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One of the most critical technology tools used by lawyers these days is computer-based legal research. This move away from printed copies of case law, statutes and other law
has been of tremendous value to lawyers. It has allowed them to cut library costs and to access relevant legal information quickly and efficiently.
Recognizing this important role
of computer-based research, in 1994 the Ohio State Bar Association joined in a partnership with a company called Lawriter to create an Ohio-specific library of information available on
CD-ROM. Five years later they moved this concept to the Internet and CaseMaker was born. In this partnership, the Bar's role was to choose the content for the system and Lawriter provided
the staffing and technology to serve the information up over the Internet.
The most unique aspect of this arrangement was that the services are provided to Ohio Bar members for f ree as
a member benefit. As would be expected, the members of the Ohio Bar were very excited about this idea. And since its implementation in 1999, the members have been extremely pleased with
the system and services.
With this success firmly in hand, the Ohio Bar decided to see if other state bars would be interested in joining a consortium, where each state bar would
choose the library content for that state and CaseMaker would be the engine to serve it up on the web. Again the idea had a unique aspect. As each state bar joins the consortium, the new
content is made available to existing users for free. This means as the consortium grows, so does its value.
And the consortium is growing. Beginning in 2000, Nebraska joined, soon
followed by North Carolina. Currently 13 state bars are signed up. The most recent additions have been Idaho and Oregon.1 The Utah State Bar is now
evaluating the possibility of joining the consortium.
Lawyer Feedback
A number of state bars prior to signing up conducted surveys of their membership about the concept.
Some of the bars, such as Nebraska, were considering dues increases to cover the cost to the bar for the service. The Nebraska survey asked members, "Would you be in favor of the
NSBA providing the Nebraska CaseMaker library online to every active member if it were funded by a $20 annual charge to each active member?" A remarkable 85% of the membership
responded positively. When Connecticut asked a similar question, 95% said yes. An interesting thing about these survey responses was that even when given an option to choose
"Zero," members overwhelmingly selected the higher amounts. This reflects how highly lawyers value this type of service.
As the Utah State Bar is exploring this idea, a
dues increase is not contemplated. However, any monies committed to such a program would impact the Bar's budget. Therefore the Bar wants its members to know it is considering the
CaseMaker option. Since Utah is early in the process, an exact budget amount is not yet available. To give at least an idea of the cost of this service, of the state bars that have signed
up, the cost per member has been around $15 to $20 per year. A very reasonable amount, given the current cost of similar online research tools available to members.
Next Steps
Debra Moore, President-Elect of the Utah State Bar, is heading up the effort to evaluate and potentially secure a CaseMaker deal. She has appointed a Committee to draft a set of
proposed library contents for Utah. Once this list is prepared, then a bid from CaseMaker will be secured. With the specific bid in hand, the Bar Commission will then be able to weigh the
cost of proceeding with such a deal against other Bar budgeting priorities.
The Committee has met and is in the process of finalizing a proposed library content list. The Committee
includes representatives from many walks of legal life. This includes practitioners, law librarians, judges, legal IT staff and government legal department staff. This approach should
give us the best possible library list. To give you an idea, this list will likely include Utah case law (since inception), the Utah Code, court rules, ethics opinions and some Utah
administrative law. Some federal appellate case law is already in the system, and Utah District Court decisions might be included.
The goal of such a list is to have the library
contain "90% of the content 90% of the membership needs." This quote comes from Denny Ramey, the Executive Director for the Ohio State Bar. That was his original goal when
building CaseMaker and has proven to be a successful approach to building state libraries.
Timing
On the current schedule, if the Bar Commission approves proceeding with
a CaseMaker service, Utah could likely be online in early 2004.
What it means for you?
As a lawyer who uses online legal research services, a CaseMaker service for Utah
law could prove to be very useful in your practice. It is unlikely it will completely replace your use of other services such as Westlaw and Lexis. However, given the experience in other
states, it will likely change how much and when you use other services.
The Utah State Bar is working to expand its offerings of member benefits. CaseMaker is one idea among many
others for making your Bar more relevant to your practice. Watch for more member benefit offerings in the future.
Your Input
The Utah State Bar is very interested in
hearing your thoughts on the CaseMaker concept. If you have questions, suggestions or any thoughts on this concept, please feel free to send them to: e-mail - casemaker@utahbar.org, call
- (801) 297-7027 or write to the Bar's address - CaseMaker, Utah State Bar, 645 South 200 East, SLC, UT 84111.
Footnote
1. Recently reciprocity with Idaho and Oregon went into effect, further raising the value of the CaseMaker proposition.
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