Internet Legal Research for Professor Mika’s Legal Drafting Class April 21, 2010

Outline Forms – form sites, gov’t, statutory Sample transactional docs & pleadings Case Map Interactive Forms

Free Web v. Lexis/Westlaw It’s Free! May have info on current topics Be careful of reliability/currency of web pages Lexis/Westlaw better search mechanisms

Forms Forms and Practice Materials Resource Guide Forms and Practice Materials Resource Guide

Forms and Sample Contracts Who publishes the site? A legal publisher? bar association? Does the site sell forms? Who wrote the form? Use with caution, tailor to your facts

Sites for Pro Ses Franklin County Law Library - frequently requested forms are prepared by the library. Franklin County Law Library Cleveland Law Library’s FAQs ex. Living Wills/Durable Power Of Attorney Cleveland Law Library’s FAQsLiving Wills/Durable Power Of Attorney

Attorney Work Product Sites JDSupra - Documents are tied to attorney profilesJDSupra Scribd DocStoc LawLink

TRY IT Look for a lease form on JD Supra Find information about the attorney who submitted the form

Evaluating Web Sites Credibility: author; possible bias, accuracy. Currency / Updating, Coverage Writing Quality Ease of use Stability

Transactional Documents via SEC EDGAR EDGAR sample SEC filings documents attached: management contracts, executive compensation plans, articles of incorporation, by-laws, material contracts, voting trust agreements See Item 601, Regulation S-K. Item 601, Regulation S-K.

SEC Edgar Full Text Search Features Fields for company name, SIC code, date, form type (but not exhibit type) Natural language or Boolean Phrase (“”), AND, OR, NOT, truncation (*, communicat* ), proximity operator (general NEAR1 motors ) Past 4 years

Try it Find an executive compensation plan which provides for a parking space

More sophisticated SEC Filing databases Lexis and Westlaw Mergentonline – Available via University Library, Cleveland Public Mergentonline SECInfo.com

Government Agency Forms Forms.gov State of Ohio - Agency Forms

Court Forms Casemaker – Ohio court & agency forms Casemaker Courts’ web sites LLRX- Court Rules, Forms and Dockets - links to federal & state courts LLRX- Court Rules, Forms and Dockets Forms and Practice Materials Guide

Court Dockets PACER – Federal Court dockets PACER LLRX to find state court dockets LLRX See – Legal research on the Web- DocketsLegal research on the Web- Dockets

Dockets - Ohio Ohio – full text of documents on Summit and Montgomery County & othersSummitMontgomeryothers Full text on Ohio Supreme Court docket, 2006 and laterOhio Supreme Court docket, 2006 and later

PACER 8 cents a page Money savers: Justia Federal District Court Dockets FreeCourtDockets.com Recap PACER Recycling Center

Court Dockets May search a case opinion database first, find case, then go on docket

Free Case Law Google Scholar Ohio Supreme Court More: Legal Research on the Web – Case LawLegal Research on the Web – Case Law

A2J Author Creates question and answer session to help fill out a form For law schools, legal service organizations, courts and members for non-commercial use Kansas Divorce Forms NPADO.org – noncommercial use onlyNPADO.org

Statutory Forms American Law Sources On-Line (ALSO) American Law Sources On-Line Ohio Revised Code

Legal Drafting Advice Cleveland Marshall Law Library’s Research Guide: Forms and Practice MaterialsForms and Practice Materials AdamsDrafting Blog