Investigative Research
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Rootsweb has removed the searchable Social Security Death Index (SSDI) from its site. The search form for this database has been replaced with the notification below. Follow us: Share this article: (function() { var po = document.createElement('script'); po.type = 'text/javascript'; po.async = true; po.src = 'https://apis....
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ProPublica, the "independent, non-profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest," has created a searchable database of payments made by pharmaceutical companies to doctors - usually as compensation for presentations the doctors make that discuss the companies' drugs. While this information is not part of the public record, some...
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The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts has announced a pilot project in conjunction with the GPO's FDSys to provide free public access to opinions from a select group of courts. The press release detailed how, "The one-year pilot project was approved by the Judicial Conference in March 2010, and the GPO received approval from the Joint Committee on Printing – often referred to as...
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One of the questions we're asked most often about conducting investigative research through social networking profiles is, "Do the people whose profiles I'm looking at know that I've looked at their profiles?" Most major social networking sites have refrained from giving the end-users specific information about who has visited their profiles. There have been a few exceptions to this rule like...
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A new survey conducted by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project finds that more than half of American adults who are online are conducting search engine searches to locate information posted about themselves on the Internet. While the concept of "ego-surfing" is nothing new, the study indicates an increase in awareness by adults of the volume of information that can...
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Finding information and conducting research on the Internet can be overwhelming and intimidating. To help all professionals – not just lawyers – conduct effective research on the Internet, the American Bar Association Law Practice Management Section has published Find Info Like a Pro, Volume 1: Mining the Internet’s Publicly Available Resources for...
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Social networking and ethics: what do these two concepts have in common? Plenty, if you're a lawyer. Using social networking can ensnare attorneys in ethical traps in two different ways — when accessing information in someone else's profile, or when an attorney's own profile information might be used against them. These are real world issues many practicing attorneys face every day. Let's...
