensive research as efficiently as possible