Librarian Focus
Librarian profile: Looking at the legal industry through an
analyst’s lens
You might call Marianne Purzycki a law firm librarian—but only if you mean she’s
a librarian who studies law firms.
“We follow law firms, that’s our ‘industry,’” she says. “Our library and our
research group provide a type of corporate research service, with a focus on the
legal industry. We scan legal industry news every day, so we can always have
our eye on what’s happening in the legal market both in the U.S. and around the
globe.”
As senior research analyst and member of the research team at the Hildebrandt
Institute, Purzycki produces research and analysis on the legal market and
provides data that is tailor-made to the needs of the legal industry. Purzycki and
the research team add value and insight by leveraging market intelligence to
understand and convey its impact on firms and the market segments in which
they operate.
A typical project might include helping a firm assess their market position on a
local, national and international basis, as well as within a particular practice area
or industry sector. This might include providing information and insight into
trends, such as globalization, consolidation, segmentation, pricing and regulatory
change; determining how markets have evolved in light of market trends and
likely future developments and challenges law firms face as a result; advising on
how the changing buying behaviors of clients impact the market; examining
current and potential market size and demand levels; and reviewing a firm’s
market reputation against existing and newly entered competition.
Working closely with clients to define the exact scope of the project, the team can
design and undertake market research projects which review a combination of
internal and external data from primary, secondary and proprietary sources. The
information is then compiled, distilled and interpreted so the client can get an
accurate and clear picture of the relevant issues under consideration.
In fact, that’s the sort of project that energizes Purzycki. “It’s the larger projects
that I think are the most interesting,” she adds, “where we’re looking at large
amounts of data over a long period of time and ask what story it’s telling us. It
forces me to ask not only what am I going to do with this data but how am I going
to present it in a fashion that is easy for people to see and read and understand.”
Is Purzycki a “non-traditional” librarian? It’s difficult to say these days, especially
as the role of the librarian everywhere continues to expand. “I know other
librarians are engaged in this type of research, but perhaps they’re not doing it
100% of the time,” she says. “Or they might be doing it in conjunction with
marketing, business development, or other groups within the firm.”
She believes a graduate library education, though not required for her work, is
extremely valuable. “Because they’ve got broad training, librarians are able to
draw on other resources besides law firm industry data and resources.” She also
draws from her several years in the corporate world as reference librarian,
business researcher and competitive information analyst. “I think that experience
in a corporate setting has been tremendously helpful in my current position
because, like graduate school, it gives you a strong foundation which you can
build upon, no matter what industry you are working in.”
==
Marianne Purzycki is senior research analyst at the Hildebrandt Institute, a
Thomson Reuters business. Her e-mail address is
marianne.purzycki@thomsonreuters.com.
==
Make the most of the mobility juggernaut!
by John J. DiGilio
“The only constant is change” may be a cliché, but it is also profoundly true when
it comes to advances in research technology. It seems like only yesterday we
were struggling with the transition of information from books to digital media
formats. At least the disks and terminals could be kept nearby and controlled.
Thanks to the juggernaut that is mobile technology, the resources of legal
research are today flying the library coop altogether, bringing us a whole new set
of concerns and possibilities.
Just last month, Apple set a new record, selling over four million iPhone units in
just one day. Its uber-portable iPad tablet also continues to dominate the mobile
computing market. Google's Android operating system is powering the growth of
a whole new sector of on-the-go technology. At last count, there are already over
two dozen mobile apps from a myriad of vendors that are specifically designed
for legal research. Westlaw® itself has been on the forefront with its powerful
WestlawNext® iPad App. The future is clearly here and it is not tethered to a
desk or even an office. It is portable and it travels in our pockets. These changes
are both exciting and vexing. As information professionals, we are on the front
lines helping our firms navigate the pitfalls and possibilities of this new digital
age.
Concerns in the Cloud
As concerns of security and cost controls temper their leaps into technology, law
firms understandably have been slow to embrace the new mobile technologies.
Blackberries and laptops are common. But great pains are taken to secure and
control their use, including access to firm networks. Despite all their power and
functionality, the newer gadgets are not supported by most firms; in many, their
use is counter to firm policy. Firms are holding out. The reality, of course, is that
regardless of policy, this technology is becoming more than merely common in
the hands of our attorneys and clients. It is becoming downright ubiquitous and
will not go ignored for long. We have to be prepared to face its challenges head
on.
The issue of security is tantamount. Smartphones and tablet computers do not
play by the same rules as desktops or even laptops. They are much more easily
moved, concealed, and transported. They are designed to access the Internet
quickly and easily and are thus not as encumbered by issues of connectivity.
Used properly, they can dramatically increase the productivity and efficiency of
the attorney on the go. Employed haphazardly or with little to no guidance, they
can create a logistical and administrative nightmare. To ensure proper usage,
firms need to begin incorporating these newer mobile technologies into their
computing policies and practices. Resistance truly is futile. The question is
whether we want to be in front of the ball or behind it in a legal market that is
growing increasingly competitive. A major step in the right direction is to
implement a sound set of guidelines and permitted uses.
Cost control and recovery seem to be the bane of every legal information
professional and the firm she or he serves. This is especially true when it comes
to legal research. It is quite common to find policies requiring the use of client
and matter billing numbers, bolstered by software tools that impose such steps,
when attorneys access online research sites via firm technology. Currently,
however, such systems are not available to monitor end-users when they access
those same tools via these new mobile apps. Does anyone really think that is
going to deter attorneys from downloading and using these apps? Most of them
are free to download and take seconds to set up! The best approach we can take
for now is to educate our users on the added importance of properly attributing
mobile research and how to best do so. If we know they are going to use them
anyway, why not make sure they are using them well?
Seizing the Opportunities
As much as we may fear the headaches and confusion that the transition to any
new technology may bring, we would be remiss to lose sight of the opportunities
for increased efficiency, productivity, and even competitive advantage that such
change offers. Any chance to do something differently should be greeted as a
chance to do it better. To support technologies that will give our users access to
the information they need, when they need it, is part and parcel of what we
librarians and information pros do. The tools and technology may change, but
this goal of ours stays fairly set. Remember how exciting it was when you first
offered courses on how to use the Internet and then the Web for legal research?
Frustrated by the fact that no one seems to care about such sessions anymore?
By getting a grip on the new mobile tools and teaching others how to master
them, each of us gets a chance to toe up to the cutting edge once again. Your
attorneys are probably already asking about the new apps that seem to be
popping up daily. Give them what they want and take control of the message!
The focus of so many programs and initiatives today seems to be to demonstrate
a firm's competitive edge, especially during these tighter economic times. From
value-added services to legal process mapping to specialized fee agreements
designed to control client prices, firms are looking for ways to stand apart from
the crowd. By empowering your users to work more efficiently and to get what
they need when they need it, you make a powerful statement in support of that
competitive advantage. Anything that makes an attorney more responsive and
efficient (without compromising the quality of his or her work) is a good thing from
the client's point of view. Cutting down on wasted time and effort through the
implementation of high quality, focused, mobile technology certainly fits that bill.
Have you seen Thomson Reuters ProView™ yet? Imagine your attorneys being
able to run off to a client meeting while prepping themselves with the finest
secondary and practice materials your firm has to offer. Not only can they carry a
whole chunk of your library in their briefcase, they can interact with it in the most
meaningful ways (e.g., supplying highlighting and notes). Thomson Reuters
ProView is taking mobile information to a whole new level. Try wowing a client
with that.
Here to Stay, So Stay Tuned
With the success of smartphones, eReaders, and now tablet computers, it should
be clear to us all that this is more than a technological fad. Mobile solutions are
shaping the information industry of tomorrow. Our libraries, as we have known
them, are changing yet again as the tools and information we provide transcend
space and time in ways we could hardly have imagined even just a few years
ago. Is this difficult? Sure. But it is also exciting. We have the ability to determine
whether yet another round of changes to information structure and delivery will
diminish what we do as librarians and information professionals. None are better
positioned than we to understand and master these new mobile tools. No one
can better help law firms to integrate and leverage these technologies. This is our
ever-evolving role as gurus of all that is good in the realm of legal research.
If you have not yet seen some of these new applications, e.g., WestlawNext for
the iPad or Thomson Reuters ProView, it is time you did. Talk to your reps about
what is available. Talk to your attorneys about what they may already be using on
those tablets and Smartphones they have at home. Most importantly, once you
get this all down, become an agent for responsible, thoughtful change within your
firms. With mobile technology and research solutions, the world is becoming your
library.
John J. DiGilio is manager of U.S. Research Services at Reed Smith LLP in
Chicago. His e-mail address is jdigilio@reedsmith.com.
==
In This Issue
The laws on the horizon
You can easily identify and retrieve proposed legislation.
When might you need the text of proposed legislation? We can think of at
least two situations:
 you need to know how the law is likely to apply to future events
 you need evidence of the intent behind an existing statute
Bill text databases
In either situation, a bill text database such as Congressional Bills (CONGBILLTXT) or Federal Taxation- Congressional Bills (FTX-BILLTXT) should be
kept close at hand. For example, CONG-BILLTXT contains every word of
congressional bills and resolutions introduced in the current Congress.
CONG-BILLTXT can be searched typing the information you know in the fillin-the-blank search template or by using the Terms and Connectors or
Natural Language search method. (To search all bills from 1995 on, access
Congressional Bills–104th Congress to Current (CONG-BILLTXT-ALL).) For
example, suppose you want the full text of any proposed legislation
pertaining to the privacy of student data on the Internet. Access CONGBILLTXT, click the Template tab if not already selected, and type the
following in the Bill Text text box: privacy /p student school education! /p
data. Then click Search Westlaw.
KeyCite® history
If you want proposed legislation that would amend, repeal, or otherwise
affect the statute you are viewing, you don't even need to run a search.
Click the yellow flag that appears at the top of the statute or on the Links
tab. (If there is no yellow flag, there is no proposed legislation on Westlaw
that would affect the statute.) The KeyCite history result is displayed, which
contains citations and links to proposed federal bills that would affect the
statute. To display a cited bill in full text, click its link.
In the alternative, click Proposed at the top of the document; a current list
of proposed legislation is displayed.
KeyCite Alert
If a given statute is particularly important to a project or your daily work,
you can have Westlaw automatically notify you if and when the statute's
KeyCite information (e.g., proposed legislation) changes. Click Alert Center
at the top of any page; then click Create Entry for KeyCite Alert and follow
the on-screen instructions. To access KeyCite Alert from a displayed statute,
you can simply click Monitor With KeyCite Alert on the Links tab in the left
frame and enjoy step-by-step assistance.
Now you have no excuse for getting caught unaware.
==
Matter Benchmark Reports: Legal industry insight—in seconds
WestlawNext contains many tools and features that streamline the practice of
law. A new tool on WestlawNext—Matter Benchmark Reports—streamlines the
business of law.
Matter Benchmark Reports provide unparalleled insights into billing rates, staffing
ratios, and trending analysis that allows firms to instantly understand how they
compare to their peers. Specifically, this tool makes it easy to



view benchmark rates comparing firms of all sizes, whether down the street
or across the country, in order to compete effectively
perform rate trending analysis to determine where there are opportunities to
capture more value from clients
identify geographic and legal subject-matter practice areas best suited for
expansion and growth
Matter Benchmark Reports are powered by Serengeti Tracker, which aggregates
data from more than 15,000 U.S. law firms and more than 400 corporations.
Billions of dollars in legal invoices flow through Serengeti Tracker annually, and
data is always up to date. Matter Benchmark Reports contains several filters
(including matter type, area of law, and firm location) that allow you to create
reports that “slice” the data in meaningful ways. The reports are easy to read,
complete with colorful PDFs containing intuitive charts, tables, and graphs. The
reports can then be e-mailed, downloaded (including to a Kindle), or printed.
Check out Matter Benchmark Reports yourself. Click the Tools tab on
WestlawNext, then click Matter Benchmark Reports on the Tools tab to get
started.
==
WestCheck.com®: Check your whole memo in one fell swoop
It takes a few seconds for WestCheck.com to verify that all citations in your
brief or memorandum are good law.
When you want to make sure a case, statute, regulation, or other legal authority
is good law, turn to KeyCite, which lets you know in seconds. But what if you
need to check a long list of citations, e.g., in a memorandum or brief? Is there
any alternative to plodding through the list one by one?
Yes: Use WestCheck.com. WestCheck.com is West’s automated citationchecking service on the Web that extracts all the citations from your document
and uses KeyCite to check the status of every authority on your list. (In the
alternative, WestCheck.com can check a list of citations that you manually type
or paste in the appropriate text box.) Your results are displayed in a single, easyto-read document—which you can print, e-mail, or view online.
How to Use
1.
Access WestCheck.com at https://westcheck.com. Sign on with your
username and password.
2.
At the WestCheck.com home page, select Extract citation(s) from a
document.
3.
Click Browse to select the document from which you want to extract
citations. A Choose File to Upload dialog box is displayed.
4.
Select the document from which you want to extract citations. Click
Open. Then click Next.
5.
On the next page that is displayed, click Extract Citation List in the
left frame. A list of your citations is displayed in the left frame. Above the
list of your citations are check boxes for the available WestCheck
services. Use the check boxes to select the services you want to run.
Then click Generate WestCheck Report.
==
Westlaw Doc & Form Builder: More flexibility when completing
graphical forms
Westlaw Doc & Form Builder is a single source of thousands of legal forms. But
its forms collection draws from many sources. These include government
sources (e.g., state statutes and court rules), which often provide fill-in-the-blank
graphical images. When completing these official forms, you may decide you
want to type text in a location not anticipated by the institution that created the
form. What then?
That’s the point of a new feature on Westlaw Doc & Form Builder: You can now
add a text box to a graphical form—wherever you want your text to appear. In
addition, the same text remains in that location when you rebuild the form for the
same case or client.
If you are building a graphical form using Westlaw Doc & Form Builder, you will
see an Add Item option on the toolbar above the form. Click Add Item and select
Blank Text Box from drop-down menu. A text box is added to the form. Type
text in the new text box, then drag the box to a new location as needed. (You can
add as many text boxes you see fit.) To remove a text box, hover over the text
box and click the X.
==
National Journal Group publications: A sharp focus on politics
and policy
“For more than 40 years,” writes the American Journalism Review,
“National Journal has been a leading player in the Washington information
game, acquiring a reputation for being comprehensive, objective, and
serious.” You can also stay current on Washington politics and policy by
reading the National Journal website NationalJournal.com.
You can now run a single search in the National Journal–All multibase
(NATJNL-ALL), released recently on Westlaw and WestlawNext, and
retrieve content from the weekly National Journal and the
NationalJournal.com website in one fell swoop. This release is an
important addition to NewsRoom, providing a well-respected source of
nonpartisan insight on inside-the-Beltway politics and policy
If you prefer, you can search these databases on Westlaw individually:

National Journal Magazine (NATJNLFT): Weekly print
publication providing in-depth coverage of federal government
policymaking, with beneath-the-surface coverage of the issues,
people, and organizations that shape national policy. National
Journal is widely read in all branches of government, in
businesses, and in the policy community. Coverage begins with
April 2008.

National Journal Online (NATJNLONLN): Coverage of
Washington politics and policy, as published on the
NationalJournal.com website. Updated daily. Coverage begins
with April 2011.
In addition, the respected National Journal Daily (formerly Congress Daily)
and National Journal Hotline are available on Westlaw in the following
databases:

National Journal Daily (CONGDLY): Formerly Congress Daily,
it’s the must-read daily chronicle of Capitol Hill business, people,
and politics (and cited hundreds of times in the Congressional
Record). Coverage begins with January 2002.

National Journal Hotline (Hotline): Daily news service for political
professionals and the national news media, with nonpartisan analysis of
politics, polling, and campaign developments. Coverage begins with
August 2008.
==
Government investigations and prosecutions: The inside scoop
When the federal government is your adversary, who’s in your corner? At
minimum, you want the perspective of someone with “insider” information.
That’s where these two resources—newly released on Westlaw and
WestlawNext—come in.
Department of Justice Manual: Peeking at their playbook
You’ve read the disclaimers: Government agency manuals are for official
guidance only and “are not intended to, do not, and may not be relied
upon to create a right or benefit.”
But if the federal government is your adjudicator or adversary, its internal
manuals can be your best friends. “Many agency manuals provide insights
which aid in client planning,” say the experts. “When constructing a case in
support of a certain agency decision which is desired, the agency's
manuals in the area should be consulted to find the closest support for the
desired position.” James T. O’Reilly, FEDERAL INFORMATION DISCLOSURE, §
6:3 (3d ed. 2011).
The Department of Justice Manual, recently released on WestlawNext and
in the Department of Justice Manual database (DOJML) on Westlaw,
gathers the following DOJ resources in one convenient location:




U.S. Attorneys’ Manual
Asset Forfeiture Manual
Freedom of Information Case List
merger guidelines of the DOJ Antitrust Division
By consulting this resource, you’ll be better able to





request immunity for clients using terminology and criteria already
used by DOJ attorneys
ensure your Freedom of Information Act request stays clear of
exempted categories of information
avoid automatic denial of discovery requests
prepare for likely issues with government evidence
propose settlements or plea-bargain agreements
You can search DOJML using the Terms and Connectors or Natural
Language search method. In addition, you can use the Table of Contents
service to quickly retrieve relevant sections by clicking section names.
Sections typically contain links to full-text sources.
DCIGI: How should your company handle government scrutiny?
Government investigation of corporations and executives is heating up. For
example:

The U. S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has been escalating
enforcement efforts under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
(FCPA); 2011 already has seen two of the ten largest corporate
FCPA recoveries in history.

The DOJ has increased prosecution of white-collar offenses
through efforts such as the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task
Force's "Operation Broken Trust."

The DOJ is aggressively pursuing insider trading and using
investigative methods not previously associated with these cases.

As compared to 2009, the Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC) opened a higher number of formal investigations and filed a
higher number of cases in 2010; the number of FCPA actions filed
by the agency nearly doubled from 2009 to 2010.

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act
("Dodd-Frank"), passed in 2010, is calculated to spur even more
enforcement activity by creating powerful incentives for people
with knowledge of alleged violations of securities laws to report
them to the SEC.
Haywood S. Gilliam Jr. and Joshua D. Hurwit, Be Quick, Don’t Hurry:
Commencing an Internal Investigation in an Era of Aggressive
Enforcement, 1891 PLI/CORP 75 (2011).
Whether your business client is trying to survive a government
investigation or keeping its nose clean just in case, you’ll want the
seasoned guidance in Defending Corporations and Individuals in
Government Investigations close at hand. This nuts-and-bolts guide by
Daniel Fetterman and Mark Goodman (each was both a former federal
prosecutor and white-collar defense attorney) is now available in the
Defending Corporations and Individuals in Government Investigations
database (DCIGI) on Westlaw (westlaw.com). This publication covers such
issues as how to conduct an internal investigation; how to defend clients in
FCPA, SEC, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), and other
criminal and civil investigations; how to manage the media during an
investigation; and how maintain a productive relationship with government
lawyers. A typical section contains links to the full text of cited authorities.
DCIGI is current through July 2011 and is updated annually.
The easiest way to browse the contents (intuitively organized in 15
chapters) and retrieve important sections is to use the Table of Contents
service.
==
Official definitions
It should be easy to find cases and statutes that define a particular word or
phrase.
And it is easy. In fact, you have several options on Westlaw, including the
following:
word term phrase +1 [your term]
Judges frequently define a term by assigning a particular meaning to “the term x,”
“the word y,” or “the phrase xyz.” As a result, you are likely to retrieve relevant
results by searching for the term or phrase where it appears immediately after
term, word, or phrase. For example, use this search:
term word phrase +1 gift
Words-phrases field (wp) in case law and statutes databases
When you want a definition right “from the horse’s mouth,” i.e., from the case or
statute that provided it, you can access the appropriate case law or statutes
database and add a words-phrases field (wp) restriction to your query. The
words-phrases field contains any term that appears within quotation marks in the
document. For example, to retrieve federal cases that define the phrase frivolous
claim, access the All Federal Cases database (ALLFEDS). Then type a query
such as wp(frivolous /4 claim) and click Search Westlaw.
Black’s Law Dictionary (BLACKS)
Though Black’s Law Dictionary is a secondary source, its definitions come
directly from primary authorities. The search template in the Blacks Law
Dictionary database (BLACKS) makes it easy to search—simply type a word or
Terms and Connectors phrase in the Enter Dictionary term text box. When
available, definitions contain links to cited authorities.
==