How to avoid information overload with legal research resources

Despite the presence of an exhaustive list of legal research resources in the market, it pays to do your homework and avoid the mistake of subscribing to every product available, writes Kirsty McPhee.

The way in which we purchase, access and use legal research resources has changed considerably during the past decade.

Small to medium-sized law firms may once have had a collection of books, a few loose-leaf services, a series of law reports and some folders of printed legislation to manage. Today, in addition to these types of resources, firms also have online databases, eBooks, electronic commentary and electronic journals that all come from different publishers. What is more, they often have complicated pricing models, different web addresses and access points, different passwords, different licensing agreements and different functionality.

If your firm is lucky enough to have a librarian or knowledge manager, the process of managing all this and staying up to date will be taken care of at a firm level for you. This is becoming increasingly rare, however, and even with a knowledge manager your practitioners need to know how to take care of their own information needs.

All firms and individual practitioners need to learn how to manage and cope to ensure they walk the tightrope between not having enough current and relevant information, or having an information overload when it comes to legal research and keeping up with the law.

Invest wisely

Legal research resources represent a significant investment. The initial purchase cost is often all that we consider, but the price of selecting, accessing, managing and auditing resources, as well as ongoing access to online materials and the storage of hardcopy items, should be evaluated.

Online resources do save space, but they are often the most expensive and difficult to manage and it is all to easy for them to go unused while you continue to pay a premium. Likewise, eBooks can be a great investment, but they should be carefully considered along with the cost, user limitations, device restrictions and electronic update protocols.

Following are some tips to consider for firms and sole practitioners.

1. Know the areas in which your solicitors practice – when purchasing hardcopy resources or online licences it is important to know how many people will need to access these materials.

2. Buy only what you need and throw away or cancel resources that are out of date or no longer relevant.

3.Before committing to a purchase, ask to review hardcopy materials or take online trials for paid subscription products.

4. Remember, if you are not sure, that you can access many resources at your Supreme Court practitioners’ library for free.

5. Build relationships with publishers, sales reps and trainers – they will keep you updated about new products, new editions and new services that are relevant to your practice. They will do the hard work for you, but do not let them become overbearing.

6. Get training – effective knowledge management is about efficiency, so invest in learning how to use online resources efficiently and effectively. Many publishers offer this as a free service to promote their product. Take advantage of this free value-adding.

Complete an information audit

Doing a stocktake or an information audit is a valuable exercise. Know exactly what you have, what you still need to acquire and what you have that can be thrown away or discontinued.

Learn how to identify and understand which sources are current and which need to be replaced or updated. This is vital because using old textbooks, out-of-date legislation or online information that is not current creates a real and significant risk-management issue.  Guidelines for how to undertake an information audit can be easily found online. One good example is Massa and Company. Click on this link:

http://massainc.com/how-to-conduct-a-data-audit-in-5-simple-steps/

‘Make it free and make it come to you’

Your time is precious, so focus on reading and evaluating information, not looking for it. To do this, remember the mantra  – make it free and make it come to you. There are a number of excellent and authoritative legal resource providers that firms should consider alongside or instead of commercial providers. Set up email alerts or RSS feeds wherever possible – having information, updates and alerts delivered to you as they happen is far more efficient than searching for information or checking to see if updates have been released.

Courts, tribunals, statutory bodies and other providers of primary and secondary legal resources are constantly improving or adding ways to easily deliver relevant information to subscribers. Following are just some examples of the free or partially free legal resource providers:

• State Law Publisher email information notification: https://www.slp.wa.gov.au/internal/listserver.nsf/SubscribeSLP?openform
• Comlaw: http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Login?ReturnUrl=%2fMyComLaw
• Jade Barnet: https://jade.barnet.com.au/Jade.html#t=myJade
• Lawlex: http://my.lawlex.com.au/lawlexsearchcenter/Search/SearchResult.aspx?displayType=Form&userid=A1D734D3BF054249AD1DC9BB5C04F2A4
• Fee Fie Fo Firm: http://www.feefiefoefirm.com/au/
• Austlii: http://www.austlii.edu.au/
• Supreme Court of Western Australia – check out similar resources in your jurisdiction: http://www.supremecourt.wa.gov.au/_apps/subscription/Subscribe.aspx
• WA State Administrative Tribunal decisions bulletin: http://www.sat.justice.wa.gov.au/D/decisions_bulletins.aspx
• Landgate customer information bulletins (subscribe): https://www.landgate.wa.gov.au/corporate.nsf/web/Customer+Information+Bulletins
• ASIC media releases (subscribe): https://asic.gov.au/about-asic/news-centre/find-a-media-release/
• Personal Property Securities Register (subscribe): http://news.ppsr.gov.au/

Consider hiring a professional

A part-time or casual legal information professional may seem out of reach or unnecessary, but these professionals can be sourced for $30 to $80 an hour.

When you take into account your normal hourly rate and the fact that legal information professionals will be infinitely quicker and more skilled at managing legal information, then adding a legal information professional to your team might make sense.

They are also likely to significantly reduce your library spending as they are tough negotiators and come with excellent relationships and networks.

Kirsty McPhee is the practice manager of Perth law firm Tottle Partners, where she is responsible for library, research and knowledge services, as well as IT and administrative functions across the firm. She has worked in law libraries for the past decade.

To find out more about the Australian Law Librarian Association, check out its website. This includes information on your local chapter and how to advertise for professionals: https://www.alla.asn.au/