Legal Research

Google Docs -- Now with Full-Page View!

Posted on May 23, 2008
Despite the gripping title, this item is not as exciting as it sounds. I only wanted to point out that Google Docs is moving ever closer to looking like an online version of Microsoft Word, this time by offering Fixed-Width Page View -- now you can view your Google Doc as a real page on the screen, rather than just seeing the writing canvas across your entire screen. A small but very useful update.

Collaborate on Documents, Almost Instantly

Posted on May 23, 2008
Have a document you need to review with someone else, and it needs to get done fast? Check out A.nnotate, a new site that makes document review a snap. Just upload a document (PDF, but it will convert your Word document to PDF when you upload it), and start reviewing. You can also take a snapshot of a web page and comment on that, too. The annotation tools are simple but pretty powerful -- you can highlight text and comment on it, as you would in Acrobat or other reviewing programs, but you can also "tag" your comments, which makes it really easy to search through all of the comments later on. A.nnotate also provides their own categories, like "wording," "typo," "query," "suggestion," "correction," "important," "company," and "person" -- by just clicking on the Typo category, you get a listing of all the typos noted by your reviewers...

Blawg of the Day -- Aviation and Airport Development Law Blog

Posted on May 23, 2008
The Aviation and Airport Development Law Blog is published by Chevalier, Allen & Lichman, a Costa Mesa, California firm. They're discussing some interesting aviation topics, like airspace redesign, aircraft emission of greenhouse gases, delays, aviation safety, and more.

Locking Down your IMs

Posted on May 22, 2008
In my opinion, instant messaging is both one of the greatest internet communication tools available, and at the same time one of the most frowned-upon technologies by corporations and lawyers. I use Skype as my instant messenger, and it is invaluable for on-the-fly conversations when waiting around for an email response just isn't good enough. The security of an instant message is one reason why many do not use it as a way to communicate, because of the fear that such messages would not be confidential. Never mind the fact that with the rise of electronic discovery an instant message is discoverable! Here's a tool that won't make your IM session any less discoverable, but will definitely protect your confidential communications. SimpLite is a free product from French company Secway that allows you to encrypt your MSN Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, ICQ/AOL, Jabber, and Google Talk IM sessions...

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Free Research Tools Get Citators

Posted on May 22, 2008
In some of my recent seminars I have mentioned sites like PreCYdent and the Public Library of Law as good alternatives for finding case law, instead of first using a pay service. Unfortunately, they haven't had some of the great features that make West and Lexis such valuable legal research tools -- headnotes, Shepards, and KeyCite, to name a few. But two of these sites now offer basic citation information -- both PreCYdent and AltLaw now provide a list of cases that your search result cites, as well as cases that cite your search result. Bonnie Sucha at WisBlawg has a good rundown of the two new citator tools, and why they still probably aren't as reliable as the paid services. Interestingly, the Public Library of Law also offers citator services, but only if you upgrade to their $95/month Premium plan.

Blawg of the Day -- eLawyering Blog

Posted on May 22, 2008
Richard Granat is a lawyer I have worked with through my involvement in the ABA's Law Practice Management Section. He's blogging at the eLawyering Blog, which is dedicated to lawyers delivering legal services online. Among other topics, he's discussing competition, free law, virtual law firms, elawyering events, and more.

Blawg of the Day -- North Carolina Business Litigation Report

Posted on May 21, 2008
Today we'll travel to North Carolina for our BoTD. The North Carolina Business Litigation Report is brought to you by Mack Sperling of the Greensboro/Raleigh firm of Brooks Pierce. The focus of the blog is primarily on the decisions of the North Carolina Business Court, and the site features a case database with searchable case summaries.

Blawg of the Day -- Saxe Environmental Law News

Posted on May 20, 2008
Another Canadian blog for you today -- Saxe Envirolaw News is published by Dianne Saxe, who according to Euromoney is one of the world's top 25 environmental lawyers. She's providing updates on the air, climate change, contaminated sites, pesticides, waste, water, and other environmental law issues on her site.

Blawg of the Day -- Massachusetts Lawyer Blog

Posted on May 19, 2008
The ambiguously-named Massachusetts Lawyer Blog is published by the firm of Wilson & Whitaker, a Weymouth, Massachusetts firm. They discuss personal injury, estate planning and business law issues there.

A Milestone

Posted on May 17, 2008
The 300th issue of the Internet Legal Research Weekly is online and ready for your review. 300 issues -- I can hardly believe it. Thanks to all of you who have subscribed over the past 8 years!

Blawg of the Day -- California Appellate Law Blog

Posted on May 16, 2008
Today's blog is brought to you by the California (multiple offices) of Archer Norris. The California Appellate Law Blog provides news and insight about appellate law, including appellate practice and procedure, on being a lawyer, and recent court decisions.

Blawg of the Day -- Andrew Feldstein -- Blawg

Posted on May 15, 2008
Andrew Feldstein is a Toronto-area family lawyer. At his self-titled Andrew Feldstein - Blawg, he's discussing various family law matters such as child abduction and custody, division of assets, equalization and separation, spousal support, among others.

Blawg of the Day -- Podiatry Malpractice Blog

Posted on May 14, 2008
Today's blog focuses on a niche practice -- the Podiatry Malpractice Blog is published by Michael A. Quinn, a New Jersey lawyer who is also a doctor of podiatric medicine. He's discussing disciplinary actions and professional misconduct of podiatrists, as well as fraud issues, settlements and verdicts.

Blawg of the Day -- Florida Bankruptcy Lawyer Blog

Posted on May 13, 2008
The Dellutri Law Group, which serves clients in Fort Myers, Port Charlotte, and Naples, Florida, is publishing the Florida Bankruptcy Lawyer Blog, with topics including bankruptcy crimes, myths, and news, as well as credit information, legislative updates, and advice on life after bankruptcy.

Blawg of the Day -- C'est e-p@tent

Posted on May 12, 2008
C'est e-p@tent is the bilingual blog of Adam Mizera, an engineer, lawyer, and patent agent trainee at Leger Robic Richard LLP. He's providing news of interest to patent practitioners in Quebec and Canada.

Blawg of the Day -- Texas Probate Litigation

Posted on May 09, 2008
Texas Probate Litigation is devoted to news and notes relating to probate litigation, with a particular focus on Texas law -- the topics included are will contests, trust and will construction, accounting actions, and claims against fiduciaries. It's published by J. Michael Young, a Sherman, Texas attorney with the firm of Sanders, O'Hanlon & Motley.

Blawg of the Day -- LawyerCasting

Posted on May 08, 2008
LawyerCasting is the new blog of attorney/Internet marketer Joshua Fruchter. His blog is dedicated to covering "best practices" in online marketing for lawyers and law firms, including websites, blogs, podcasts, webcasts, email marketing, and more.

Blawg of the Day -- Center for Engaged Learning in the Law

Posted on May 07, 2008
The blog Center for Engaged Learning in the Law is a team effort, authored by several law professors from around the country (and hosted at Elon University School of Law). The goal of the blog is to contribute to the discourse on teaching and learning in law, "from the inspirational to the whimsical, to the mechanical."

Blawg of the Day -- Canadian Criminal Law Blog

Posted on May 06, 2008
The Vancouver firm of Gibbons Fowler Nathanson publishes the Canadian Criminal Law Blog. The various topics discussed include legal ethics, legal technology, and recent developments in the Canadian criminal justice system.

Blawg of the Day -- Enterobacter Sakazakii Blog

Posted on May 05, 2008
For those of you who don't know Enterobacter Sakazakii is a bacterium that can cause a number of bad illnesses. Food Poisoning uber-firm Marler Clark is covering the news on this germ at the Enterobacter Sakazakii Blog.

This week's issue of....

Posted on May 03, 2008
...the Internet Legal Research Weekly is available for review.

Blawg of the Day -- The Legal Antiquarian

Posted on May 02, 2008
Today's blog is brought to you by Professor Michael Hoeflich of the University of Kansas School of Law. He's an internationally-recognized authority on legal history, Roman law, and the history of the legal profession. At The Legal Antiquarian he's discussing the history of the material culture of the law -- the various aspects of legal history dealing with the daily life of lawyers and judges, as well as to the sources which can be used by legal historians to help understand how law and the legal profession functioned in the past.

Blawg of the Day -- IPBlog

Posted on May 01, 2008
Today's blog hails from Canada -- IPBlog is published by Richard Stobbe, an intellectual property lawyer at Brownlee in Edmonton/Calgary. As you might expect, he's writing about the usual IP law topics -- copyright, Internet law, licensing, patents, privacy and trademarks.

Blawg of the Day -- AngioSarcoma Law Blog

Posted on April 30, 2008
The firm of Burke & Eisner is no stranger to blogging -- they've been doing it for some time now. One of their newest blogs is the AngioSarcoma Blog, dedicated to those diagnosed with the illness. Here you'll find posts on the symptoms of AngioSarcoma, as well as information on vinyl chloride news and lawsuits.

Blawg of the Day -- Environmental Toxic Torts Blog

Posted on April 29, 2008
Today's blog is brought to you by Gail Wurtzler, who practices with David Graham & Stubbs in Denver, Colorado. Her Environmental Toxic Torts Blog is a supplement to her practice in defending property damage toxic tort cases, among other things. She's discussing legal developments and defense strategy in the area of environmental toxic torts, including such topics as medical monitoring, response costs, and insurance.

Make your screen shots super

Posted on April 28, 2008
Want to make a screen shot of a website, but don't want to pay for programs like SnagIt? Then check out Super Screenshot -- all you have to do is enter the URL, and the site does the rest. You can specify the file type (JPEG or PNG), and the size of the file. Of course, you'll probably have to crop the image before using it in a presentation, but this is a great way to get a quick screen shot of a web page.

Blawg of the Day -- Minnesota Divorce & Family Law Blog

Posted on April 28, 2008
The Brown Law Offices in Anoka, Minnesota, publishes the Minnesota Divorce & Family Law Blog, providing information and updates on divorce and family law in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. Jason Brown is providing some great family law advice on his blog.

The latest issue of the....

Posted on April 26, 2008
Internet Legal Research Weekly is up. Enjoy.

Blawg of the Day -- Class Actions in Canada

Posted on April 25, 2008
Ward Branch is a class action lawyer in Canada. His Class Actions in Canada blog gives you pretty much just that -- news and updates on class action litigation in the provinces.

Blawg of the Day -- Food Liability Law Blog

Posted on April 24, 2008
The mostly Western firm Stoel Rives has a new blog -- the Food Liability Law Blog provides a discussion of emerging legal threats to the food industry. It's primarily authored by Ken Odza, a principal in the firm's litigation practice group and chair of product liability initiative. He's talking about avoiding and mitigating recalls, emerging pathogens, and organics litigation, among other things.

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