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Bar News - November 22, 2002 Bar Provides Members Free Online Access to NH Case Law Casemaker Web Library Launched AN EXCLUSIVE BENEFIT becomes available to NH Bar members later this month with the launch of the New Hampshire Bar Association Casemaker Web Library, available through the "For Members" section. Unlike commercial law libraries, Casemaker is a benefit of Bar membership and involves no per-minute charges or subscription fees. (At press time, the NH case law library developed by Casemaker was being linked to the Bar’s Web site. Check the home page for a tutorial and updates on the availability of the database, which should occur by the end of the month; the Bar’s e-mail newsletter, NHBA E-Bulletin, will immediately circulate an announcement of the library’s launch. If you do not currently receive the E- bulletin, contact nhbainfo@nhbar.org with your e-mail address so you can begin making use of this resource as soon as it is available.) The searchable online library contains all New Hampshire Supreme Court cases dating back to 1872, utilizing West pagination, along with NH RSAs, administrative rules and Casemaker Web libraries for Massachusetts, Connecticut and several other states. (See sidebar for list.) In coming months, Vermont, Rhode Island, Maine and several other states will come online. "This money-saving service enhances members’ ability to research the law in New Hampshire, and it also equips us with much more than that," said NHBA President Marty Van Oot. "Casemaker provides access to case law in our neighboring states – an especially helpful and timely service now that our Supreme Court has established reciprocity rules." Casemaker will enable Bar members in any practice setting to have access to the latest case law in an easy-to-use searchable format without fees. "The Bar is excited to offer this important service to its members. Casemaker will save Bar members money and gives them access to legal research tools they need to deliver the highest-quality legal services to their clients. For Bar members in any practice setting, and for our judicial members, Casemaker will be an invaluable resource," said NHBA Executive Director Jeannine L. McCoy. The NHBA Casemaker Web Library will be updated regularly with the latest NH Supreme Court decisions, as well as changes to court rules or administrative rules, RSAs or other libraries. The initial menu of New Hampshire offerings will be supplemented with other New Hampshire resources as needs and member preferences dictate. According to Denny L. Ramey, executive director of the Ohio State Bar Association, which originally developed Casemaker, "Many lawyers in the consortium states can fulfill most, if not all, of their computer-assisted online legal research needs with Casemaker. For some practitioners, Casemaker augments other online legal research tools. Casemaker is a cost saver – a benefit for practice management and potentially for consumers of legal services." Members will also realize savings through very low-cost access to the NH library on CD-ROM, to be updated quarterly. "We believe members wishing to use the CD-ROM version for ‘off-line’ access will be amazed at the low subscription price," added McCoy. To introduce Casemaker, the NHBA is currently developing short training sessions to be held at local and county bar meetings or at other gatherings. You also may simply click on the Casemaker logo at the top-right of the home page, log in to "For Members," and explore the library yourself. Tutorial materials, frequently asked questions, and a downloadable users’ manual can immediately get you started on experiencing the value of Casemaker – all at no cost. NH case law, without annotations, was compiled into a Web-based library over the past nine months by Lawriter Corp., a subsidiary of the Ohio State Bar Association. The OSBA initially developed the Casemaker concept for its own members and then began recruiting other bars to participate in a consortium that allows each member association to decide which materials to include in its specific library. Each member association also has access to the law libraries compiled by other consortium members and to federal case law, including most of the US circuit courts and the US Supreme Court. The NHBA’s participation in Casemaker came in response to overwhelming member support for low-cost access to online legal research, as expressed in a survey conducted by the Bar last year. Access to Casemaker will be through the Members Only section of the Bar’s Web site, and will be free to all Bar members using their existing NHBA Web site password. Bar members surveyed last year helped guide the NH Bar in deciding to include case law from as far back as 1872 – given the relative paucity of case law in some areas for a small state like NH. The value of Casemaker for New Hampshire practitioners is particularly enhanced by the participation of all other New England states. At this writing, Casemaker has online libraries for Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Hampshire, with Rhode Island expected to be online next month and Vermont in Jan. 2003. The library launch for Maine had not yet been set yet, but officials say it will probably take place in the second half of 2003. To date, the Casemaker Consortium serves more than 160,000 American lawyers. The goal is to include Casemaker members in all 50 states.
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