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

August 2000

CONTENTS

1. LexisONE-FREE FULL-TEXT, KEY WORD case researchand free forms from Lexis
2. Internet For LawyersMCLE programs to be offered in the following California locations: Century City, Pasadena,Mid-Wilshire and San Bernardino (and outside California--Chattanooga, TN.) Non-lawyers are alsowelcome.
3. Need U.S. Supreme Court Records and Briefs or New York, Pennsylvania orCalifornia Supreme Court or Appellate Court Briefs?
4. Are you a small firm or a solowho wants all the high tech tools used by the larger firms, but just can’t afford it?Think again. See the FindLaw article in "Research Advisor’s" June issue todiscover how to access these tools free.
5. All Districts of the California StateAppellate Court now post dockets free
6. California Regulatory Notice Register (CRNR)now posts the full-text free on the Internet
7. LegalWorks 2000-Los Angeles, TheTechnology Answer Show
8. More Tips
9. Subscribe/Unsubscribe
10. Advertising
11. Redistribution

1. LexisONE-FREE FULL-TEXT, KEY WORD case research and free forms from Lexis

On July 6, LexisONEdebuted an ALL FREE FULL TEXT, KEY WORD case research web site. Search strategies are identicalto its pay site. For example, you can use boolean connectors—"and","or" or "not" to connect words and phrases, and you can search by judge,counsel or party name, besides citation, of course. Date limitations are also possible.

State cases and U.S. Appellate cases go backto July 1996 while the U.S. Supreme Court cases can be searched back to the beginning of theCourt (1790). U.S. District Court cases, however, are not available free. To research earliercases, Shepardize, or research content not available at the free site (such as District Courtcases), you can enter the pay site directly from the free site and immediately begin your payresearch by registering with a credit card.

It’ll costyou $4 to Shepardize each case and $9 per/search to research anything else. Besides the date coverage and content coverage differencesbetween the free LexisONE site and the pay Lexis site, what are the other differences? With thepay site, you can print a "clean" copy of the case, but at the free site, the"Lexis" logos and advertisements are "all over" the page and this may limityour ability to attach the print-out to a court document unless the logos and ads don’tbother you --or the court.

Also, your searchterms won’t be highlighted so scanning the case isn’t as easy as it is when usingthe pay site. At the free site, you also can’t use the "focus" feature tonarrow your search, nor the "modify" feature. So to modify the search in any way, orto run your same search in a jurisdiction other than the one in which you began, you’llneed to type the entire search string into the query box again.

Like the pay site, the free site allows you to search"all states" at once, or to restrict your search to one state. You can also searchthe U.S. Supreme Court cases and the Appellate cases together or restrict your search to one orthe other. LexisONE also has free forms(some interactive) and an Internet Legal Guide to 16,000 annotated legal links. I decided tosample the "Retainer" form. After filling in the blanks with my name, theclients’ name and the retainer amount ($1,000,000), I pressed the "submit"button. Instantaneously, a form retainer letter was generated. I was duly impressed.

Do I recommend LexisONE? You bet. Next month,we’ll compare LexisONE to FindLaw.com. http://www.lexisone.com

2. Internet For Lawyers MCLE programs to be offered in California and Tennessee

Internet For Lawyerstwo hour MCLE programs will be offered in the following Southern California locations: CenturyCity, Pasadena and Mid-Wilshire. A one hour program will be held in San Bernardino and a threehour program will be held in Chattanooga, TN. Some programs include a catered dinner and an 85page book, "How to Use the Internet for Legal, Business & Investigative Research: AGuide for Legal Professionals". The book alone normally sells for $34.95. The Southern California seminars are splitinto "Introductory" and "Intermediate" levels. Depending upon which levelyou sign up for, topics to be covered range from legal research, to business research, toinvestigative research, to metasites, to search strategies, and to Federal, State and LocalGovernment resources. Note: Non-lawyers arewelcome too. For details on theseintroductory and intermediate programs, seehttp://www.netforlawyers.com/seminars-events_3Q00.htm andhttp://www.netforlawyers.com/seminars-events_4Q00.htm or e-mail seminars@netforlawyers.com. INTERNET FOR LAWYERS is a State Bar ofCalifornia approved MCLE provider.

3. Need U.S. Supreme Court Records and Briefs or New York, Pennsylvania or CaliforniaSupreme Court or Appellate Court Briefs?

For $25, download U.S. Supreme Court Records and Briefs.Coming soon: U.S. Court of Appeals and New York, Pennsylvania and, California Supreme Court andAppellate Court Briefs. See Briefserve.com at http://www.briefserve.com/.

4.Are you a small firm or a solo who wants all the high tech tools used by the largerfirms, but just can’t afford it? Think again. See the FindLaw article in "ResearchAdvisor’s" June issue to discover how to access these tools free.

FindLaw.com offersfree access to e-mail and provides free web site hosting and a free extra-net, and more. Readall about how to compete with the larger firms by using FindLaw and its high tech tools tocreate your virtual office. See "Memoirs of a FindLaw Junkie", Research Advisor, June2000, issue 19 at http://www.netforlawyers.com/article_findlaw_junkie.htm.

5. All Districts of the California State Appellate Court now post dockets free

Last month we reportedthat some of the districts of the California State Appellate Courts had begun to post docketsfree on the Internet, and now we can report that all districts are posting their dockets freeon the Internet. To access appellate court dockets, go to INTERNET FOR LAWYERS popular guide to conducting effective research on theInternet "How to Use the Internet for Legal, Business & Investigative Research: AGuide for Legal Professionals," now contains a comprehensive index. Newly revised, thisedition also contains many new and updated research links. Now available: California orTennessee versions (both include general and federal topics also). More states tofollow… http://www.netforlawyers.com/prod01.htm To view a sample chapter of the book, clickon 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 alsoavailable to accompany this guide. http://www.netforlawyers.com/prod02.htm PURCHASES CAN NOW BE MADE VIA VISA & MASTERCARD -http://www.netforlawyers.com/order.htm

6. California Regulatory Notice Register (CRNR) now posts the full-text free on theInternet

Finally, the full-text of the California Regulatory Notice Register (CRNR) isnow being posted free on the Internet (instead of just the table of contents). It containsnotices of newly proposed regulations, amendments and repeals. Seehttp://www.osp.dgs.ca.gov/default.asp?mp=../Publications/crnr/crnr_toc.asp

7. LegalWorks 2000-Los Angeles, The Technology Answer Show

The Daily Journal/Glasser LegalWorksConference, to be held in Los Angeles from Oct. 23-24, 2000, features Carole Levitt as apanelist at the "Supercharged Legal Research" program - 3:45 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct.24. See http://www.legalwks.com/ and click on "LegalWorks 2000 (towardthe bottom of the left-hand column) to learn about the 30+ educational opportunities and how toobtain a free pass to visit the exhibit hall. The conference is divided into three tracks: (1)Virtual Practice;(2) Technology Tools and (3) Virtual Litigation. Earn MCLE credits and viewdemos of the latest tech products.

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 FORLAWYERS Newsletter, books, or web site, contact us at advertising@netforlawyers.com.