Free legal research available
Free legal research available
Visit floridabar.org to access fastcase online services
Fastcase, the Bar-approved free legal research service for its members, is now up and running.
The service, available through the Bar’s Web site at www.floridabar.org, went online as the Bar’s Annual Meeting opened June 22 in Orlando. The Bar had hoped to provide the program earlier in the month, but problems with the Bar’s Internet service forced a delay of several days.
Fastcase President Phil Rosenthal manned a booth at the Annual Meeting explaining the service to Bar members, and said he found a receptive audience.
“People are coming up and saying they just started their practice and they’re so relieved they have this free member benefit,” he said.
Approved by an enthusiastic Board of Governors earlier this year, the five-year contract provides free access to most state and federal resources pertaining to Florida to all Bar members. For an additional $195 annually, Bar members can buy access to fastcase’s complete national law database, covering all 50 states and all federal courts. That service typically sells for $995 annually.
“It’s really a great thing. It’s one of the best things that has happened to the Bar,” said Frank Walker, a member of the Board of Governors and chair of the Member Benefits Committee, when the panel met at the Annual Meeting.
Immediate past Bar President Kelly Overstreet Johnson touted the program as a major accomplishment for the past year in her farewell address during the convention’s General Assembly.
To underscore the committee’s support for the program and belief in its importance for Bar members, Walker suggested, and the committee agreed, to monitor its operation at every committee meeting during the coming year. That will enable members to evaluate the service’s operations. To assist in that effort, members also said they would ask fastcase to keep a log of calls from Bar members.
Committee member Ike Iaconis, who worked extensively to bring the research benefit to the Bar, said he had a chance to try the service before the Annual Meeting. He said fastcase is providing a good basic service, but it won’t have all the bells and whistles of some expensive online legal research services.
“It’s working; it’s working well. There is some fine-tuning that has been suggested,” he said. “If you try it, you’re going to really like it. It’s not a Cadillac; it’s a Chevrolet.”
Fastcase, however, does provide dual column printing of opinions, Iaconis said, and its presentation on the Internet is “clear as a whistle.”
Under the contract with the Bar, fastcase is providing at no cost to members Florida Supreme Court decisions since 1950, and all district court of appeal opinions since the inception of the DCAs. Also included will be all U.S. Supreme Court decisions, opinions from the Fifth and 11th U.S. circuit courts of appeal, the Florida Administrative Code, Florida Statutes, and the Florida Constitution.
Access is through the Bar’s Web site at www.floridabar.org. A button on the right side of the screen will take members to a fastcase log-in page. (Bar members log-in name is their attorney number, while the password is the same as they have set up for the Bar’s storefront operations that allow members to pay dues or sign up for CLE courses online. There will be a link for members if they have not previously signed up and created a password.)
Once signed in, members will go to a fastcase page that allows them to begin a search. That page has tips for conducting an efficient search and instructions, such as searching for opinions or subjects during a specific time frame. A name or subject can be typed in the search box, and all related cases, statutes, and cites will be returned.
Those using the free service will automatically have their searches limited to the state and federal courts and sources listed above. Those who sign up for the $195 national service will have the option of selecting a national search or Florida-related search.
“The most significant comment you’ll hear is people aren’t believing it. People don’t believe they have this opportunity,” Iaconis said. He added some people have thought the service would be free for a few weeks or months and then they would have to pay, and were happy to learn the Florida service is free for as long as they want to use it.
“It’s happening; it’s terrific,” he said. “People are excited.”
Iaconis said there is a link to fastcase’s Web site from the search page, and members can find a number for a help desk there. He reported that he called late in the evening and found the desk both manned and helpful.
