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The Latest on Legal Research

Tara Calishain is the co-author of Official Netscape Guide to Internet Research, 2nd Edition, and author or co-author of four other books. She is the owner of CopperSky Writing & Research. June 17, 2002

ISTPA Privacy Framework 1.0
The International Security, Trust and Privacy Alliance (ISTPA) has announced the release of the ISTPA Privacy Framework 1.0. The idea behind the Framework is to provide the structure for service and product development supporting privacy regulations and business policies in both national and international arenas.

You can access information about the framework at
http://www.istpa.org/faqs/framework.htm. This page contains FAQs about the Framework, and while it mentions a white paper that's supposed to be available I can't find it on the site.

The American Lawyer Online

A digital version of The American Lawyer is now available online at http://www.qmags.com/amlaw. A $149.00 introductory subscription rate is being offered from the site, but the first electronic issue is available as a free
download.

There is also a link to the Table of Contents, which opens in a pdf file. The free download is a PDF, too, and you'll need to sign up for a qMags account before you can get the free issue. Articles in the table of contents include the fight over the use of rail lines to carry fiber optic cable, The Heartland Economy, and a survey of law librarians. Nifty!

Database for Public Interest Advocates

This database for public interest advocates, at
http://www.tlpj.org/search.cfm, consists of 2,000+ legal resources including law schools, lawyer associations and public interest groups.

Searching starts with selecting one or more states and then selecting a Focus Area such as a Lawyers' Association or Public Interest Group, such as Civil Liberties, Environmental Protection or Housing & Homelessness. Another Focus Area is Civil Rights which includes Disability Rights, Immigrants' Rights and more. Search results list resources with address, phone numbers and
Internet locations.

Additional resources on the page include a Current Cases link in the left column, which explores some of the cases presently on the TLPJ litigation docket. Some include links to online press releases and/or complaints. Also in the left column is a link to Briefs & Documents, which features HTML and PDF documents under such headings as Civil Justice System and Mandatory Arbitration Abuse Prevention Project.

State Board Medical Directory

The State Board Directory, at http://www.mhsource.com/resource/board.html, is a portal to State Medical Boards. Each state Web site presents the information differently, for example, the Arizona Board of Medical Examiners has a AZDocInfo which has disciplinary history, educational background and office information of physicians, PAs or residents. On the North Carolina Medical Board site, you can search for physician, PA or Nurse Practitioner. Nearly all of the states list online sources for information and the others have telephone and mail contact information. Handy.

FindLaw Launched Web-Based Magazine

FindLaw has launched Modern Practice Magazine at http://practice.findlaw.com/. The first issue is already up and available at the site.

Current features include "Web Sites That Work" (a column devoted to outstanding law firm Web sites) "20 Questions" (interviews with business or law firm leaders) "World Beat" (major legal issues on the world stage,) and "Top Ten With D-Rod," a monthly column with guerilla marketing ideas.

These articles are for the most part fast, interesting reads. It'd be great if you could get them via e-mail. But still, worth a look.

'Oil and Gas on the Internet' Updated

Competitive Analysis Technologies has released the 19th quarterly update to its 'Oil and Gas on the Internet." The new edition features nearly 6900 online oil and gas resources including some sites from the "hidden web." The recent edition is available as CD-ROM or corporate Intranet database, as well as a printed directory. Subscribers can also access the information from 'Yahoo for the oil and gas industry.' Pickup more information at
http://catsites.com/publications.html, or check out the press release at
http://library.northernlight.com/FB20020603450000013.html.

Globe and Mail Archives to Be Digitized

The Globe and Mail is reporting (http://tinyurl.com/9lk) that Cold North Wind will be working to digitize their 158 years' worth of archives. The entire archive contains over 1.4 million pages.

You can see samples of Cold North Wind's work at http://www.paperofrecord.com/. It wasn't clear when the digitization will be finished.

Google Adds Search Engine to Google Answers

If you're wondering about all those questions being asked at Google answers, now you can search 'em at http://answers.google.com.

The bottom of the Google Answers page has a search box. You can search answered questions, unanswered questions, or both. Search results include the title of the question, a brief summary, the category and who it was asked by, date, status (expired, answered, etc.) and price for the answer.

You can also browse questions by very topic -- topics include Arts and Entertainment, Science, and Computers. Subtopics are at the top of each page with the questions below.