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Professional Update
Issue 11, November/December 2006
- SPOTLIGHT ON ... 1) New Global Intellectual Property Law Service Gives Legal Insights into 220 Countries 2) Global IP Law Service:
Search, Browse or Compare Laws
- KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE ...LexisNexis® Publisher is Built Especially for the “Gurus”
- THRIFTY SEARCHER ... Subscriber Succes Story Features LexisNexis Publisher
- LIBRARIAN TO LIBRARIAN ...Measuring Editorial Quality at LexisNexis: Commitment to Performance Excellence Helps Ensure Case Law Accuracy
- FYI FLASH ...1)Court Document Retrieval Can Be a One-Stop Task 2) New Pamphlet Helps Attorneys Navigate Pension Protection Act of 2006 3) Try Out the LexisNexis® Toolbar Yet?
- FOR IPs ONLY ...Apply Now for 2007 Advanced Management (AMPLL) Conference
SPOTLIGHT ON. . . 1)New Global Intellectual Property Law Service Gives Legal Insights into 220 Countries 2) Global IP Law Service: Search, Browse or Compare Laws
1)New Global Intellectual Property Law Service Gives Legal Insights into 220 Countries
If your organization has an intellectual property team—or your business team monitors new product development, branding strategies, intellectual property regulation and more—chances are your research has gone global. In fact, you may find yourself searching intellectual property (IP) law from around the world.
Now you can gain access to an additional resource that can help you and your IP professionals succeed—an IP information tool that covers more than 220 countries and is backed by a network of practicing legal associates.
LexisNexis now offers the Global IP Law Service powered by Equerion—comprehensive coverage of international, regional and domestic laws related to patents, trademarks, utility models and industrial designs. LexisNexis provides the interface; Equerion provides the data and acts as Web host.
The flexible interface lets you browse IP legal doctrine via navigable topical hierarchies. Or search for specific topics. (Add optional key terms.) A special Consolidated Report feature lets you search IP information for up to 30 countries simultaneously.
And once you have retrieved results, your answer set documents, as well as the searches you used, can be stored. All searches can be tracked by client matter number and queried later for use information.
Here are the highlights:
Global IP Law Service
- Intellectual Property law for more than 220 countries and territories.
- Practice and Proceedings guidance (full-text practical guide documents; similar to a legal digest) from a network of international IP practitioners. Plus get legislation and regulation as well as news and updates from the IP network on primary law changes.
- Browse primary law. Search. Compare and contrast IP information from 30 countries simultaneously.
- Store retrieved documents and searches (up to 30 searches). Plus manage, download, e-mail and print previously stored documents.
- Track searches by client matter; monitor search activity by client; even generate reports.
2) Global IP Law Service: Search, Browse or Compare Laws
Global IP Law Service is a separate, online service available from a unique URL: www.globaliplaw.service.com (This site also offers additional product information and a detailed online tour.)
After sign-in, subscribers can navigate the main menu screen easily.
- Select an area of research. Just choose a tab—Patents, Trademarks, Utility Models or Industrial Designs
- Then choose a research method. You can select Search, Browse by Country or Consolidated Report.
Browse by Country
Click the Browse by Country tab, and you can study IP legal doctrine via navigable topical hierarchies.
- Select a country or territory from the drop-down list, e.g., Australia.
- Select a resource—Proceedings & Practice, Legislation & Regulation or News & Updates.
- (Optional) Enter a client code.
- Click BROWSE.
You’ll move directly to a navigable Table of Contents. Click + next to topics to open a level. Click – to close a level. For example, open Patentability. Full-text documents are marked with a red block. Click on the full-text link to open the document. (The document you are viewing is highlighted in bold face.)
If you choose, print, download, e-mail or store your document on the Global IP Law Service for later use. Just use the links at the top of the document. To browse another country, click the +Show button to display the browse template.
Search
You need guidance on trademark infringement laws in France. Select the TRADEMARK tab. Then click the SEARCH tab. Now you see your search form. (See screen to the right.)
- Select a country or territory from the drop-down list, e.g., France.
- Select a resource, in this case, Proceedings & Practice.
- Once you select a resource, the topic drop-down menu is populated. Choose your topic, e.g., Infringement. The second drop-down list allows you to further refine your search (optional).
- Enter a client matter (optional).
- Click SEARCH.
Guidance documents are written by Equerion staff. Equerion partners with Intellectual Property law firms in each country to receive up-to-date information on IP legislation.
Your search results are displayed beneath the search form. Click on a document link to open it. To return to your research list, click Back. If you choose, print, download, e-mail or store your document on the Global IP Law Service. Just use the links at the top of the full-text document.
To enter another search, just enter new search information on the search form. If you are viewing a full-text document, click the + Show button to display the search form.
Consolidated Report
Designed for researchers who need legal guidance on multiple countries—or need to compare the laws of different countries—the Consolidated Report feature displays your topic in the context of the countries you select. To use the Consolidate Report feature, once you select your area of research—Patents, Trademarks, Utility Models or Industrial Designs—just click on the CONSOLIDATED REPORT tab. (See below.) Then:
- Select a topic, e.g., Prior Use.
- Choose a title, e.g., Acknowledgement.
- Select countries/territories; just scroll through the list and check boxes.
- Click GO.
Your search results show countries in alphabetical order with the proper guidance highlighted. You can also open and view the guidance in context and even return to the hierarchy to expand your research.
KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE. . .LexisNexis® Publisher is Built Especially for the “Gurus”
By Carol Barra , LexisNexis Senior Librarian Relations Consultant
As librarians, we’ve always been perceived as the research and information dissemination “gurus.”
We have the expertise to conduct simple and complex research. And who better to formulate searches that provide targeted results to the entire organization? We understand how to manipulate searches with segments, precision search terms and connectors. We know how to use LexisNexis SmartIndexing Technology™ terms to home in on research results that provide just the right information for the organization.
LexisNexis Publisher was created for librarian “gurus.”
LexisNexis Publisher is a current-awareness tool that empowers librarians to disseminate LexisNexis content on a scheduled basis—via e-mail, intranet, portal, BlackBerry® wireless handheld and the Internet.
With LexisNexis Publisher, you can deliver vital information needed daily to track business trends, clients and their industries, prospective clients and their industries, competitors, and much more.
LexisNexis Publisher delivers results from the most comprehensive collection of legal, news and business sources. For example, tap more than 20,000 news and business resources, including Factiva® news sources. Or check daily changes in vital lawsuits or legislation. (See LexisNexis Publisher in action in Thrifty Searcher on page 06:141.)
To assist librarians in getting the most from LexisNexis Publisher, the LexisNexis Librarian Relations Group has created a special resource page on the LexisNexis InfoPro Web site.
The LexisNexis Publisher Resource Center is located at http://www.lexisnexis.com/infopro/publisher Or … at the LexisNexis InfoPro home page, go to Research Tools for Librarians (the drop-down in the middle of the screen, under the picture of the LexisNexis Librarian Relations Consultants.) Select Publisher Resource Center.
The LexisNexis Publisher Resource Center offers information in these categories:
- About LexisNexis Publisher
- Searching in LexisNexis Publisher
- Recent LexisNexis Publisher Enhancements
- Best Practice Tips while using LexisNexis Publisher (including designing searches and verifying results)
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Ask a Question About LexisNexis Publisher
Also find literature to help you use LexisNexis Publisher in your firm:
- Empower Your Enterprise with LexisNexis Publisher
- LexisNexis Publisher on BlackBerry
- LexisNexis Publisher User Guide
And you’ll discover links to Web sites that provide current information powered by LexisNexis Publisher—good examples of the flexibility built into LexisNexis Publisher. (Find a law-firm site as well as several LexisNexis sites powered by LexisNexis Publisher.) For example, you and your organization can customize the appearance of the current-awareness search results.
There’s more! To help LexisNexis Publisher customers keep up with the latest product developments as well as to provide feedback to LexisNexis and to share best practices with the community of LexisNexis Publisher users, LexisNexis also offers a LexisNexis Publisher Users Group that meets periodically.
LexisNexis Publisher is a powerful product that will provide your organization with easy access to current information critical to the profitability and growth of business. And librarians—the “gurus”—are most equipped to use it.
Your LexisNexis Librarian Relations Consultant or your LexisNexis account team will be happy to show you a demonstration of LexisNexis Publisher and provide additional product information.
THRIFTY SEARCHER. . . Subscriber Succes Story Features LexisNexis Publisher
Dear Thrifty Searcher:
Here’s a success story for your readers…. For years, individuals in our estate-planning group went online each month to retrieve the new Applicable Federal Rate (AFR). Specifically they went to the Internal Revenue Bulletin for the Revenue Ruling announcing the AFR change. Our reference team tried monthly alerts—an OK solution, but the alert message didn’t show the new AFR, only a link to the site that provided it. Finally, with LexisNexis Publisher, we created a monthly monitoring service that distributes only when the new rates come out. And it displays the new AFR. Plus, using the editing features of LexisNexis Publisher, we’ve included a link to the historical AFRs on the IRS Web site.
Anonymous
Dear Anonymous:
Thank you! We’ve nothing to add. Your reference team and LexisNexis Librarian Relations Consultant Carol Barra have covered LexisNexis Publisher quite well this issue. (To see Carol Barra’s article on LexisNexis Publisher, see the Knowledge Exchange.)
Readers: ISO 9001:2000 registration ensures that CLC’s editorial and quality management systems comply with applicable international standards and requirements, as established by the International Organization for Standardization, the world’s leading developer of international standards, and its U.S. counterpart, the ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board.
The new editorial system has also allowed LexisNexis to bid successfully for official report contracts. In 2003, shortly after the final release of the redesigned system, LexisNexis was named as the publisher for the California Reports. The contract was awarded after a thorough comparison of the editorial processes used by the two major bidders, including quality results.
Edward Jessen, the reporter of decisions for California, summarizes his up-close and personal perception of CLC quality:
“Our experience with LexisNexis as official publisher of the California Official Reports, both online and print, is that the dedication to accuracy is extraordinary; the response from anywhere in the organization to any concerns we have over accuracy is unfailingly quick and serious. In my view, editorial quality at LexisNexis is a strong corporate advantage from which we benefit every day.”
LIBRARIAN TO LIBRARIAN...Measuring Editorial Quality at LexisNexis: Commitment to Performance Excellence Helps Ensure Case Law Accuracy
by Jane W. Morris, Director of Customer Programs, LexisNexis Case Law & Citations
Case law quality can be measured several ways. Accredited certification authorities can audit rigorously and can confer (or withhold) their seals of approval. Industry sources and experts can evaluate, rate and rank. The most important measurement is customer satisfaction. Subscribers test quality every day.
LexisNexis evaluates its editorial and quality management for case law by all three benchmarks. And, as you read further, you can see how we excel in these measurements. But more importantly, the LexisNexis case law team has committed itself to a principle: Performance excellence is a journey, never a final destination. Keep measuring…. Keep achieving.
Rigorous editorial-quality guidelines have always been in place at LexisNexis. The LexisNexis services could not have survived the exponential growth of online legal services in the 1980s without satisfying subscriber needs for top quality. But today’s concerted focus on quality dates back to the mid-1990s, when LexisNexis grew through the acquisition of Shepard’s® Citations Service and Auto-Cite®.
As part of the assimilation process, LexisNexis editorial leadership, under the direction of senior vice president Gary Pollard, began identifying and leveraging core competencies and key areas of expertise. The overarching goal was to create an efficient editorial structure that would allow LexisNexis to meet—and surpass—researchers’ needs for more timely and accurate legal information.
After much study, the former Shepard’s editorial organization, headquartered in Colorado Springs, was given responsibility for maintaining and developing the LexisNexis collection of U.S. case law. Renamed Case Law & Citations (CLC), the organization embarked on its journey to transform the processing of LexisNexis case law. That meant developing an integrated editorial-processing system that would make the basic content of case law even more valuable and accessible to legal researchers.
After many years (and multiple millions of dollars in investment), the new editorial system had its final major release in March 2003.
The new system’s design included tools to facilitate tracking organizational and individual performance using two key criteria: quality and currentness. Today these tools are important components of the CLC culture of continuous process improvement. Managing by metrics helps ensure that CLC is fulfilling customers’ needs for accurate and timely case law.
The quality-management system is all-encompassing and includes policy and process documentation as well as an extensive training program. Every production employee’s work is audited, using statistically valid random samples based on performance. Scoring is based on decision-making opportunities. For example, does a link that a content editor validated go to the right document? Did a legal editor choose the proper Shepard’s treatment phrase as documented in the editorial guidelines?
Special quality audits examine some of the most important aspects of CLC’s work. For example, an enhanced history audit helps ensure that Shepard’s editors are correctly identifying subsequent appellate histories, which are mission-critical to legal research customers.
For four years now, the CLC editorial training efforts have helped earn LexisNexis a place on Training magazine’s “Top 100” list of companies that make significant “strategic and creative” investments in employee training and development. At #39 on the 2006 list (up seven positions from 2005), Training cited the editorial organizations’ use of training to improve business processes.
The focus on quality has also led CLC to participate in the Colorado Performance Excellence (CPEx) program, which is part of the Baldrige National Quality Program. Based on the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence, the CPEx program involves an extensive application process, including a several-day on-site evaluation by a team of expert CPEx examiners.
The CLC organization has now been working within the Baldrige framework for the past three years and has been recognized for performance excellence with three progressively higher CPEx awards. The feedback received from the application process has proven valuable to CLC’s continuous improvement effort.
In August 2006, CLC also completed registration to ISO 9001:2000, including a comprehensive audit by an accredited certification body. The ISO audit looked at the entire quality-management system and all processes used in the analysis, editing, summarizing, publication and library storage of case law and citations.
FYI Flash...1)Court Document Retrieval Can Be a One-Stop Task 2) New Pamphlet Helps Attorneys Navigate
Pension Protection Act of 2006 3) Try Out the LexisNexis® Toolbar Yet?
1)Court Document Retrieval Can Be a One-Stop Task
Order documents from any federal or state court nationwide via the CourtLink® Document Retrieval Service, and count on one source to manage all of your document-retrieval requirements—one customer service organization, one fee structure and invoicing policy.
Place your order online at http://courtlink.lexisnexis.com (Just select the Order Documents link at the top of the screen.) Or call toll free at 866-540-8818 (9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. ET). Receive personal attention from experienced CourtLink Court Research Analysts. Their court-specific and geographic expertise helps them pinpoint newly filed or hard-to-find cases—even if you have limited information.
Jennifer C. Groh, Library Manager at Morgan & Finnegan LLC, notes:
“I’m your biggest fan! I’m never going back to the competition. You have absolutely, positively won me over…. I only gave vague party names and was iffy about it being in the Northern District of California. It’s not even on PACER. Good job and kudos all around.”
After placing an order, get e-mail confirmation summarizing your request, the estimated cost for retrieving the requested documents and the estimated delivery time. (You choose the delivery method—fax, e-mail in PDF format, express mail or courier.) You’ll also get periodic updates on the status of your order. Or check status online 24/7.
CourtLink Document Retrieval Service Highlights
- Order dockets and documents from all federal and state courts.
- Receive high-quality customer support from CourtLink Court Research Analysts.
- Get e-mail order confirmation.
- Check the status of your order online—any time—through the Dockets & Documents tab on the CourtLink site.
- Count on one monthly invoice for all your orders.
“I appreciate CourtLink customer service, pricing and the constant communication as to the status of my order. As a legal assistant for a busy group of attorneys, my job is made easier when I have a vendor I know I can count on to get the job done right the first time,” states Shannon Savage, Legal Assistant at Kane, Russell, Coleman & Logan, P.C.
2) New Pamphlet Helps Attorneys Navigate Pension Protection Act of 2006
The Pension Protection Act of 2006 was signed by President Bush August 17, 2006. Since this legislation represents the most comprehensive pension-reform legislation in more than 30 years, the expert Matthew Bender® pension authors have written an insightful 70-page pamphlet with commentary, analysis and practice pointers to help practitioners navigate the complex provisions of this groundbreaking law.
Pension Protection Act of 2006: A Summary and Commentary has been shipped without additional charge to subscribers of Employee Benefits Guide. The pamphlet is also available at the LexisNexis® Online Bookstore at
www.lexisnexis.com/bookstore (Discounts are available for multiple copies.)
3) Try Out the LexisNexis® Toolbar Yet?
Get fast, convenient access to LexisNexis resources from anywhere on the Web.
The LexisNexis Toolbar is always open in your browser. Customize your toolbar with a variety of practice-area and jurisdictional sources available via the LexisNexis services. (Plus find major news sources, federal materials, and Martindale-Hubbell® Law Directories.)
Set up your toolbar to accept Boolean or natural-language searches—or to detect either automatically. Even perform Web searches using the Google® or MSN® search engines directly from the LexisNexis Toolbar.
LexisNexis Toolbar Version 1.1—and now LexisNexis Toolbar Foxfire Edition 1.0—is available for download without cost at http://www.lexisnexis.com/toolbar/
FOR IPs ONLY ... Apply Now for 2007 Advanced Management (AMPLL) Conference
The Sixth Conference on Advanced Management for Private Law Librarians (AMPLL), scheduled for April, is now accepting applications. If you are a law librarian working in a management position, e.g., library manager, director or department head in a private law firm or corporate legal department, this is your opportunity to sharpen your management skills.
Sponsored by the LexisNexis Librarian Relations Group, the mission for the 2007 AMPLL conference is to “Leverage Firm Assets to Achieve Library Goals.” Through presentations, structured breakout sessions and demonstrations, attendees will learn to better identify management challenges, to strategize for successful partnerships, to sharpen negotiation skills and to communicate effectively with upper management. Plus, there will be plenty of opportunities to network with conference faculty, advisory council and other attendees.
AMPLL is scheduled for April 20 – 22 at the Westin Stonebriar Resort in Dallas, Texas. The conference begins at 2 p.m. April 20, and concludes at 11:30 a.m. April 22. Attendees are expected to attend all sessions and meals.
Hurry! Deadline for application is December 15. And enrollment is limited to 30 participants.
There is no registration fee to attend the AMPLL Conference. LexisNexis will cover the cost of all conference materials, meals, lodging and transportation to and from the Dallas airport. (Selected participants are responsible for their own airfare to and from the conference and any personal incidental charges.)
The 2007 AMPLL Advisory Council will select participants and will strive for diversity in geographical distribution, firm size, and managerial experience and responsibilities. Past applicants who were not accepted are encouraged to re-apply. Apply electronically at www.lexisnexis.com/ampllapp (by end of day December 15).
Applicants will be notified of their acceptance by February 16. If you have any questions about the conference, please contact Jenny Kanji at LexisNexis: jenny.kanji@lexisnexis.com or 800-375 4458.
2007 AMPLL Council and Faculty
Monice Kaczorowski (Neal Gerber & Eisenberg LLP)
Jenny Kanji (LexisNexis)
Gayle Lynn-Nelson (LexisNexis)
Holly Pinto (Holland & Hart LLP)
Holly Riccio (O’Melveny & Myers LLP)
Virginia Smith (Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice PLLC)
Cindy Spohr (Sr. Director, LexisNexis Librarian Relations Group)
LexisNexis™ Information Professional Update
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LexisNexis Information Professional Update is a monthly newsletter (November/December issues combined) for law-firm, law-school, corporate, and government information professionals published by
LexisNexis, P.O. Box 933, Dayton, OH 45401-0933.
Managing Editor
Barbara M. Byrd
barbara.byrd@lexisnexis.com
Contributors
Peter Adams, Beverly Burns, Kara Cox,
Lorraine Gongla-Coppinger, Jayne Nash,
Carol Sandy
Legal Liaison
Shari Townsend
For comments or questions regarding legal products, contact:
Cindy Spohr, MLS
Senior Director, Librarian Relations Group
cindy.spohr@lexisnexis.com
LexisNexis, Shepard’s, Martindale-Hubbell and the Knowledge Burst logo are registered trademarks and LexisNexis SmartIndexing Technology is a trademark of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used under license. CourtLink is a registered trademark of LexisNexis CourtLink, Inc. Auto-Cite is a registered trademark of Reed Elsevier Inc. Matthew Bender is a registered trademark of Matthew Bender Properties Inc. Other products or services may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
© 2006 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier. All Rights Reserved. LB2006-11 1106
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