LexisNexis Web 2.0 Law Centers: A Librarian’s Perspective
By Bridget MacMillan
When you begin a research project, do you search the open Web? About 74% of researchers begin either on the open Web or through their organization’s information portal.* To assist you, LexisNexis created free, Practice-Area Web centers that surface when you search the Web. For example, as I wrote this, I searched “insurance law center” on Google, and the LexisNexis Insurance Law Center is the first result. http://law.lexisnexis.com/blogs/Insurance
What are LexisNexis Web centers, and How are They Different from the LexisNexis Services?
The goal of these Web centers is to create communities for practitioners. The sites are built upon Web 2.0 technologies, including:
- blogs and discussions
- expert commentary
- emerging issues
- RSS feeds
- Podcasts
To save you time and direct you to the most appropriate resources on the LexisNexis services, there are groupings of links to the best sources for that practice area.
When you gain access to the LexisNexis Insurance Law Center, for example, the familiar LexisNexis logo is in the upper left corner. The page is laid out systematically, with content listed, boxed and titled so that you can easily navigate the page.
Within the Expert Forum are full-text commentaries on many topics specific to that each practice area. On the Insurance Law Center, there are currently 18 topics covered, including Climate Change/Insurance, Industry Trends, and Sub-prime Lending.
Delve deeper into the Insider Perspective Blog, and you will find the most recent posts, but you can also explore the blog through the 21 topics it covers, like Advisory Board Perspective, Legal Blogging (Insurance), and Worker’s Compensation. Some of the topics are duplicative of the topics in the Expert Forum, but some are different.
The blog differs from the Expert Forum because it is the place for community members to share news or commentary, not necessarily an expert’s analysis. You can share what’s on your mind or what you are observing in your field. It can be a very personal post, as you can see from this one below:
Legal Blogging (Insurance)
3/11/2008 7:05:26 P.M. EST
The Way I Drink It
Posted by Tom Hagy
VP LexisNexis
So I am having a cup of coffee at Starbucks and in a dubious moment of consciousness (I am not a morning person; I am not even an afternoon person) I noticed a feature on the cup that’s probably been around for 10 years: Starbucks’ “The Way I See It” series of quotes from famous people. My coffee mates, one live, one virtual (don’t ask) had quotes from Newt Gingrich and Madeline Albright. I had this one from Presumed Innocent author Scott Turow.
The Way I See It #271: “The law, for all its failings, has a noble goal—to make the little bit of life that people can actually control more just. We can’t end disease or natural disasters, but we can devise rules for our dealings with one another that fairly weigh the rights and needs of everyone, and which, therefore, reflect our best vision of ourselves.”
Nice, huh? Nothing controversial there! Does anyone want to step up and disagree? Agree? Positioned right below the message was Starbucks’ disclaimer: “This is the author’s opinion, not necessarily that of Starbucks.” You know it’s a tough environment when a major corporation, known for coming out with deliciously strong coffee, can’t come out strongly in favor of, say, law. Or, well, justice.
DISCLAIMER: This opinion about how the quote is not the opinion of Starbucks is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the opinion of LexisNexis or its parent Reed Elsevier. It’s not even an opinion so much as a quasi-humorous observation. The statement that this is more of a quasi-humorous observation and less of an opinion is the opinion of the author; it is not necessarily the opinion or quasi-humorous observation of LexisNexis or its parent Reed Elsevier …
* Market Intelligence Service Report – Outsell, 3/24/2008
Why Should Librarians be Interested in Web Centers?
First of all, they are sources of free information which makes them a natural starting point for research. As the summer associates move through your firm, you can direct them to these centers to increase their comfort and knowledge of that area of law. Associates can quickly grasp an overview of the topics that shape this area of law through the news headlines and expert’s forum.
Second, in addition to the information being freely available, the centers are also the best place to start when looking for information on emerging issues. The Expert Forum and the Insider Perspective Blog can help researchers hone in on a particular issue and the language being used to discuss the issue. This makes constructing additional searches easier.
Third, these centers are also concrete examples of Web 2.0 technologies in practice. They can be a model for building similar sites within a firm or organization. At the very least, by becoming familiar with them, you can expand your knowledge and understanding of Web 2.0 possibilities.
Currently, LexisNexis has 12 Web centers available: Bankruptcy, Business & Corporate, Commercial, Copyright, Emerging Issues, Environment, Insurance, International, Torts, Patent, Real Estate and Trademark Law. You can easily access them at http://www.lexisnexis.com/hub/
Spend some time exploring these Web Centers. I believe you will be impressed by what you find there!
