Altlaw Comments
Despite it being August, Altlaw is beginning to get a bit of attention so perhaps a few comments.
Obviously the program is beta and unfinished. We don’t think, in its present form, that Altlaw can serve as a full substitute for a commercial legal database. But the crucial word is YET. With help or on our own we’re going to do at least the following before we consider Altlaw beyond beta:
- Expand coverage; both in terms of dates and jurisdictions;
- Link citations with cases
- Create smart, advanced searches, beyond which other databases have.
We have a long wish list of things we’d like to do. And it should be fun to get there.
We’d love new ideas, suggestions, help and support of any kind!
I think its also worth acknowledging what has come before in this area, which we haven’t exceeded. Findlaw is still a great resource, and best of all is Cornell’s incredible LII.  We have a long way to go to get anywhere near those resources.