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Originally Posted by balok
I completely agree. I've found that I'm more efficient in legal research when using real books. In fact, as a young lawyer, I definitely think I have an edge over other lawyers my age who favour electronic tools and neglect printed volumes. Some inexperienced researchers will even miss important cases because their "keywords" in their database query, even when well chosen, were unable to bring forth all relevant results.
I don't see how an ebook reader could be of use to a lawyer, except possibly for reading entire treatises or long cases.
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It's a mixed bag for a lawyer. I keep relevant statutes and the current rules of procedure on the JBLLite and it's convenient to have them handy. Judges don't seem to care if the point is familiar. Case law is another matter. They may be public record, but Lexis-Nexis-West are not going to give up their indexed material.
No question in my mind that research in printed volumes is still prime, but electronic searches are an important supplement.
I also do a lot of historical research, and for that there's no substitute for a well-stocked library with materials going back into the dark ages. I used to relax deep in the stacks reading, really browsing, through the debates at the constitutional convention. It made me appreciate the depth of knowledge and reasoning that went into the formation of this country.
Finally, there's what I call the 1984 factor. When I read a case in the hardbound Southern Reporter volume printed in the same year a case was decided, I can be pretty sure that's really how the opinion was written. If I read a case online, how do I know the wording hasn't been edited to reflect what some later person wanted the case to hold? Yes, there was always the possibility that West's editors might alter something. But the distribution of thousands of printed volumes in lawyer's offices and courthouses made it impossible to change once printed.
Just some late ruminations.