Copyright (c) 2009 All rights reserved. http://works.bepress.com/carol_watson Recent documents in Carol A. Watson en-us Sun, 31 May 2009 04:12:34 PDT 3600 http://works.bepress.com/carol_watson/17 http://works.bepress.com/carol_watson/17 Mon, 15 Sep 2008 11:22:13 PDT Today's business environment is extremely competitive. Businesses that distinguish themselves in any small way can gain an advantage over the pack. Harnessing technology and remaining up-to-date on the latest computer developments is one tool that can provide attorneys with a competitive edge over rivals. This paper will discuss technologies currently available on the web that might give you a competitive edge. Current technology trends and predictions will be highlighted. The conclusion contains a list of upcoming whiz bang technology that should pique your interest, provide food for thought and hopefully excite you about the coming prospects of technology. Carol A. Watson Legal Technology http://works.bepress.com/carol_watson/16 http://works.bepress.com/carol_watson/16 Mon, 15 Sep 2008 11:22:09 PDT An institutional repository [IR] is a means to collect the intellectual digital output of an organization. This white paper discusses creating a business case for the IR, obtaining content for the repository, managing intellectual property issues and extending the IR beyond a single institution. James M. Donovan Institutional Repositories http://works.bepress.com/carol_watson/15 http://works.bepress.com/carol_watson/15 Mon, 15 Sep 2008 11:22:03 PDT Librarians from the University of Georgia Law Library and University of Maryland Law Library discuss their experiences implementing Digital Commons' institutional repository product. Issues to be considered include:- Creating a business plan to persuade law school administrators to establish an institutional repository -- how to justify the expenditure, distinguishing Digital Commons from SSRN, choosing Digital Commons rather than an open source solution- Obtaining content for the repository -- promoting the repository, building buy-in from contributors, establishing content policies, determining types of materials to be included in the repository, self-archiving versus mediated archiving- Copyright permissions -- appending supplemental language to publication agreements, SHERPA/roMEO, keeping track of copyright permissions, developing a decision flowchart for copyright permissions- Cooperative repository applications -- liasing with other law school departments, implementing a repository in a consortium environment Carol A. Watson Institutional Repositories http://works.bepress.com/carol_watson/13 http://works.bepress.com/carol_watson/13 Mon, 07 Jan 2008 11:15:23 PST An institutional repository can boost the prominence of your institution and optimize dissemination of your institution's publications to a worldwide audience. An institutional repository can also promote open access to publications and scholarship. Finally, the scope of the repository is not limited to text format. Research and publications that have been created in various digital formats can be included in the repository. Open source and commercial applications are available as institutional repository project solutions. As archival specialists, librarians are uniquely poised to communicate the value of institutional repositories to their organizations as well as to provide a leadership role in establishing a repository. Carol A. Watson Institutional Repositories http://works.bepress.com/carol_watson/11 http://works.bepress.com/carol_watson/11 Thu, 03 Jan 2008 08:25:42 PST Book review of GUIDE TO INTERNATIONAL LEGAL RESEARCH, by the George Washington Journal of International Law and Economics (Salem, NH: Butterworth, 1990). Carol A. Watson International Law http://works.bepress.com/carol_watson/12 http://works.bepress.com/carol_watson/12 Thu, 03 Jan 2008 08:24:43 PST Book review of CRITICAL DOCUMENTS SOURCEBOOK ANNOTATED: INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL LAW AND ARBITRATION, by Houston Putnam Lowry (Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown & Co., 1991). Carol A. Watson International Law http://works.bepress.com/carol_watson/10 http://works.bepress.com/carol_watson/10 Tue, 19 Jun 2007 13:34:39 PDT There are several ways to keep current with the latest legal news and trends. One of the simplest methods is to become familiar with legal news web sites and visit them regularly. Many legal news web sites offer the option for visitors to sign up for e-mail alerts that can provide up-to-the-minute news delivered to your e-mail inbox. It is also possible to use a combination of web resources and e-mail to monitor court dockets. If you need in-depth information about a topic, you might consider joining a legal listserv or e-mail discussion list. Finally a recent strategy for staying on top of current legal topics is to become acquainted with legal blogs and how to access them. The latest expansion of blogging that is useful for obtaining current information is podcasting or sending soundfiles via the Internet. It's important to note that in today's wired world that many people report being overwhelmed by information especially in electronic format. Rather than try to regularly use all of the methods and resources described below, my suggestion is that you sample them and try to figure out which ones best suit your needs. You should probably limit yourself to a few current awareness resources daily. Don't forget to take time to contemplate the implications of the news you discover and try not to allow your attention to get too fragmented. Carol A. Watson Legal Technology http://works.bepress.com/carol_watson/9 http://works.bepress.com/carol_watson/9 Tue, 19 Jun 2007 13:34:38 PDT As a lawyer, it's not unusual to be called upon to help a client with personal investigation matters. Clients often seek advice on topics ranging from whether a business is legitimate to assisting with a search for missing heirs. Although these are not simple tasks, if you've got the time, you can usually find much useful investigative information on the web. However, you'll have to be thorough, patient and careful. Carol A. Watson Internet Legal Research http://works.bepress.com/carol_watson/8 http://works.bepress.com/carol_watson/8 Tue, 19 Jun 2007 13:34:38 PDT There are conflicting perceptions about the use of technology by lawyers. One view is that lawyers are traditional individuals who are slow to adopt cutting edge technology. The opposing view is that lawyers are technology leaders. I subscribe to the latter view. Lawyers were the first to fully utilize full-text databases. Lawyers were searching Lexis-Nexis during the late 70's and early 80's. Lawyers quickly adopted fax machines, e-mail and Internet services as soon as they were available. Consequently, I think lawyers are technology leaders. In order to remain technology leaders, we must be informed about the latest technology developments. The purpose of this segment of the CLE program is to gaze into the crystal ball and to offer some predictions for the future of technology. In a few simple words, the future of technology will be faster, smaller, more integrated and wireless. Will these predictions be accurate? Only time will tell. Carol Watson Legal Technology http://works.bepress.com/carol_watson/6 http://works.bepress.com/carol_watson/6 Tue, 19 Jun 2007 13:34:37 PDT Internet Legal Research presentations include: Google and Beyond: Finding Information Using Search Engines, and Evaluating Your Results; Why Pay For It Twice? How to Access Federal Materials in the Public Domaind; All Politics are Local: State and Local Resources; L is for Lawyer: An Alphabet of Handy Web Pages; Internet Basics: The Who, What, When, Where, Why and How of Internet Research for Lawyers; But Can I Get it in English? Finding Foreign Law; Blawgs, Podcasts, Wikis? Deciphering the Lingo and Evaluating Current Awareness Tools Elizabeth Geesey Holmes Internet Legal Research