Ch22 Litigation Personal Injury and Tort Internet Sources and Sites.docx

CHAPTER 22—LITIGATION, PERSONAL INJURY, AND TORT RESOURCE INTERNET SOURCES AND SITES A. Chapter Summary This chapter provides a brief introduction to the litigation practice area, and provides descriptions of and links to related Internet websites with documents and useful resources. B. Chapter Objectives In this chapter, students will: Learn about the litigation practice area. Be introduced to practice area related Internet websites. C. Instructional Ideas 1. Review the Legal Information Institute’s Torts page (fatty.law.cornell.edu/topics/torts.html) for background, lecture, and reference information. D. Chapter Outline I. Litigation II. Internet Research Scenario: Finding Registered Agents For Service III. Litigation Resource Sites E. Referenced Internet Websites Department of Justice Homepage www.usdoj.gov Federal Judiciary Homepage www.uscourts.gov PACER Docket System pacer.psc.uscourts.gov U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission www.cpsc.gov American Tort Reform Association www.atra.org Class Action Litigation Information www.classactionlitigation.com Court Rules, Forms, and Dockets www.llrx.com/courtrules CrimeLynx www.crimelynx.com Directory of Expert Witnesses and Consultants www.expertpages.com e-DICTA www.edicta.org Expert Witness Internet Resources www.nocall.org/experts.htm Federal Rules of Civil Procedure by Cornell University www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/overview.htm Lawsuits and Mediation Page www.nolo.com/lawcenter/ency/index.cfm/catID/FCE46694-6BEB-4A80-89B9048DA9877F61 Litigation Support Service Links marketcenter.findlaw.com/scripts/search.pl?vendor=7&ac=110&pa=110&search=state&direction=1 Litigator’s Internet Resource Guide to the Rules of Court www.llrx.com/columns/litigat.htm Pleading Index www.law.fsu.edu/library/faculty/gore/index.html Prosecuting Attorneys, District Attorneys, Attorneys General, and U.S. Attorneys www.co.eaton.mi.us/ecpa/proslist.htm Tobacco Control Resource Center/Tobacco Products Liability Project www.tobacco.neu.edu Web Guide to U.S. Supreme Court Research www.llrx.com/features/supremectwebguide.htm F. Discussion Questions 1. What potential uses do you see on the Internet for support of litigation? Research? Practice/case management? Others? Explain. A. An up-and-coming use is in making client ExtraNets as “litigation support systems.” These systems contain doument images and summaries, transcripts, and anything else the litigators wish to have accessible. JFS Litigators Software does this using your own firm resources. Various vendors are also currently trying to make inroads into the industry. Quorum and Lexis have established systems for this purpose, using their own networks for document storage and access. 2. How would you set out to find, and then actually use, information obtained from the Internet, in the evaluation of opposing expert witnesses? Explain. A. This question is answered previously. However, this chapter lists various expert database systems specifically for tracking and finding litigation experts. G. Projects 1. Our client has called and wants to know what sorts of environmental cases the U.S. EPA has recently brought and/or won. Where specifically on the Internet would you go for this particular information? Would you go to more than one site for this information? A. Students would need to go to the U.S. Department of Justice website to search for recent case announcements. Ditto as to U.S. EPA’s website.