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WestlawKiller 6 - 06 Jul 2010 - Main.DavidGoldin
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| | Ok maybe not, but has anyone used Google Scholar to search for legal opinions? It's still quite primitive, but it has "how cited" similar to shepard's and keycite, all of the cites within the texts are conveniently hyperlinked, and a search for libel and public figure in New York cases brought up most of the same cases I found using Westlaw for my moot court brief. Did I mention it's completely free?
If this type of technology gets better and stays as readily accessible, why will we need to pay high fees for Westlaw and Lexis Nexis? Someone asked in class how we can cover costs working on our own, but I think it will only get easier and cheaper to do the kind of work lawyers do, and this is one example of how this will happen. | | | If you're interested in another cost saving device, I would also suggest taking a look at Cornell's Legal Information Institute. You're probably already familiar with it. When you type "Rule [##]" into google, it's usually the first thing that pops up in a search and will take you the specific federal rule of civil or criminal procedure. Their goal is to give free access to laws online. They also have certain supreme court decisions as well. Since, it's backed by Cornell Law School, it seems legitimate and I have less fears of typos or inaccuracies.
Recently, I've noticed that they have been asking for donations. Seems like a neat program to support. I think the issue goes beyond how to save lawyers money. If people have to follow these rules, they should have access to them. | |
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@Ashley - I have been using this site for a while and appreciate it quite a bit. I think that the thing that I find most exciting is the access to recent Supreme Court decisions. Now, anyone can access these opinions by simply typing the party names into Google. This may seem trivial to law students who understand what a citation is and are used to pulling up cases, but for someone who simply wants to learn more about a decision they read about in the news, this is a great tool. While the site is quite useful for lawyers (especially those of us working in the private sector who have to pay for Lexis/Westlaw), it is also incredibly useful for non-lawyers trying to understand the decisions that are shaping the law as we know it. I'm excited to see what the future holds.
-- DavidGoldin 06 Jul 2010 |
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