Daniel Oran - Oran's Dictionary of the Law

“servers,” contain the computer-assisted legal research systems such as WESTLAW discussed in the prior section, plus the document, linking, search, and listserv sites discussed here. All of this is “on the Internet,” as is your personal computer while it is connected to another computer outside its own locally wired group.

Much of the information on the Internet is available on a “system within the system” called the World Wide Web. The Web uses hypertext to directly link information in different documents stored at different sites. This means that you do not need to know where information is stored, merely how to get to it, and can often examine the information through the same sorts of word and phrase searches used on WESTLAW and LEXIS, but for free. The text of the U.S. Constitution, for example, is stored on many Web sites, and is accessible and “searchable” through many more.

How to Use It

■Start learning the Internet with the subjects you know best or the work you do most often.

After an initial “surf” around the legal websites to see the range of things available, pick a familiar topic and dig in. You will learn and be productive faster, and develop a “built-in filter” that helps reject unreliable sites.

■Search narrowly if you know exactly what you want.

Use as many descriptive words as possible. Use restrictive connectors (such as BUT NOT) to eliminate words and concepts. If permitted, use them to limit the search to words in the same phrase or sentence.

■Search broadly unless you know exactly what you want.

Use a search engine from the list below, use a search-word expansion technique from Finding the Law on page 549 to create many different searches, and don’t use restrictive connectors. If available, try a “natural language search” that uses complete sentences.

■“Bookmark” all of your most useful sites.

Add Internet addresses to your permanent collection (often called “Favorites”) on the computer. You will otherwise forget many good ones or lose them when the link you used to get there disappears.

■Get help when stuck.

Help comes in many forms. Search engines have “help” areas that explain their techniques. Someone on a listserv (a site

Legal Research 579

where computer users answer each other’s questions on specific topics) may have exactly what you need. Friends and co-workers may have faced the same problem.

Legal Resource Web Sites

NOTE: The web sites listed here are illustrative only because sites often come and go, improve and fall behind, change names and net addresses, and generally refuse to behave properly. Also, one-subject sites are omitted to save space because hundreds of useful ones are available through many of the comprehensive sites listed below. Most of these sites have a master screen with “buttons” that let you first choose a type of information, then specific information within the type. Many have built-in “search engines” that let you type in a request for information. Even these sites were chosen from among many more good ones. A few hours “surfing” around the links of any of these will introduce you to the amazing variety of material that is easily available.

ABANet (http://www.abanet.org). The American Bar Association’s

many activities.

AccountingWEB (http://www.acountingweb.co.uk). Links to accounting information.

Chicago-Kent Law School (http://www.kentlaw.edu/legal_resources).

Comprehensive links to legal information.

Cornell Law School (http://www.law.cornell.edu). Comprehensive

links to legal information.

Dogpile (http://dogpile.com). A “metasearch” engine that searches other search engines for general information.

Findlaw (http://www.findlaw.com). Comprehensive links to legal information plus Lawcrawler, a good search engine.

Glen S. Bacal (http://www.azlink.com/lawyers/hotlist.html). A

lawyer’s selection of good sites.

Google (http://www.google.com) A good general search engine.

HotBot (http://www.hotbot.com) A good general search engine.

Information Publishing (http://www.inforsourcepub.com). A

directory of available CD-ROMs.

Infoseek (http://www.infoseek.com) A good general search engine.

Internet Legal Resources (http://www.ilrg.com/gov.html). Comprehensive links to legal information plus Lawrunner, a good search engine.

580 Appendix C

Katsuey’s Legal Links (http://www.katsui.com). A paralegal’s selection of good sites.

LawGuru (http://www.lawguru.com). Links to state laws and more.

‘Lectric Law Library (http://www.lectlaw.com/ref.html).

Comprehensive, quirky links to legal information.

Legal News Network (http://www.legalnewsnetwork.com) A site with late-breaking legal news.

LEXIS Counsel Connect (http://www.counsel.com). The free part of LEXIS’s legal information.

National Federation of Paralegal Associations

(http://www.paralegals.org). Comprehensive links to legal information.

Newspapers On-line (http://www.newspapers.com) A site with links to thousands of newspapers.

Northern Light (http://www.northernlight.com) A good general search engine.

Ohio Northern University (http://eugene.onu.edu/internet/default.htm). Comprehensive links to legal information.

Tax Prophet (http://www.taxprophet.com). Information on taxes and links to tax-related sites.

Villanova Law School (http://www.law.vill.edu). Links to federal and state government sites.

West Legal Directory (http://www.lawoffice.com). The free part of WEST’s legal information.

Yahoo (http://www.yahoo.com) A good general search engine.

A Final Note

While you’re on the Internet, please let me know what you think about this dictionary. I’d especially like to know if anything is dead wrong or if you failed to find an important word. Nothing on the Internet remains constant, but the odds are that I am still at home at danoran@rcn.com, lurking virtually at danoran@aya.yale.edu, or in touch through the publisher at info@delmar.com.