Information Needs and Behavior of Legal Professionals:



The Information Needs and Information Behavior of Practicing Lawyers

Mary Gardner

INFO 510

Annotated Bibliography

December 10, 2008

Introduction

This annotated bibliography encompasses 13 scholarly English-language articles, plus three additional reading recommendations, on the information needs and information behavior of lawyers in the United States and elsewhere. The focus of the bibliography is on practicing lawyers; studies that focus solely or mostly on law students, academic lawyers, or law librarians have been excluded, as their information needs and behaviors tend to be markedly different from those of practicing attorneys. The publishing date of the included articles ranges from 1999 – 2008. Although the information needs of practicing attorneys tend to change very little over time, the rapid pace of change in information behavior, specifically the increasing use of electronic information resources, impacts the usefulness and applicability of less recent research.

User Group Description

Practicing lawyers are lawyers who hold a valid license to practice law in their practicing jurisdiction and who actively represent clients in any of a wide variety of legal matters. Unlike law students, academic lawyers, or law librarians, practicing lawyers have unique ethical and professional responsibilities to be effective legal researchers (Komlodi & Lutters, 2008, p. 187). Practicing lawyers can be sanctioned by their state bar or sued for malpractice by a client for violations of minimum standards of professional competence in legal research. Today, “familiarity with computer-assisted legal research . . . goes to the heart of an attorney’s competency to practice law” (Dunn, 2005, p. 4). Practicing lawyers’ needs for information are typically time-critical, complicating the requirement for accurate and complete information retrieval. Unlike many other user groups, practicing lawyers typically have daily access to many dedicated electronic resources for legal research (Komlodi & Lutters, 2008, p. 187).

Summary of Findings

From sole practitioners in rural areas (Dunn, 2005) to lawyers in large multi-office law firms (Komlodi & Lutters, 2008), American lawyers are increasingly looking to online legal databases, the Internet, and other electronic resources to fill their information needs. However, almost without exception, lawyers who used electronic resources expressed dissatisfaction with the capabilities of currently available electronic tools. Practicing lawyers expressed a need for more user-oriented electronic tools designed around their information needs and the way that they conduct their research – “just for me” information services, in the words of Kuhlthau and Tama (Komlodi & Soergel, 2002; Kuhlthau & Tama, 2001, p. 42).

Although online legal research services like LexisNexis and Westlaw worked well for routine tasks and specific searches, lawyers expressed frustration with their limitations with regard to complex tasks (Kuhlthau & Tama, 2001, pp. 32-33; Komlodi, 2004). Keyword searching did not work well for conceptual searches or when the lawyer did not know what he or she was looking for. (Dunn, 2005, p. 4; Kuhlthau & Tama, 2001, p. 40).

Lawyers outside the United States typically report less reliance on electronic legal resources (Otike, 1999; Wilkinson, 2001). In undeveloped countries such as Kenya and Nigeria (Haruna & Mobawonku, 2001; Otike & Matthews, 2000), access to electronic resources is non-existent. Lawyers in all countries relied on colleagues as important information sources, in addition to print resources such as law journals, and also meetings, conferences and seminars (Kuhlthau & Tama, 2001, p.37; Otike, 1999, pp.32-33; Wilkinson, 2001, p. 264).

There are differences in the information behavior of older, more experienced attorneys and that of younger lawyers. Senior attorneys typically delegate research tasks to younger attorneys, and do little research personally (Komlodi & Lutters, 2008, p. 187; Otike, 1999, p. 37). When senior attorneys do research, they tend to approach research tasks differently than novice lawyers. Expert lawyers take a “value-added” approach to information seeking where the focus is on the eventual use of the information to aid a client. Novice lawyers approach research as an objective, fact-finding task without regard to the use to which the information will be put (Cole & Kuhlthau, 2000, p. 107).

Lawyers’ information needs are not limited to research. Lawyers expressed needs for tools to allow collaborative uses of information for task delegation and reporting, accountability, informal training and collaborative learning, re-finding of information, and administrative uses. (Komlodi, 2008, p.190; Kuhlthau & Tama, 2001, pp. 34-35).

Bibliography

Cole, C., & Kuhlthau, C. (2000). Information and information seeking of novice versus expert lawyers: How experts add value. The New Review of Information Behavior Research, 1, 103-115.

Abstract:

Pilot study of 15 novice and expert lawyers in Montreal and New Jersey concludes that expert lawyers are better able than novice lawyers to add value to information collected for a client or case due to their ability to link problem recognition and solution structures. Suggests a four point arc of value adding for use by novice lawyers:

1. Cost-effective and convenient retrieval of appropriate data to be processed into value added information.

2. Construction of new knowledge and understanding from the appropriate data to benefit the client.

3. Effective communication of the new knowledge and understanding to, or on behalf of, the client.

4. Packaging of the new knowledge and understanding in such a way so as to enable the client, or others, to take advantage or act on the value added.

Search Strategy: Footnote in Case, D. (2002). Looking for information: A survey of research on information seeking, needs, and behavior. Amsterdam; New York: Academic Press. I wanted to begin my research with a better understanding of the term “information behavior” so I searched for relevant books in the Hagerty Library catalogue. After finding the Case book, I browsed the footnotes provided in the book.

Database: Hagerty Library catalogue

Method of Searching: Keyword searching and footnote chasing

Search String: information behavior

Annotation:

Relatively recent qualitative study by two recognized authorities in the field of information behavior research, published in a short-lived but scholarly journal. Well-organized presentation provides a succinct background discussion of research in the areas of sense-making theory, novice versus expert thinking processes, and value added theory. Poorly edited quotes from study subjects do not add substantially to understanding of the topic or conclusions of the study. Study appears to be unique in distinguishing information behavior of novice lawyers from that of lawyers with more experience. Authors state that they intend further research in the area of value added information and development of information systems for novice lawyers, although no further studies of that type were located in the research for this bibliography.

Dunn, M. (2005). Print vs. computer-assisted legal research: A survey of sole practitioner and small law firm attorneys in the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit. Tennessee Libraries, 55(4), 4-18.

Abstract:

Survey of 40 lawyers and two county law libraries concludes that online legal research is replacing in-house law library print collections in this rural area dominated by small law firms and sole practitioners.

Search Strategy: Hagerty Library recommends certain databases for Library Science research. I performed searches in each of these databases.

Database: Library, Information Science and Technology Abstracts (LISTA)

Method of Searching: Keyword search

Search String: (lawyer or attorney) and (information or research) and (use* or seek* or need* or behav*) - search limited to scholarly (peer reviewed) journals

Annotation:

Recent qualitative study in a peer-reviewed journal. Unusual in that it focuses on sole practitioners and small firm attorneys in a rural area of the U.S. Dominant factors in favor of choosing online versus print resources were cost, convenience, and physical space considerations. Also notable is that most lawyers in this study expressed a decided preference for online resources although more than half had been practicing law for more than 20 years, in contrast to findings in other studies that more experienced lawyers prefer print resources (e.g. Kuhlthau & Tama, 2001).

Haruna, I., & Mabawonku, I. (2001). Information needs and seeking behavior of legal practitioners and the challenges to law libraries in Lagos, Nigeria. The International Information & Library Review, 33, 69-87.

Abstract:

Study concludes that Nigerian lawyers rank their most important information need as knowledge of the most recent decisions of superior courts, followed by information about recent legislation, information about seminars and conferences, acquiring and applying legal “know-how”, information on leading authorities in areas of law, finding relevant papers, knowing where and how to find the law, looking up the law, and awareness of different subject areas coming up. Law libraries are the most important source of information for lawyers; other sources of information were colleagues, government publications, personal collections of legal materials, and electronic databases, used by a small minority of lawyers. Law libraries in Lagos are ill equipped to adequately meet the information needs of lawyers due mostly to inadequate funding. Specific recommendations for improved library services included hiring librarians with specialized knowledge of the law, cooperative services with other libraries, comprehensive indexing of judgments of superior courts of record, and providing internet access.

Search Strategy: Certain online databases provide lists of documents that may be related to the document currently being viewed. I browsed the suggested related articles to Otike, J. (1999). The information needs and seeking habits of lawyers in England: A pilot study. International Information and Library Review, 31, 19-39.

Database: ScienceDirect

Method of Searching: browsing

Search String: not applicable

Annotation:

Recent study in a well-established refereed journal provides perspective on information needs and behavior of lawyers in a country where few computerized legal information services are available. While survey methodology is meticulously described, terms used to describe lawyers’ information needs are quite vague; e.g. “acquire and apply legal know-how”, “look up relevant papers”, “be aware of different subject areas coming up” (Haruna & Mabawonku, 2001, p. 72). Generally poorly organized and difficult to read. Notable finding is lawyers’ preference for libraries as primary source of information above any other source including colleagues, in contrast to studies in other countries where colleagues are rated more highly as a source of information (e.g. Kuhlthau & Tama, 2001).

Komlodi, A. (2004). Task management support in information seeking: A case for search histories. Computers in Human Behavior, 20, 163-184.

Abstract:

Three phase study of the use of memory and externally recorded search histories in searching for and using legal information. In Phase1, sixteen attorneys and law librarians were “interviewed and observed to assess their use of their memory and external memory aids while searching for and using legal information.” (Komlodi, 2002, p. 557). Phase 2 involved participatory user interface design sessions with attorneys and law librarians from large, multi-office, multi-regional law firms. Phase 3, yet to be completed, will involve formal testing of the newly designed user interfaces. Article concludes that recorded search histories can aid in planning, monitoring, and evaluating online searches, managing multiple tasks, integrating search tasks previously segmented by various search tools, keeping track of tangents, and recreating context after interruptions or for successive search sessions. Study proposes enhanced online search history functionality to support lawyer’s information seeking and use, particularly in the management of complex research tasks.

Search Strategy: Hagerty Library recommends certain databases for Library Science research. I performed searches in each of these databases.

Database: Library, Information Science and Technology Abstracts (LISTA)

Method of Searching: Keyword search

Search String: (lawyer or attorney) and (information or research) and (use* or seek* or need* or behav*) - search limited to scholarly (peer reviewed) journals

Annotation:

Third and perhaps most interesting in a series of articles describing the results and conclusions of this study. This article focuses on the role of system recorded search histories in the management of complex legal research tasks. Provides a detailed description of the online search process of practicing attorneys when completing a complex research task. Like the previous articles, a very organized and well-written peer-reviewed study, with clear explanations of methodology and conclusions. Includes a thorough review of formal models of problem solving and information seeking.

Komlodi, A. (2002). The role of interaction histories in mental model building and knowledge sharing in the legal domain. Journal of Universal Computer Science, 8, 557-566.

Abstract:

Sixteen attorneys and law librarians were “interviewed and observed to assess their use of their memory and external memory aids while searching for and using legal information.” (Komlodi, 2002, p. 557). Concludes that computer-recorded search histories can be useful aids in legal research and proposes that “the recorded information [] be provided back to the user through the user interface to support searching for and using information, learning about the subject matter and sharing this knowledge with others.” (Komlodi, 2002, p. 557).

Search Strategy: Mentioned in the footnotes to Komlodi, A. (2004). Task management support in information seeking: A case for search histories. Computers in Human Behavior, 20, 163-184.

Database: Not applicable

Method of Searching: Footnote chasing.

Search String: Not applicable

Annotation:

Second in a series of articles presenting the results of a study focusing on the use of memory in information seeking and resultant design implications for user interfaces. This article focuses on how computer and manually recorded search histories can help to externally represent the lawyer’s mental model of a research topic, and aid in sharing that mental model with others to support shared learning and decision making, and also for team coordination and task delegation. Well-written and organized scholarly study published in a refereed journal. Presents a clear and succinct discussion of Stuart Sutton’s previous research on mental model building.

Komlodi, A. & Lutters, W.G. (2008). Collaborative use of individual search histories. Interacting with Computers, 20, 184-198.

Abstract:

Lawyers and service engineers were interviewed and observed in separate case studies to identify collaborative behaviors in the creation and use of search histories. Concludes that lawyers and engineers use shared search history in similar fashions for task delegation and reporting; accountability, in the sense of being held responsible and showing individual accomplishment; informal training and collaborative learning; collaborative re-finding of information; and administrative uses. Calls for extending current search history support tools to better assist collaborative activities by enabling automatic recording of search history, and methods of organizing, searching, editing, and annotating histories.

Search Strategy: During my research I ran across several studies on the information behavior of lawyers by Anita Komlodi. I did an author search on Web of Knowledge to see if there were any studies I had missed in my previous research.

Database: Web of Science

Method of Searching: Author search

Search String: Author=(komlodi, a*) Timespan=All Years. Databases=SCI-EXPANDED, SSCI, A&HCI

Annotation:

Very recent, well-written scholarly article in a peer-reviewed journal. Builds on Komlodi’s previous work in the area of lawyers’ use of memory and search histories while searching for and using legal information. Draws interesting conclusions about the similarities between work processes of lawyers and aircraft service engineers and suggests that “the similarity of shared search history use across such disparate sites . . . holds great promise of transferability of the resulting theoretic understandings to other high liability knowledge work environments.” (Komlodi & Lutters, 2008, p. 188).

Komlodi, A., Marchionini, G., & Soergel, D. (2007). Search history support for finding and using information: User interface design recommendations from a user study. Information Processing & Management, 43, 10-29.

Abstract:

Qualitative study investigates how attorneys and law librarians use memory and external memory aids while performing online legal research tasks and transferring to information use. “Search histories were found to be useful in many user tasks: memory support, search system use, information seeking, information use, task management, task integration, and collaboration.” (Komlodi, Marchionini, & Soergel, 2007). Recommends design of search-history-based user interface tools with ability to: display search history, with temporal and semantic relationships between search steps, and ability to annotate; integrate search history information into other search system displays, such as query formulation and results display screens; integrate search planning tools with search history; access steps from search history for reuse; manage search results by searching within, comparing, or combining sets; manage and edit search histories; and save search results, along with annotations as to relevance, for later use.

Search Strategy: Hagerty Library recommends certain databases for Library Science research. I performed searches in each of these databases.

Database: Library, Information Science and Technology Abstracts (LISTA)

Method of Searching: Keyword search

Search String: (lawyer or attorney) and (information or research) and (use* or seek* or need* or behav*) - search limited to scholarly (peer reviewed) journals

Annotation:

Fourth and culminating article in the series describing a study of the use of memory and recorded search histories in legal research tasks. This article discusses Phase 3 of the study: history-based user interface development and evaluation. Review of related research focuses on software design research with an emphasis on search history tools. As always, a clear, organized and well written presentation, with well-supported conclusions, published in a respected scholarly journal. Well worth reading for anyone interested in the research processes of attorneys and/or the design of history-based user interfaces.

Komlodi, A., & Soergel, D. (2002). Attorneys interacting with legal information systems: Tools for mental model building and task integration. In Proceedings of the 65th Annual Meeting of American Society for Information Science and Technology (pp. 152-163). Philadelphia: ACM Press.

Abstract:

Qualitative study of 16 attorneys and law librarians examines their use of memory and externally recorded search histories in searching for and using information. Concludes “many information-seeking tasks can take advantage of automatically and manually recorded history information, including mental model building of a topical area, [and} the integration of searching for and using information.” (Komlodi & Soergel, 2002, p. 152). Proposes development of an integrated computerized work environment including “user interface tools building on search history information: direct search history displays, history-enabled scratchpad facilities, and organized results collection tools.” (Komlodi & Soergel, 2002, p. 152).

Search Strategy: This paper was mentioned in a footnote of Makri, S., Blandford, A., & Cox, A. L. (2008). Investigating the information-seeking behaviour of academic lawyers: From Ellis’s model to design. Information Processing & Management, 44, 613-634. I then used a Google search to find the full text article online (), although I cited the article to the published conference proceedings as per the assignment instructions. I also located it in Dialog when doing further searching. On Dialog, I expanded the terms “lawyer” and “attorney” and selected the appropriate index terms and then searched for each term along with other appropriate terms in the descriptor field to narrow the results.

Database: Dialog File 1 - ERIC

Method of Searching: Footnote chasing, Google search, controlled vocabulary, field searching

Search String: komlodi soergel mental model building on Google, (LAWYER or LAWYERING or LAWYERLY or LAWYERS) and (info? or research?)/de and (need? or use? or seek? or behavior?)/de on Dialog

Annotation:

First in a series of articles describing conclusions from an unusual study of the use of memory in information seeking. This article focuses on the interrelatedness of information seeking and use of information to produce work product in the legal environment, similar to the “value-added” concept set forth by Cole and Kuhlthau (2000), although that study is not cited. Article is recent, very well written and organized, and was presented at an annual meeting of the American Society for Information Science and Technology. Provides a clear and thorough description of the process of online information seeking and use by lawyers in the United States. Numerous typographical and grammatical errors distract from readability, however.

Kuhlthau, C.C., & Tama, S.L. (2001). Information search process of lawyers: A call for

'just for me' information services. Journal of Documentation, 57, 25-43.

Abstract:

Qualitative study of eight “early career expert” lawyers in small to medium New Jersey law firms concludes that lawyers prefer print resources over computer databases when performing complex tasks because of the lack of ability to examine a wide range of information at one time, the limitations of keyword searching, and a sense of becoming “lost” on current legal databases. Lawyers identified paper and computerized internal office files, and people, such as colleagues, experts, and fact witnesses, as important sources of information, and external electronic resources such as email, listservs, and the Internet as additional sources. Lawyers identified a need for information systems and services to “organize, classify and access information related to the lawyer’s specific area of work and particularly for complex tasks“ so that accumulated information could be tracked for current cases, and efficiently retrieved for future needs. (Kuhlthau & Tama, 2002, p. 39). “‘Just for me’ services would be grounded in a clear understanding of an individual’s work, the different types of information needed and the range of access required to accomplish a variety of tasks.” (Kuhlthau & Tama, 2002, p. 42).

Search Strategy: Kuhlthau is a well-respected scholar in the field of information behavior research. The article on information behavior of novice versus expert lawyers coauthored by Cole and Kuhlthau, mentioned above, discussed further research planned by the authors. I did an author search to try to find this additional research or other pertinent articles.

Database: Web of Science

Method of Searching: Author search on Web of Knowledge

Search String: Author=(kuhlthau, c*) Timespan=All Years. Databases=SCI-EXPANDED, SSCI, A&HCI

Annotation:

Relatively recent, often cited scholarly article in a peer-reviewed journal. Kuhlthau is a recognized authority in the field of information behavior research. A conclusion that lawyers often have a need to permanently keep detailed research histories, with concomitant needs to organize and access kept information, is expanded on in the research of Komlodi and others (Komlodi & Soergel, 2002).

Makri, S., Blandford, A., & Cox, A.L. (2007, July 27). ‘I’ll just Google it!’: Should lawyers’

perceptions of Google inform the design of electronic legal resources? Paper

presented at the Web Information-Seeking and Interaction (WISI) Workshop,

SIGIR 2007, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Retrieved Nov. 18, 2008, from:

Abstract:

Qualitative study of 28 academic lawyers, 5 law librarians, and 15 practicing lawyers in England found that lawyers frequently use the Google search engine for research because they believe it offers good quality results, a high degree of flexibility and control, simplicity and approachability, familiarity, and speed. Lawyers expressed affection for Google while expressing negative feelings toward dedicated electronic legal resources such as Westlaw and LexisNexis. Study concludes that designing online legal research tools emulating factors lawyers appreciated in Google is unlikely to produce a useful tool for effective legal research.

Search Strategy: I found an article on LISTA that referenced a paper by Yolanda Jones. I happened to recognize the author’s name from the Villanova Legal Express web page on the Villanova Law School library web site. Out of curiosity, I looked for the paper online using Google and instead found a copy of her dissertation. The dissertation (for the iSchool at Drexel!) contained many valuable references, including one for this article.

Database: Not applicable

Method of Searching: Footnote chasing – referenced in a footnote in Jones, Y.P. (2008). “Just the facts ma’am?” A contextual approach to the legal information use environment. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Drexel University, Philadelphia.

Search String: Not applicable

Annotation:

Short but scholarly article by emerging scholars in the field of legal information seeking and behavior. Makri, Blandford, and Cox have concentrated their research in the area of effective design considerations for online legal research tools to better support how layers actually seek information. This up-to-date research is very relevant given the dominance of Google as a research tool. The article is part of a larger study of the information seeking of academic lawyers reported in Makri, S., Blandford, A., & Cox, A. L. (2008). Investigating the information-seeking behaviour of academic lawyers: From Ellis’s model to design. Information Processing & Management, 44, 613-634.

Otike, J. (1999). The information needs and seeking habits of lawyers in England: A pilot study. International Information and Library Review, 31, 19-39.

Abstract:

Study of the information behavior and information seeking habits of 24 practicing lawyers and 9 academic lawyers in England found that lawyers continued to rely mostly on print resources; electronic information sources were used only as a last resort. Preferred sources of information, in order of importance, were colleagues or other personal contacts; law journals; meetings, conferences and seminars; and Current Awareness Service. Lawyers commonly had personal collections of legal resources in their offices that were used to meet daily information needs.

Search Strategy: I expanded the terms “lawyer” and “attorney” to find index terms “lawyer”, “lawyering” and “attorneys”. I then did a search on those terms with the term “info?” to retrieve articles dealing with information use by lawyers. This was a surprisingly effective search and did not need to be narrowed using proximity operators or field searching.

Database: Dialog File 438 - Library Literature & Information Science

Method of Searching: Controlled vocabulary

Search String: (lawyering OR lawyers OR attorneys) and info?

Annotation:

Rather dated scholarly study published in a refereed journal. It is unlikely that the same results regarding the non-use of electronic resources would be obtained if the study were redone today. The included list of defined terms is helpful in understanding the roles of different types of legal practitioners. Provides an extensive review of the literature on information needs and behavior of lawyers from around the world.

Otike, J., & Matthews, G. (2000). Legal information needs of lawyers in Kenya: A case study. Library Management, 21, 241-251.

Abstract:

Case study of the information needs and behaviors of a sole practitioner in Kenya details the typical sources of information consulted by general practitioners in small Kenyan firms and highlights the extreme difficulty of accessing current legal information. Concludes that sole practitioners can maximize the availability of legal information by setting up a cooperative shared library.

Search Strategy: I expanded the terms “lawyer” and “attorney” to find index terms “lawyer”, “lawyering” and “attorneys”. I then did a search on those terms with the term “info?” to retrieve articles dealing with information use by lawyers. This was a surprisingly effective search and did not need to be narrowed using proximity operators or field searching.

Database: Dialog File 438 - Library Literature & Information Science

Method of Searching: Controlled vocabulary

Search String: (lawyering OR lawyers OR attorneys) and info?

Annotation:

Peer reviewed article published in a scholarly journal provides a narrative description of the information needs and behavior of a typical sole practitioner in Kenya. The rambling presentation includes much extraneous information. Gives a detailed description of the types and availability of legal research sources. The study is rather dated, however, the author was of the opinion that the situation was unlikely to change in the near future.

Wilkinson, M. A. (2001). Information sources used by lawyers in problem-solving: An empirical exploration. Library & Information Science Research, 23, 257-276.

Abstract:

Study of 154 Ontario, Canada lawyers, including practitioners from small, medium, and large firms, and in-house counsel, concludes “legal research should not be considered information-seeking. The lawyers interviewed identified other tasks, such as administration of their law practices, as constituting problem-solving, information-seeking activities. The lawyers interviewed identified other tasks, such as administration of their law practices, as constituting problem-solving, information-seeking activities. In solving their problems, the lawyers overwhelmingly preferred informal sources when seeking information. In addition, they preferred sources of information internal to their organizations rather than external sources, although this was less true for lawyers from smaller firms. Neither the lawyer’s gender nor the size of the center in which the practice was located influenced the type of information sources chosen. The model for the information-seeking behavior of professionals advanced by [Leckie, Pettigrew, and Sylvain (1996)] is discussed and modifications are suggested that create a new model offering a fuller picture of the behavior of lawyers.” (Wilkinson, 2001, p. 257).

Search Strategy: I expanded the terms “lawyer” and “attorney” to find index terms “lawyer”, “lawyering” and “attorneys”. I then did a search on those terms with the term “info?” to retrieve articles dealing with information use by lawyers.

Database: Dialog File 438 - Library Literature & Information Science

Method of Searching: Controlled vocabulary

Search String: (lawyering OR lawyers OR attorneys) and info?

Annotation:

Fairly recent scholarly study by a member of the faculty of Information and Media Studies at a Canadian university, published in a peer-reviewed journal. Uses “critical incident technique” where lawyers were requested to describe one problem recently encountered in their law practice, and asked about the information sources used to resolve the problem. Unusual conclusion that “legal research . . . proved to be minor, even non-existent, with respect to the lawyers interviewed” and “was not seen as information-seeking directly related to problem solving.” (Wilkinson, 2001, p.274). Study seems flawed in that it makes sweeping generalizations about lawyers information-seeking behavior based on descriptions of one self-selected “problem” from each.

Additional Reading

Basch, R. (Ed.) & Halvorson, T.R. (1999). Law of the super searchers: The online secrets of top legal researchers. Medford, NJ: Cyberage Books.

Annotation:

A collection of interviews with eight expert legal researchers, often cited by researchers. Although somewhat dated, the section on “Trends and Themes” in expert legal research is particularly interesting and useful for legal researchers and information professionals.

Jones, Y.P. (2008). “Just the facts ma’am?” A contextual approach to the legal information use environment. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Drexel University, Philadelphia.

Annotation:

Offers a clear, thorough discussion of the leading research in the area of information behavior, as well as an extensive review of the literature of information behavior and seeking of lawyers and law students.

MacLachlan, L.D. (2000). Gandy dancers on the web: How the Internet has raised the bar on lawyers’ professional responsibility to research and know the law. Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics 13, 607-648.

Annotation:

Thorough scholarly analysis of the implications of the Internet for lawyers’ ethical and professional responsibilities to research and know the law.

Information Resources

Information is a lawyer’s stock in trade. Lawyers require fast, accurate, reliable, convenient, and cost-effective sources of information, both legal and non-legal, and are increasingly looking to online and Internet resources to fulfill this need. A short list of useful resources follows.

Contents Pages from Law Reviews and Other Scholarly Journals

Annotation:

Lawyers need efficient, systematic ways of surveying scholarly developments in their area of specialization. The Tarlton Law Library at the University of Texas School of Law maintains this free online database that includes the tables of contents of more than 750 law reviews and scholarly journals published in the United States and internationally. The database is updated daily but is limited to issues received by the library over the preceding three months. Contents can be searched by keyword, however, the database not indexed by subject.



Annotation:

Commercial lawyers are increasingly being asked to provide legal and business advice regarding foreign markets. is a website maintained by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration to “bring[] together resources from across the U.S. Government to assist American businesses in planning their international sales strategies.” The presentation is clear and well organized and provides extensive information in areas such as market research, financing, trade leads, licensing and regulations. Keyword searching is available using a basic search box. The Advanced Search function uses the Google Search Appliance and allows Boolean keyword and phrase searches with limiters including language, file format, domain, and occurrences (where in the document the search term appears). Results can be sorted by relevance or date. The site can also be browsed using a subject directory.

Fedstats

Annotation:

Lawyers in virtually all practice areas use federal statistics. Fedstats is a United States government site that provides free access to statistical information from federal agencies reporting expenditures of at least $500,000 per year on statistical activities. Fedstats is particularly useful for researchers unfamiliar with federal statistics because it provides multiple ways to browse and search. Users can search by keyword or phrase, geographical area, Congressional district, or federal or state judicial district, or browse the alphabetical topic list, agency name list, or statistical program subject area list. The most current statistical information is available in press releases that can be browsed through a list or searched for on the database. The database is updated daily.

HeinOnline. (1958-2007). Index to Periodicals Related to Law 1 - 49.

Annotation:

Lawyers typically require current information in a wide variety of disciplines. This online source, available through subscription, fills a useful niche by indexing popular and scholarly articles with legal content, excluding articles covered by the standard legal periodical indexes. A rudimentary search tool allows keyword searches in the Article Title, Creator/Author, Journal Title, and Subjects fields, using Boolean AND and OR. Results can be sorted by any of the searchable fields, and can be limited to articles available in the HeinOnline database. Unfortunately, no browsable thesaurus is available to aid in selecting search terms.

Hieros Gamos Law and Government Resources

Annotation:

A useful site for any lawyer needing to research international law or business, Law and Government Resources is one of the most extensive aggregated lists of links to foreign legal information sources, covering 230 countries. The browsable alphabetical list of countries provides links (where available) to each country’s entry in:

• The Law Library of Congress Guide to Law Online

• GlobaLex - an electronic legal publication for international and foreign law research published by the Hauser Global Law School Program at NYU School of Law.

• The World Fact Book - a website maintained by the United States Central Intelligence Agency

• Doing Business – an online report that measures the impact of government rule-making on business activity

No search functionality exists. Links must be accessed one at a time, with no provision for comparison between contents. The site is maintained by Hieros Gamos, an international association of law firms.

Lib-web-cats

Annotation:

Lib-web-cats is a useful free online tool to locate print resources not available in a lawyer’s local library. Lib-web-cats is a database of world-wide libraries, providing links to library websites and online catalogues where available, as well as geographic location, address, library type, current and previous library automation systems used, and the size of the library's collection. Basic searches can be done on keyword, library type, city, state, and country. An extensive list of advanced search features includes the ability to search by institution name, collection size, link resolver, wi fi availability, automation system, and many other criteria. The database is also browsable by geographic region. Lib-web-cat is maintained by Marshall Breeding, the Director of Innovative Technologies and Research for the Jean and Alexander Heard Library at Vanderbilt University. An RSS feed of recently added libraries is available.

News Voyager

Annotation:

Many lawyers monitor major newspapers or websites to keep abreast of developments in politics, business, and other areas of interest. New Voyager, maintained by the Newspaper Association of America, is a search engine used to locate the homepages of domestic and international newspapers and news organizations. The search functionality is rather confusing and no Help is available, however all becomes clear with a bit of trial and error. Newspaper searches can be done by type (U.S. daily, U.S. weekly, Canadian, International, college), name, city or state. Newspaper groups, associations, and media organizations can be searched by name, city or state. Users can also link to U.S. News Archives on the Web, a site maintained by the Special Libraries Association News Division that lists newspaper archives alphabetically by state.

State Legislatures Internet Links

Annotation:

This website by the National Conference of State Legislatures provides a tool to link to the legislature web sites of the fifty states, all U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia. Searchers can choose one of the following options: legislative Home Page, Bills, Constitution, Issue Reports, Kids Pages, Legislators, Online Live (live audio broadcasts of committee meetings, hearings, legislative sessions, etc.), Press Rooms, Program Evaluations, or Statutes, of one or more states or territories. Lawyers can use the site to create a customized (“just for me”) set of links to specific legislative content from all or a selected list of states and territories.

Conclusion and Personal Statement

I approached this assignment with trepidation. The requirements sounded overwhelming and I doubted my ability to do a good, or even adequate, job. I’ve been out of school for a very long time and this is the first academic paper that I’ve written in almost 20 years. To my great surprise, I’ve really enjoyed the process of researching and writing the bibliography. I learned a great deal on several different levels.

I gained a basic understanding of the theoretical underpinnings of information behavior and seeking by reading how researchers interpreted competing or complementary theories and applied them to the information behavior and seeking of my user group. Although I understand how a well-constructed theory of information behavior can lead to improvements in information services to users, I have to say that I find reading about theory rather uninteresting. My conclusion is that I will never be an academic (. My favorite articles were by authors who applied theory to the behavior of my user group to make very concrete suggestions about the design of effective user interfaces to electronic resources.

The topic of the information behavior of lawyers is intriguing for me as a former attorney. When I left the practice of law, the Digital Age was in its infancy and most senior partners in my firm viewed LexisNexis as a waste of clients’ money. Lawyers’ information needs have not changed significantly since I was in practice, but the prevalence of electronic research sources has radically changed their information seeking behavior. Use of online databases and other resources for research has become the norm. The biggest change I see is the vast amounts of convenient and reliable legal information freely available on the Internet.

Researching and writing this bibliography has improved my skills as an information professional. The process of searching databases and other sources to find articles reinforced the skills I learned in INFO 510. Additionally, I found that as the assignment progressed, my annotation skills improved. It became easier to assess an article, pick out the relevant conclusions, and compare findings with other research studies. This assignment also provided a very enjoyable introduction to electronic research aids such as SFX and Refworks. I love the Digital Age!

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