Legal Research Services for the Public - Looking for a Solution

[Connie Crosby]

This morning I posted to Slaw.ca the question about providing a legal research service for the public. I haven't found anyone who provides any kind of service specifically for the public in Canada.I wonder about other countries. Has anyone set up such a service?  What is the business model?

Please see the full discussion here: http://www.slaw.ca/2011/10/24/legal-research-services-for-the-publi...

I welcome your comments here or over on Slaw.ca! 

[Connie Crosby]

There has been some great discussion on the blog post--in one jurisdiction (British Columbia, Canada) it has been as simple as the Courthouse LIbraries giving access to the public and, for more in-depth research, referring people to independent research lawyers. By contrast in another jurisdiction (New York, US) this type of service is seen as providing legal advice and therefore verboten. 

Is anyone else faced with meeting questions from the public? Please do share your story!

[Connie Crosby]

We had a good discussion about this today on Twitter, resulting in a new blog post by Megan Lulofts who pushes the idea out in a new direction: 

http://librarylulu.com/2011/11/01/legal-research-for-the-public-con...