From court forms to the Y2K

California court forms on the Internet

AmericanLegalNet.com, a free and subscription-based online service, offers a variety of products and services to California legal professionals including access to updated federal, state and local statutory forms. Users can simply access their required form, complete it on the computer screen, then print it.

AmericanLegalNet.com utilizes Site Director 4.1, the industry-standard FOLIO search engine which makes document retrieval fast and easy. Other services include access to local rules for all federal, superior and municipal courts in California, California Codes, and the California Constitution. Users can review California legislation dating back to 1995 and Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decisions since 1993. The company will soon make available U.S. Supreme Court opinions dating back to the early 1900s.

In addition, the service features legal resource directories such as California Attorneys and Law Firms, which contains pertinent information on all licensed California attorneys; and California municipal, superior, federal and appellate court addresses, telephone numbers, hours, filing fees, and listings of all judges and clerks.

For further information, check out www.AmericanLegalNet.com, or call 1-800/293-2171.

Y2K advice for law firms

Law firms that have yet to address the year 2000 (Y2K) issue, a.k.a. "the millennium bug," are running out of time to protect themselves against significant professional liabilities, according to professional liability insurer DPIC Companies.

DPIC is offering a free handbook, "Y2K -- Are You Ready for the Year 2000." This eight-page guide provides a helpful outline for assessing internal and external risks, implementing a Y2K plan, incorporating Y2K language in client agreements, and minimizing Y2K-related liabilities.

To receive a copy, law firms must submit a request on company letterhead and mail to: Y2K Handbook, DPIC Companies, Box DPIC, Monterey, CA 93942, or fax the request to 408/649-0346.

Consumer Bankruptcy Library on CD-ROM

Building on the century-old authoritative "Collier on Bankruptcy," Matthew Bender & Co. Inc. has announced the addition of the "Collier Consumer Bankruptcy Library" to its Authority CD-ROM series.

Suitable for network installation and compatible with Windows, this expert-authored release provides consumer bankruptcy attorneys with a foundation practice tool that integrates six Matthew Bender bankruptcy publications and provides legal analysis, practical guidance and forms.

The CD-ROM includes "Collier Consumer Bankruptcy Practice Guide," which provides practitioners with a transaction-based approach and step-by-step analysis of all phases of Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 cases; "Collier Consumer Bankruptcy Forms," which offer practice-tested forms for each stage of these cases; "Collier Bankruptcy Manual, 3rd Edition Revised," which delivers concise analysis of every section of the Bankruptcy Code; "Collier Family Law and the Bankruptcy Code;" "Collier Bankruptcy Exception Guide;" and "Collier Pamphlet Edition," which contains the full text of Bankruptcy Code and Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure as well as hypertext links to the other five publications on the disk.

This and other Matthew Bender Internet subscriptions, products and services can be accessed via the company's web site: www.bender.com. Recent additions also include Authority On-Demand and Shepard's Citations. Legal researchers can quickly obtain precise answers to their complex questions from Matthew Bender's collection of expert legal analysis found in Authority On-Demand, as well as instant authoritative cite verification with Shepard's Citations. For additional information, call 1-800/223-1940.

West Group introduces three new online products

West Group has released three new Westlaw PRO (Predictable Research Online) products: Westlaw Tax PRO, Westlaw Commercial Law PRO and Westlaw Environmental Law PRO. These new research capabilities are offered at a low, fixed monthly rate and are designed to serve the specific needs of solo practitioners and smaller law firms.

Information flexibility is a key element of the Westlaw PRO series, so in addition to core content, subscribers have the option of adding additional databases to serve specific practice needs.

Westlaw Tax PRO offers users unlimited access to federal tax cases, Internal Revenue Service Code, tax regulations, IRS releases, Revenue Rulings and Procedures, and Private Letter Rulings.

The Westlaw Commercial Law PRO set features unlimited access to federal commercial law materials, including cases, statutes, rules, administrative materials, state cases, public records, commercial law texts and periodicals, and daily reports of current developments.

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