Almost as soon as the technology existed for computers to talk to one another, so grew the notion of information as transient, kinetic, ubiquitious and unbound. As Stewart Brand, author, editor and creator of the Whole Earth Catalog noted at the Hacker’s Conference in 1984, “The information wants to be free.”
And today it is, with free repositories of caselaw, plus regulatory and administrative materials easily accessed through hundreds of government and commercial Web sites – including our own, FindLaw, which offers one of the Web’s largest collections of free legal information.
These sites are a great resource for professionals and personal users interested in general background on a legal matter or case. But for specialized users, and for the most critical applications, information needs to be more than free.
It needs to be relevant, current, contextual, organized and authoritative – requiring rigor, process and, for West, a human hand guided by unique expertise and insight.
We asked Bob Berring, legal research guru and Walter Perry Johnson Professor of Law at the University of Califonia, Berkeley, for his thoughts on the matter:
Editor’s note (Oct. 30, 2009): West has published legal research titles authored by Bob Berring. He was a consultant and speaker at law librarian events for West until 2007.
Posted by John Shaughnessy in:
In Practice | Video |
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Today kicked off the first day of the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) 2009 Annual Meeting. West and many of the Thomson Reuters, Legal businesses are present at the event this year, which is being held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, in Washington, D.C., through Wed. July 29.
Law librarians from across the United States, and more than 50 international attendees, come to the AALL Annual Meeting to learn about the new technologies that will help them add value to their customers’ work, learn abut industry trends and best practices, and to network with vendors and with each other. This year, as the entire legal industry has braced against the pressures of the economic downturn, “doing more with less” is a common topic of conversation.
The theme at the West booth focuses on the unique and admirable attributes that law librarians eminate — such as integrity, energy and resilience. These themes tie into a new campaign that West is launching at the show to salute the work of law librarians everywhere.
We talked about that campaign – and the importance of AALL – with Anne Ellis, senior director in Librarian Relations at West in this video interview:
AALL attendees can also visit booths for Westlaw Business, Thomson Innovation/IP Solutions, International Sales & Marketing, Westlaw CourtExpress and the Thomson Reuters Tax & Accounting business.
Over the next few days here on Legal Current, we’ll be sharing some of the news from the meeting about the sessions, events and attendees.
Posted by John Shaughnessy in:
Company Current | Events | Video |
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Around the office, Thomson Reuters, Legal President and CEO Peter Warwick has challenged all of us to examine our work more deeply – to focus on our customers’ customers – and to see our efforts in the context of equal justice, the rule of law and human rights.
So we were proud to hear that Peter was being recognized by PAIR Project for his generosity and service to their humanitarian mission with their Outstanding Business Leader award. The ceremony was held last night in Boston as part of PAIR’s annual awards gala.
PAIR Project helps people escaping persecution in their home countries who are seeking asylum in the United States, primarily by offering pro bono legal services.
In the organization’s announcement, Sarah Ignatius, PAIR Project executive director, said: “Peter’s support and leadership from the corporate community has been tremendously powerful for PAIR. He’s an inspiring leader in many ways, and we’re extremely grateful that he’s stepped forward as an influential leader who’s passionate about human rights to help generate support for PAIR Project and its mission.”
Among his many roles, Peter sits on the board of trustees for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, which recently launched TrustLaw, a new initiative that will provide information, resources, legal news and support materials for global pro bono work. He also provides executive sponsorship for Thomson Reuters and West initiatives around diversity and pro bono support, notably through our “Do Justice” program, which provides advocacy and resources to support law firm pro bono activities.
Peter, who was born in the UK and has worked both in Europe and Asia Pacific, became a United States citizen in 2006. Peter was out of the country and not able to attend the ceremony, and accepted the award by video:
Posted by John Shaughnessy in:
Advocacy | Company Current | Video |
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We’ve got a great episode for you this month, kicking off with our “Chaos in the Courts” segment that, believe it or not, is yet another story about the Heart Attack Grill in Las Vegas. Since our March podcast, another person has fallen victim to the establishment’s trademark bypass burger.
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