A definition of the algorithm: The algorithm is an effective method expressed as a finite list of well-defined instructions. And that is the problem today’s new legal search engines present for users and instructors of online legal research in the…
Archive for the ‘Legal Research Instruction’ Category
The Clinical Legal Association is Soliciting Contributions for Follow-up Book to Best Practices in Legal Education
10
Nov
The Clinical Legal Association, Best Practices Implementation Committee is planning a follow-up publication to Best Practices for Legal Education by Roy Stuckey and others. The vision of the book is to build on ideas for implementing best practices, and to…
Creating Video Tutorials of Today’s Online Search Services: The example of Fastcase endorsing best practice videos authored by law librarians
07
Nov
Got to hand it to Fastcase for calling attention to video tutorials created by law librarians: We recently came across a series of well-crafted Fastcase Video Tutorials created by our partners at the Jenkins Law Library. We were impressed with…
CALI Call for Proposals to Create State Specific Legal Research Lessons
19
Oct
From the announcement: The Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction (CALI) is on a mission get a state specific legal research lesson covering primary and secondary materials for each of the 50 states. We’re close, but we still need at least…
Traffickers of Very Expensive Online Legal Search: How do we use and teach today’s legal search services when we don’t know how the search engines work?
12
Oct
One can go back to when the issue of CALR was first much debated in the late 1970s, to view what some might characterize as a “luddite” response to the advent of very expensive online legal search but many of…
What Was the Legal Status of "Wanted – Dead or Alive" in the Wild West Days? (Assuming those posters weren’t a creation of Hollywood)
07
Oct
Kenneth Anderson wants to know: First, to what extent was this actually a historical practice [in 19th century frontier days], or is it really just a creation of Hollywood westerns– any scholarship on this, or actual examples? Second, from the…
The WestSearch Straitjacket For Legal Research – Thinking Beyond The Keyword: Part I
07
Sep
Thomson Reuters – Legal (TR Legal) advertises sweeping claims for the benefits of WestlawNext (WN) at Customers. WestlawNext.com. Given the scale of the advertising blitz, these claims merit careful examination. Though it remains too early to reach a conclusion, initial…
Resistance? No Doubt, but the Timing is Ripe to Make an Attempt: Reforming Legal Research & Writing Instruction Requires Transforming the Status Quo Model of Law School Curriculum and Faculty Governance
06
Sep
Alas, I seriously doubt any such reform will by mandated by the ABA’s review of accredition standards since not interfering with the how the legal academy should produce “pratice ready” grads beyond aspirational goals for “outcomes” appears to be the…
Legal Research Fantasies: Finding the Answer and Saving Time
24
Aug
On 3 Geeks, Greg Lambert takes exception to what Rich King, TR CTO, says at the 42 second mark in the below video. King states One page from one jurisdiction may be exactly what that attorney is looking for that…
