Articles
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Google Scholar's All Federal and All States Online Case Law (and Articles) Database To search California and other state and federal cases for free, you can use Google Scholar. Google Scholar can be reached from the Google.com home page by clicking the Apps icon, selecting the More tab from the pop-up, then selecting Even More and finally selecting Scholar. Better yet, you can...
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California Attorneys and Paralegals can earn one hour of self-study, General MCLE credit after reading this article, by completing this asssociated MCLE quiz. Lawyers looking for evidence need to start thinking about looking "virtually." With increasing amounts of "paperless" information being added to the Internet every minute of every day, there is an increasing chance lawyers could find...
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by Carole Levitt, J.D., M.L.S. A comparison of Lexis' traditional pay service with its new free service. On July 6, 2000, LexisONE debuted an ALL FREE FULL TEXT, KEY WORD case research web site. Search strategies are identical to its pay site. For example, you can use boolean connectors—“and”, “or” or “not” to connect words and phrases, and you can...
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E-mail & Web Sites Qualify as Advertising in California by Carole Levitt J.D., M.L.S. California Attorneys and Paralegals can earn one hour of Self-Study Legal Ethics MCLE credit by submitting this quiz after reading this article. Most attorneys are familiar with the term “neti-quette,” which is the code of proper behavior online. Basic netiquette applies as much to the legal...
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Most research projects require researching both cases and statutes. Some attorneys prefer to delve straight into case law first while others prefer statutory law. Those who begin with statutory research typically pick up a print copy of an annotated code to find the relevant statutes and to read the case annotations noted. Unfortunately, many law firms are canceling their print subscriptions (if...
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by Carole Levitt J.D., M.L.S. & Mark Rosch Search engines have evolved. They still locate information on Web sites, but they have expanded the type and amount of materials indexed and added new tools, all of which can assist attorneys in their online research and in their practice in general. For example, a desktop search tool (Google, Yahoo, Alta Vista, and MSN offer them for free) can...
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Metadata can expose lawyers to ethical concerns When a document is created on a computer, information about the document (for example, the date it was created) is automatically generated. This information is referred to as metadata or hidden data. It is not visible in the document, but it is part of the document. Metadata can also be inserted deliberately. For example, an author can place...
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by Jeffrey Allen & Mark Rosch If you still think that Spam is a pork product that comes in a can, or that phishing requires not just a hook, but also a rod and reel, or that pharming involves working the land and growing crops, then this glossary can help you understand the evening news, the morning paper, conversations around the water cooler, and cocktail party talk without having to go to...
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California Attorneys and Paralegals can earn one hour of Self-Study California MCLE credit online by reading this article and completing this associated continuing legal education quiz. Share this article: The term "public record" has always been VERY misleading. Even though a record is "public" and available for public scrutiny in the...
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Medical Research, Product Data, and Statistics are Widely Available by Carole Levitt J.D. & Mark Rosch The practice of law involves the interplay of legal issues and facts, and for lawyers factual research can be as important as or more important than legal research. While some facts can be obtained through client interviews and discovery, other facts must be obtained through research....
