2. WHAT IS IT?
FindLaw.com is an open access legal site for non-legal users. It began Jan
1996, now run by Thomson Reuters business and claims to be “the world’s
leading provider of Internet marketing solutions for law firms and online legal
information for consumers and small businesses.”
Excellent resource for adults looking to learn more, whether with an idea in mind
or just wanting to know their present right for their particular situation.
3. LAYOUT OF THE SITE
▪ Information on the site is divided into six
different search tabs at the top of the
page, each which covers a specific resource:
Learn about the Law, Find a Lawyer, FindLaw
Answers, etc.
▪ On the main page layout, snippets from each
of these are shown, which further helps to
increase ease of navigation as well as to
display some of the information offered and
generate further interest.
4. LEARN ABOUT THE LAW
This collection of resources is ideal for
a user to search a specific concern
and learn his rights. For
example, choosing Employment Law
>> Wages and Benefits >> State
Minimum Wage and Overtime
Laws, allows users to see a brief
summaries for all state minimum
wages.
In this example, most states have a
minimum wage $7.25, but some have
higher wages and some have none
established.
5. LEARN ABOUT THE LAW, CONT.
▪ Other options available for
search by law include
accident and
injury, criminal, family, immigr
ation and state laws.
▪ For example, under DUI Law
>> DUI Arrests >> DUI
Checkpoints, a user would
find information on how
checkpoints work and in
which 11 states they are not
conducted in.
▪ If a user is uncertain about
which area of the law to
browse, there is a
recommendation to post a
question on the message
board.
▪ This information is a good
way to start learning about an
issue and what one’s rights
are before enlisting the help of
a lawyer.
6. FIND A LAWYER
This resource allows users to search for
a lawyer near them based on their legal
issue.
Under “advanced options” it is also
possible to search for only those nearby
which offer free consultations, accept
credit cards and have videos under their
profile.
▪ The other helpful thing I found is an
option “Guide Me” which helps the
user through a guided search,
beginning with zip code, the
category of the legal issue (ex.
Estate planning) and finally the
subcategory (ex. Guardianship). It
essentially performs the same
function as the basic lawyer search.
▪ This searching is especially handy
for a user who may not be sure of
which legal term to search.
7. FINDLAW ANSWERS
▪ Here the user can find postings by
other members on specific legal
issues, and perhaps post their own
questions to seek guidance.
▪ Forum categories are broken down
into broad areas of the law–
Bankruptcy, Debt and Taxes,
Consumer Issues, Criminal Law,
Employment, Traffic Violations and
Legal Research How-To among
others.
For example, here are some
forum questions that were
highlighted on the main page
tonight:
8. FINDLAW FORMS
▪ This section of the website allows a user to find legal form packages to buy
based on the area of the law and the state they reside in. Some, however, are
multistate. These forms can either be downloaded directly or sent through the
mail. Prices vary on contents of the package. Some downloads might be $15
and some may be $50.
▪ Many of these forms can serve as a guide for legal measures where consulting
an attorney isn’t necessary.
9. NEWS
▪ On this section of the website, users
can actively seek out a particular topic
or browse the daily headlines. Article
links are sectioned according to
Editor’s Picks, Top Legal
Headlines, Other Legal News and
Regional Legal News. These appear
to be kept up to date as there were no
articles on the main news page that
were older than a day, which
demonstrates the site’s reliability.
▪ Another resource I found interesting
was the Twitter feed provided, which
might be the most effective method for
quick news updates. (Although it
should be noted that some of these
Twitter posts link to images or articles
on Facebook)
10. The final section of FindLaw to note
are the blogs, which can be searched
by subject or by location. For
example, here’s a snapshot of some
Chicago-based law blogs.
BLOGS
Most of these are updated on a
regular basis although some are
more recent than others.
Most of these blogs are for nonlaw users but there are a handful
especially for legal professionals.
11. BLOGS, CONT.
One of the more curious offerings is
a blog, Legally Weird, which focuses
more on comical occurrences in the
legal news.
The most recent headline?
'N. Colo.' Secession? What a Split Vote Means for '51st
State'
By Aditi Mukherji, JD on November 11, 2013 1:39 PM
Or
'Bigfoot Hunt' Goes Bad: 1 Man Shot, 3 Arrested
By Aditi Mukherji, JD on November 4, 2013 9:47 AM
A Bigfoot hunting expedition went terribly awry when one
Oklahoma man -- a human, not a Sasquatch -- got spooked
by a "barking noise" and accidentally shot his friend in the
back. Better than getting stabbed in the back by a
friend, right? (Har har.)
12. FINAL CONCERNS, DISCLAIMER
FindLaw offers users the steps to educate themselves and the chance
to know their basic legal rights.
But
While the website contains a wealth of legal information and some legal
concern questions may be resolved from it’s use, it is not a substitute for
contacting a lawyer if a user has a serious legal concern.
13. NEED SOME HELP GETTING STARTED?
Email me at iwananna@my.dom.edu
or feel free to ask a librarian for guidance.
