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CBA Paralegal Committee November 1, 2012

Public Records and Fact Finding Wanda McDavid Access/Information, Inc. CBA Paralegal Committee November 1, 2012. Public Records and Fact Finding. Access/Information Who are we?

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CBA Paralegal Committee November 1, 2012

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  1. Public Records and Fact Finding • Wanda McDavid • Access/Information, Inc. CBA Paralegal Committee November 1, 2012

  2. Public Records and Fact Finding Access/Information Who are we? • We are one of the oldest information professional companies in the country and the largest of our type in Denver and the Rocky Mountain region. • Our staff is comprised of experienced law librarians and competitive intelligence professionals. • We currently provide services to top law firms in Denver and throughout the United States.

  3. Public Records and Fact Finding Class Objective • Focus on timesaving techniques and resources using both free and fee based databases to find public records, including court cases and documents; and company information.  • Discuss Web-based pathways to free or inexpensive legal research sites • Provide search tips for both national and local sources of information.  • When to search and when not to search the Internet.  • Provide information on identifying and validating authoritative sources. 

  4. Public Records and Fact Finding Coverage will include: • Web Browsing Tips • Public Records • When to search/not search on the Web • Legal Portals • Primary Sources/Case Law • Validating Authoritative Sources

  5. Public Records and Fact Finding Starting Places – Search Tips • Domain Restrictors – .edu, .com, .co, .gov, .org, country restrictors such as .fr for France • Caveat - you “will not find web pages that live behind paywalls, password-protected sites, or other sites to which access is restricted.” • Search example: “fungus meningitis” site:.gov • Search specific websites using the domain restrictor feature – “local rules” site:courts.state.co.us

  6. Public Records and Fact Finding Starting Places – Search Tips • Recently Deleted Information • Cached files • Wayback Machine - www.archive.org/web/web.php • Caveat – read FAQs for Lawyers www.archive.org/legal/faq.php • Search Operators • Use the minus sign to exclude words • Phrase searching using quotation marks provides more precision • Use OR to search for similar terms

  7. Public Records and Fact Finding Starting Places – Search Tips • Advanced Search page • Set Alerts • Use Date Restrictions • To find out the owners of a domain name - look up the “whois” record by searching whois [domain name] • Define a word - Type define: [word], to pull up the correct spelling and definitions from online dictionaries

  8. Public Records and Fact Finding Use free online resources for: • Becoming acquainted with the language/terminology of legal fields for which you are unfamiliar • Zimmerman’s Research Guide - http://www.lexisnexis.com/infopro/zimmerman/ (follow on Facebook) • Wex – LII’s law dictionary and encyclopedia - http://topics.law.cornell.edu/wex • Sabrina Pacifici’s Competitive Intelligence – A Selective Resource Guide – Completely Updated July 2012 http://www.llrx.com/features/ciguide.htm • Public Records Resources Online http://www.governmentinfopro.com/PublicRecordsGuide.pdf • bing.com, Google.com, Yahoo.com

  9. Public Records and Fact Finding Use free online resources for: • Single-state based research for cases and statutes • Findlaw State Law collection http://law.findlaw.com/state-laws/ • LLRX.com - Court rules by state -http://www.llrx.com/courtrules • Locating government documents and public records

  10. Public Records and Fact Finding • Denver Public Library remote access resources - http://denverlibrary.org/ • Research Resources • Antiques & Collectibles • Books & Literature • Business • Cars & Trucks • Community Assistance Resources • Government & Patents

  11. Public Records and Fact Finding Go directly to a commercial database for: • Comprehensive national searches • Specific legal fields for which Lexis or Westlaw have established a specific library. • Casemaker through the www.cobar.org site

  12. Public Records and Fact Finding Legal Portals A legal portal is essentially a gateway to all sorts of legal and law-related information. Generally portals provide some original content, but mostly they serve as a launch pad to legal sites all over the Internet.

  13. Public Records and Fact Finding • Cornell University Law School’s Legal Information Institute (LII): http://www.law.cornell.edu/ • Introduction to Basic Citation http://www.law.cornell.edu/citation/ • Justia: http://www.justia.com/ • LexisNexis Communities http://www.lexisnexis.com/community/portal/content/lexisonelandingpage.aspx

  14. Public Records and Fact Finding Government Documents – Federal • USA.gov: http://www.usa.gov/ • Law Library of Congress: http://www.loc.gov/law/index.php (Follow on Facebook) • Library of Congress - Thomas:http://thomas.loc.gov/

  15. Public Records and Fact Finding Public Records • Business records – Corporate affiliations, Incorporation information, UCC records, SEC documents, etc. • Judgments • Liens • Real Property • Professional licenses • Court Records – Complaints, Pleadings, Docket sheets/registers of actions (Courtlink docket sheets are very abbreviated) • Inmate records • Tax records

  16. Public Records and Fact Finding Public Records • Social Security Numbers • Verification of Date of Birth and Death Records • Marriage and Divorce Records • Place of Residence • Driver’s License and Vehicle Registration • Political Contributions and Voter Registration • Charitable Contributions • Websites and Web Information • Email addresses • Education • News

  17. Public Records and Fact Finding Public Records – State and Local • Searchsystems.Net: Public Records Directory: http://www.searchsystems.net/

  18. Public Records and Fact Finding Odds and Ends • HeinOnline – Law Journal Library http://home.heinonline.org/ (short term subscription) • Social Science Research Network –SSRN - http://www.ssrn.com/ • The Blawg Directory http://www.abajournal.com/blawgs/

  19. Public Records and Fact Finding Validating Information • Plan the search • Limit the field • Identify and review the original source • Evaluate the source • Verify the date of publication • Beware

  20. Public Records and Fact Finding Documenting and Citing Sources: • Following links to original sources • Citing sources (http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/guides/bluebook1_7.cfm) in your deliverable • Documenting your search strategy

  21. Public Records and Fact Finding We provide: • Public Records Research and Retrieval, including court document research and retrieval • Expert Witness Due Diligence • Patent Prior Art Compilation and Retrieval • Insurance Rate Research and Retrieval • Document Delivery • Customized Web Training • Law Library Management • Records Management • Free Newsletter

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