West should move to a CD/DVD system for its hard copies

Regional reporters sure take up a lot of space, don't they? And in today's cost and affordable prices for both online research services, it seems odd that the regional reporters continue to pump out book after book, practically on a biweekly basis. Here's a thought? Why not put the all the regional reporters on a 1 or 2 DVD set, containing folders of the PDFs? And since most people print from the online systems anyway, you'd probably have as many people copy the DVDs as you would those who copy the books in lieu of printing from online.

I haven't personally priced out a set of say, P, P.2d and whatever they are up to in P.3d, but I'm sure it will take up more room than a 2, 3, or even 4 disc DVD set. Further updates could be shipped as CDs. There's always a concern for shelf life of a DVD/CD compared to a book, but given the amount of dust that has built up on dozens of books that I know have not been opened in more than half a century, I'm sure that's a problem that can be addressed on an as-needed basis. Think about it.

Tags: west dvds for regional reporters

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Westlaw's green "c" misleading

This is just a quick gripe about Westlaw. Sometime in the past few months (or at least I've started to notice it, maybe it's been around for a while), Westlaw has begun using its green "C" for "C"ite (meaning something has cited to that case or statute) whenever a party has a brief that cites to the case. Now, I've read enough briefs to know that (a) I probably wouldn't use them for anything of value and (b) they certainly don't have any precedential value. And depending on your Westlaw plan, you can't even access them anyway.

My point is that it's silly and misleading. Particularly if the party is the party who is appealing on that particular case. Granted, if a newspaper or something cited to the case, there's something that may be useful. And obviously law review articles and other cases are helpful if cited. But a brief? Give me a break.

And don't get me started on how many times I've come across an incorrect red flag or a misleading yellow flag. I'm still sifting through this Bear Stearns mess in the meantime, so maybe later today I will have more thoughts on that topic.

Tags: westlaw green c

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