A firm's appearance on this page should not, of course, be construed as an endorsement. Sections: Commercial Databases | Information Brokers and Private Investigators | Other Goods and Services | Research for Sale |

Commercial Databases

Important names: Westlaw | Lexis | West Publishing | Shepard's | Martindale-Hubbell |

Increasingly, the commercial services are using the www as an on-ramp. West will now sell any document in the Westlaw database for which one has a citation. "Not only can you retrieve cases, but also anything that is available through Find on Westlaw. This includes statutes, law reviews, administrative materials, regulations, rules, orders and more." Ten bucks a pop. There is also access for the occasional user to the integrated Westlaw case database through KeyCite, with all of its sophistication. Not cheap.

Shepard's now has a page for pay-per-view shepardizing ($4.95 per citation), or by subscription. Shepard's adoptive parent Lexis-Nexis will soon have an exclusive on that, along with other products of integration. The New Shepard's is now available, combining Shepard’s citations and LEXIS-NEXIS services "to offer one comprehensive, easy-to-use, integrated research system that saves time through tailored results and precise case finding and filtering tools." It lacks Westlaw's headnotes. Westlaw loses its integrated shepardizing, but the case history afforded by KeyCite seems to make that quite painless. Now Lexis steps up the bidding with a new user interface called lexis.com.

New Shepard's v. KeyCite, what's the difference? See The Great Citator Debate.

Juritas.com "provides highly searchable access to the complete text of briefs, pleadings, motions, affidavits, orders, verdicts, judgments, jury instructions and expert witness testimony from trial courts around the country -- quite simply the largest database of trial court materials anywhere in the world."

Florida State University provides links to sixteen online database vendors with homepages on the internet. Those with telnet access are identified.

"LOIS is Law Office Information Systems, Inc., an electronic publisher of comprehensive state and federal law libraries on CD-ROM and the Internet." Expensive. There is some free information onsite. Here is a review of the service. See also Case Law from VersusLaw, linked on page 5 and Appendix C, and a review of VersusLaw.

Here is a comparative review of the online court docket services - Pacer, CourtLink, CourtEXPRESS and CaseStream.

"Verifacts Online, Inc. is the first company to offer instant online criminal searches on the Internet. Our database covers all conviction records in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Arizona."

You can search a database of thousands of jury verdicts in the Online Blue Sheet Archive. Expensive. Idex has trial transcripts and expert witness testimony for sale. "Trials Digest Publishing, Inc. has access to over 30,000 expert witness deposition transcripts." $95 apiece. 

Ingenta researches periodicals and newswires for a fee, and now has a desktop delivery system in place. Northern Light is a search engine which searches the WWW for no fee, and a periodicals database for a nominal fee.

If your client has a problem with OSHA, the Regulatory Compliance History Information Service might be worth looking into.

Hoover's has a database with information about more that 10,000 companies. Company profiles are for subscribers only. There is a free search tool for company websites. (If no luck there, try the company name on one of the search engines at Appendix B of this site.)

Encyclopedia Britannica online still solicits subscribers at $5 per month. (There is a seven day free trial), but it is unclear what the advantage is.  Britannica.com now enables a search of the entire encyclopedia as well as websites, magazines and books on any given topic. 

Information Brokers and Private Investigators

Accurint may be the best and cheapest available tool for skiptracing, with asset search to be added sometime soon.

Information for Business (IFB) offers credit reports, skiptracing, asset search, employment verification, civil/criminal filings, and other business research services.  Subscriber prices are considerably below one-time search charges.

Tracer Services advertises skiptracing and asset searches. See also Stalker's Homepage, National Credit Information Network, and Find a Friend. Or find a jerk, for that matter. 

Many investigative firms specialize in obtaining information people would prefer to keep to themselves. The following may fit that description:  KnowX - Advanced Research, Inc - Dig Dirt, Inc.  NOTE:  If you click on Dig Dirt, Inc. you will get a flock of annoying pop-up windows.

There have been good reports from users of DBT Online for hard to get personal and financial information at a reasonable price. However, it appears to be better for Florida investigations than for those elsewhere. Available to Lawyers, licensed private investigators and government entities. 1-800-279-7710.

National Data Research has a well-made website with a straight-forward price list and a good explanation of privacy law, and claims to be able to do asset searches. ABC Reports offers background investigations.  Infoseekers advertises public record searches.  So does Strategic Data Services.  Informus.com emphasizes its service for employment screening.

United States Interlink does skiptracing at $4 per query, advertises that it is the cheapest way to get the kind of information it provides, and looks quite interesting. Apparently, you have to put at least $50 on deposit with them to get started. You must also document your legitimate business interest in subscribing to the service. Source Resources does public record and credit bureau searches according to a variable pricing schedule.

Electronic discovery is the business of firms such as Computer Forensics, Inc. and Ontrack.

Shopping for a private investigator you can go here.  For a repo man, here.

Other Goods and Services

M. Lee Smith Publishers offers state-specific products, such as an Arizona Employment Law Letter and an Arizona Environmental Compliance Update.

Brief Reporter, LLC, sells briefs. You can post your own to their database for the publicity it affords.

If you need a translator you can start here. Many broken links.  Here is a legal translation service.

Several commercial outfits advertise expert witnesses. You can do your own browsing and make your own deal. See Experts and Consultants on Page Eight.

The 'Lectric Law Library may be worth a visit if you have time. The use of humor is ok at first, but wears quickly thin if you have work to do. To save time go direct to their Forms, some of which you may be able to adapt for your use.

Forms are also available from QuickForms, FindLaw, Kerr Law Publications, CataLaw, and LawSmart. See also the free forms linked on Page Eight.

You can buy or sell law books on the web through the Law Book Network. 

An entertaining and useful book for those new to the profession is The Young Lawyer's Jungle Book. The author also provides links to other "great law books".

Netlawtools, Inc. sells web site development, publicity, upgrades and training.

Ontrack provides computer forensics.

Internet access to legal information for non-lawyers is getting big, along with access to lawyers who make themselves available via internet portals.  See USLaw.com, Nolo.com and Americounsel.com.

Onvia.com provides a way to bid for all manner of business-to-business goods and services online.

Research for Sale

Firms offering research, including my own, are linked from my commercial website.