JD Supra

As a follow up to our post last week regarding the “Public Library of Law” a reader wrote in about a new site called JD Supra that is attempting to become the YouTube of legal filings (or even more precisely, the Scribd of legal filings). The site is free, which makes it an attractive alternative to the overpriced Lexis and Westlaw services. Because the content is user submitted, it is far less comprehensive than the pleading searches on the full service search sites. Searches on the site turn up a wide variety of filings, articles and forms. Nice resource for in-house lawyers without access to Lexis and for those of us transactional attorneys with dusty Westlaw cards.

JD Supra:

“What is JD Supra?

JD Supra is an online repository of useful legal documents - a community-based research tool that offers everyone free access to the law and its practitioners. And, like many of the best online tools and services today, JD Supra is so much more than that. Borrowing from the moniker of ‘Web 2.0,’ JD Supra is:

* A community, in which members of the legal world post their court filings, decisions, and articles to a searchable database that is free for anyone to use.
* A networking tool, in which lawyers, law firms, and other members of the legal community create and maintain in-depth professional profiles that link directly to the documents they’ve posted.
* A consumer resource, in which anyone with the need can 1) find a lawyer with demonstrated expertise and experience in any given issue, and 2) preview a prospective lawyer’s work.
* A real-time news source, in which the media 1) has instant and simultaneous access to important court filings and decisions, and 2) can find legal experts easily.
* A gateway to a vast amount of truly useful information, in which everyone is provided free access to the law.”

(Via JD Supra.)