Potential Hot Topic for 2008 AALL Annual Meeting; call for speakers

[Scott Frey]

I'm working on a proposal for a Hot Topic at the AALL Annual Meeting. It's due this Thursday. (Yes, I'm doing this at the last minute. In my defense, the suggestion that I try this occurred less than a week ago.)

I need more than an idea; I need to find speakers. I'm hoping that some of you know qualified speakers who might make a short presentation and participate in a discussion. If one of the qualified speakers is you, so much the better!

My writing skills are mediocre at this time of night ... but here's what I've got so far:

The New Free Legal Research Websites

In the past year, several new websites – AltLaw, JD Supra, PreCYdent, Public Library of Law – have presented intriguing free online legal research resources, including a substantial amount of searchable case law. Other sites, such as Justia and public.resource.org, have significantly expanded their collections of free legal materials.

Are these free resources worth a visit by law librarians and other legal researchers? How do these sites compare to more established sites such as FindLaw and the Legal Information Institute? Do they present a challenge to subscription databases such as HeinOnline, LexisNexis, and Westlaw; or can “free” and “fee” co-exist happily?

Any and all suggestions for the proposal and for speakers are welcome. Thanks.

[Connie Crosby]

Cornell kicked things off with the Legal Information Institute but the open law movement is now a respected world-wide movement: http://www.worldlii.org/. CanLII in Canada http://www.canlii.org/ has definitely gained prominence. While there are advantages to some of the paid online services, many researchers now do their initial case law and legislative research in CanLII first.

I believe these sites all play different purposes, and law librarians should be aware of what they are and how they can be used.

Law librarians should also see if there is anything they can contribute. Am I the only librarian in JD Supra? http://www.jdsupra.com/profile/conniecrosby/ (contributing documents is a requirement of joining; librarians could definitely submit their articles, training materials, etc.).

The open law movement would *love* to see more law librarians getting involved, too. Notably we can attend and contribute to the Law Via the Internet conference (this year in Florence!) http://www.ittig.cnr.it/LawViaTheInternet/ - I was privileged to participate last year when it was in Montreal.

[Barbara Ginzburg]

I'd also include WashLaw (http://www.washlaw.edu). Create and maintained at Washburn Law Library.

[Scott Frey]

In light of Barbara and Connie's comments, I think I'll add WashLaw and make "Legal Information Institute" plural.

Thanks to Ning, Facebook, and just plain email, the potential session has enough potential speakers. I'll revise the awkwardness out of the description ("presented"? "worth a visit by"? Someone get me a thesaurus! ...), send it in, and see what happens.