INTERNET FOR LAWYERS - INTERNET LEGAL RESEARCH UPDATE BY CAROLE LEVITT J.D., M.L.S.

June/July 2000

CONTENTS

1. In her first outing as the Los Angeles Lawyer’s "Computer Counselor" columnist, INTERNET FOR LAWYERS President Carole Levitt gives California attorneys good news: they can earn ALL their MCLE credits over the Internet
2. PC World Reviews new release of Time Slips software
3. Law.com offers extensive database of legal software products
4. LegalTech 2000
5. Subject Case Law Searching at the State and Federal Level Now Available Free on the Internet from Lexis
6. Top Ten Web Sites for Legal Research
7. Los Angeles County Superior and Municipal Courts and California Appellate Court Dockets available FREE online
8. More Tips
9. Subscribe/Unsubscribe
10. Advertising
11. Redistribution

1. Carole Levitt named "Computer Counselor" columnist for Los Angeles County Bar Association's Los Angeles Lawyer Magazine. First column focuses on MCLE Internet Options For California Attorneys.

Beginning with the June 2000 issue, INTERNET FOR LAWYERS President Levitt is Los Angeles Lawyer magazine's new "Computer Counselor" columnist. California lawyers can select from numerous providers to earn ALL their MCLE credits over the Internet. Until now, there has been no one place where a lawyer could do a side-by-side comparison of the offerings from the various providers to determine which best suits their needs. In her June 2000 column for the magazine, "Lawyers Have a Variety of Options for Online MCLE Courses," Levitt reviews the offerings of a dozen of the top California State Bar approved Internet MCLE providers, allowing lawyers to now easily do a side-by-side comparison of the offerings. Comparisons focus on: subject matter of courses, costs, presentation format (from text to streaming audio/video), hours of credit and type of credit (participatory or self-study). The column can be found at http://www.lacba.org/lalawyer/tech/comp6-00.html.

2. PC World Reviews new release of Timeslips software

Timeslips 10, the newest version of Sage US' popular billing software adds more than 20 new features, although PC World suggests that "most will appeal to accounting firms" rather than law firms. Overall, the magazine calls the new version a "worthwhile upgrade." The whole review can be found at http://www.pcworld.com/current_issue/article/0,1212,16835,00.html.

3. Law.com offers extensive list of Legal Software Vendors

From Abacus Law to Xerox Software, Law.com's database of legal software vendors seems to have it all. Located in Law.com’s Professional Bookstore, users can search for software, computers, peripherals, books and forms by subject, platform, manufacturer, or even keyword. Once you locate a product you like, you can either purchase it from Law.com online or continue your comparison-shopping by clicking into the "Browse related items" box. http://store.law.com/browse_software.asp?uCategory=4

ADVERTISEMENT

INTERNET FOR LAWYERS popular guide to conducting effective research on the Internet "How to Use the Internet for Legal, Business & Investigative Research: A Guide for Legal Professionals," now contains a comprehensive index. Newly revised, this edition also contains many new and updated research links. http://www.netforlawyers.com/prod01.htm To view a sample chapter of the book, click on http://www.netforlawyers.com/article_company_research.htm. To view the book's table of contents, click on http://www.netforlawyers.com/research_manual_toc.htm California and Arizona MCLE self-study materials are also available to accompany this guide. http://www.netforlawyers.com/prod02.htm

4. LegalTech 2000-Los Angeles

At LegalTech 2000 in Los Angeles, Southern California Association of Law Libraries (SCALL) members Carole Levitt, Marlene Bubrick and Jane McMahon, presented a panel on "How To Build a Dot Com Library Collection". They highlighted the best print and web e-commerce resources and Bubrick also explained how to catalog websites. For an E-commerce Bibliography (prepared by 3 other SCALL members for the association’s institute held this past March), link to SCALL’s website at http://www.aallnet.org/chapter/scall/. Click on "Information on LegalTech 2000", and then click on "Click Here". Check back soon at the same SCALL link to view Bubrick and McMahon’s PowerPoint presentations.

5. Subject Case Law Searching at the State and Federal Level Now Available

Free on the Internet from Lexis The new lexisOne website, launched last Thursday, July 6, features all cases from the two highest courts from each state beginning January 1, 1996; all federal circuit court cases beginning January 1, 1996; and the complete collection of Supreme Court cases (from 1790) * 1,100 free legal forms * an annotated Legal Research Guide comprised of 16,000 legal-related links At the top right hand side of each page there is a drop-down menu titled, Discover the Power of the Lexis Family of Products. It provides access to free and fee-based services, including Martindale-Hubbell (free), and Lexis-Nexis and Shepard's (fee-based). The site help function was not available as of July 7. For more information on lexisOne read this informative article from LLRX.com. http://www.llrx.com/extras/lexisone.htm To visit lexisOne visit http://www.lexisone.html.

6. Top Ten Web Sites for Legal Research

INTERNET FOR LAWYERS President Carole Levitt shares her "Top 10 Web Sites" for legal research in the May issue of The Internet Lawyer newsletter. From academic meta-sites to commercial portals, she doesn't hold anything back. Find the whole feature at http://www.netforlawyers.com/internet_lawyer_profile.htm.

7. Court Dockets available FREE online for Los Angeles County Superior and Municipal Courts and most California Appellate Courts.

With no fanfare from the courts, Los Angeles Superior and Muni court dockets (FREE) were recently placed on the courts’ websites. Go to http://lacountycourts.co.la.ca.us/ and click on "Civil Registers Gen Jurisdiction" (translation: dockets) or go direct to http://www.LasuperiorCourt.org/CivilRegister/register.asp. Superior Court searches are limited to docket number only. The database goes back 5 years for the downtown branch and 2 years for other branches (approximately). The docket sheet displays case, party and attorney names, documents filed, and dates of all proceedings. At http://www.latrialcourts.org/civilon.htm, click on "L.A. Municipal Court Civil Online" to obtain calendar information (from one month prior to the current week through all future scheduled court appearances) and to obtain final and tentative rulings issued in the past thirty days. If you click on "WEBCOURT" and enter the case number and the first 3 letters of the party name, you can view calendars and case information for other judicial districts within Los Angeles County.

8. More Internet Legal Research Tips

Go to http://www.netforlawyers.com for additional articles, features and tips to conducting more effective legal, business & investigative research on the Internet.

9. How to subscribe/unsubscribe from this newsletter

You have received this newsletter because you have either requested a subscription to it, attended a recent INTERNET FOR LAWYERS MCLE seminar, or a friend has forwarded it to you because they believe this information would be useful to you. If someone forwarded this e-mail to you, and you wish to subscribe to the INTERNET FOR LAWYERS newsletter, simply email to newsletter@netforlawyers.com with the word "subscribe" in the subject area. You can also subscribe by clicking here: http://www.netforlawyers.com/email_signup.htm If you wish to unsubscribe, simply reply to this message with the words "unsubscribe" in the subject line. You will receive a confirmation that you have been removed from the mailing list. You may rejoin at any time simply by going to www.netforlawyers.com or by sending a message to newsletter@netforlawyers.com with the words "subscribe" in the subject line.

10. Advertising Information

For more information on advertising in the INTERNET FOR LAWYERS Newsletter, books, or web site, contact us at advertising@netforlawyers.com.