Google Challenges Westlaw and Lexis With “Google Scholar”

Google continues to expand the universe around it—this time it has rolled out “Scholar” a free search engine for case law and articles.  Scholar has the ability to search for specific cases or by topic.  Once a case is identified, you can then explore “cited by” and “related articles” links.  You can also explore articles or opinions related to your case or topic.  Scholar exposes the profit foundation for Westlaw and Lexis and threatens to relegate these companies into nothing more than a way to make sure case is current (a la Shepard’s or Keycite).  That day may be years away while Scholar is fine-tuned to produce results to compete with these services, however, it certainly appears that day is at least on the horizon.  The only question now is how long will it take to get here.

• MUJI 2d Will Try to Address the “Google” Mistrial
• Legal Research on the Cheap Part 2: Loislaw
• Where to Find Utah Law for Free
• Failure to Issue “Litigation Hold” Could Result in Sanctions and Attorney’s Fees
• Blackwater