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Distance Learning, Internet Legal Research, and the Future

Distance Learning, Internet Legal Research, and the Future. A CLE Program during Cornell Law Alumni Reunion Claire M. Germain Edward Cornell Law Librarian and Professor of Law cmg13@cornell.edu. Friday, June 9th, 2000. Context of Legal Research Today. Inflation of Information

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Distance Learning, Internet Legal Research, and the Future

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  1. Distance Learning, Internet Legal Research, and the Future A CLE Program during Cornell Law Alumni Reunion Claire M. Germain Edward Cornell Law Librarian and Professor of Law cmg13@cornell.edu Friday, June 9th, 2000

  2. Context of Legal Research Today • Inflation of Information • Inflation of Legal Issues • Difficulty of Distinguishing Domestic from Foreign and International in a Global Setting • Pressures on Law Firms

  3. Advice for Successful Internet Research • A Thoughtful Approach to Legal Research • Concrete Examples • How to Become Empowered • Principles of Efficient Research

  4. Sample Search You are representing a bank in South Carolina that learns it now has to provide information on account holders who are delinquent in paying their child support. You know that there is a recent federal law that mandates each state must come up with a procedure by which they will help identify these parents. Research Strategy?

  5. Evaluation of a Web Source • Characteristics of Superior Information Sources • What is the source? • Is this source reliable? • Is it up-to-date? • Is this the official, final version of a text? Can you cite this to a court? • What is the cost? Time is money!

  6. Sample Search

  7. Sample Search: U.S. and State Codes • Cornell Law Library‑Print: • The official code is the United States Code (U.S.C., KF 62 .A2), located in alcove 7 of the Reading Room and on the first floor. It does not have case annotations‑‑e.g., references to cases interpreting a statute.

  8. Sample Search: U.S. and State Codes (cont.) • Cornell Law Library‑Print (cont.): • There are two annotated, commercially published, U.S. Codes: • United States Code Annotated (U.S.C.A., KF 62 1927 .W51), located in alcove 7 of the Reading Room and on the first floor; and • United States Code Service (U.S.C.S., KF 62 1972 .L42), located in alcove 7‑8 of the Reading Room and on the first floor.

  9. Sample Search: U.S. and State Codes (cont.) • On the Internet: The (unannotated) U.S. Code is available at • Cornell's Legal Information Institute (http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/) and • The House of Representatives website (http://uscode.house.gov/usc.htm)

  10. Sample Search: U.S. and State Codes (cont.) • On LEXIS and WESTLAW: • On LEXIS, the U.S.C.S. is available. • In classic LEXIS, choose the genfed library, uscs file. • On the web (http://www.lexis.com/research), go to the source directory, select "Federal Legal ‑ U.S.", then "United States Codes Service (USCS) Materials." • On WESTLAW, the U.S.C.A. is available in the USCA database.

  11. Sample Search

  12. LEXIS/WESTLAW versus the “Free” Internet One-stop Shopping

  13. LEXIS/WESTLAW versus the “Free” Internet • Sophisticated Databases • Fully-indexed Content • Powerful Search Engines • Validating Your Search: • Shepard’s • Keycite • Reliability

  14. Low Cost Services: Loislaw, Versuslaw, etc. • Alternative for solo practitioners or small law firms • Full-text cases and statutes for all 50 states • Not equivalent to LEXIS-NEXIS or WESTLAW • No citator service

  15. Free Internet Sources • Lots of useful information for the practice of law • Federal and state governmental resources • Good place for current information, news, facts, statistics, people, and events • Worldwide coverage

  16. International and Foreign Law on the ’Net • Understanding a foreign legal system • Comparative law methodology • How to read a case in civil law • faux amis • The perils of translation

  17. Cornell Law Library International Resources • Foreign and International Law Guide • Country Guides Mirror Sites • International Court of Justice • International Labor Organization

  18. Cornell Law Library International Resources

  19. Legal Research Principles Considerations when making choices Evaluate • not only the end product, but • the way in which information is retrieved, and • the context in which the research is performed

  20. Free-text Searching versus Classified Arrangements • Free-text works best for factual research, but not always with best results • West’s Digest and Synopsis advantage • LEXIS’ Core Concepts

  21. Information versus Research • Access to information is different from use in your practice as a reliable source • No organized control of information • How to know what you are missing

  22. Favorite Web Sites Legal Portals

  23. Cornell Law Librarywww.lawschool.cornell.edu/library

  24. Cornell’s Legal Information Institutewww.law.cornell.edu

  25. Findlawwww.findlaw.com

  26. Law.comwww.law.com

  27. LLRX.comwww.llrx.com

  28. Favorite Web Sites General-- for everyday use, facts, figures, background information, etc.

  29. Library Spotwww.libraryspot.com

  30. Refdesk.comwww.refdesk.com

  31. Favorite Search Engines

  32. Lawcrawlerwww.lawcrawler.com

  33. Googlewww.google.com

  34. The Future • Much more governmental and commercial information to come • New issues with digital information • How to keep track of amended, repealed provisions • How to ensure long-term access

  35. Conclusion Have Fun and Come to our “Hands-On” Session Tomorrow!

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