Fastcase and LexBlog announce integration
LexBlog users are now able to utilize Fastcase’s research and citation capabilities with a simple click of a button.
LexBlog announced the integration Thursday in a blog post. According to Kevin O’Keefe, founder and CEO of LexBlog, users will be able to click a button when composing a blog post that will allow them to easily cite and link to a statute, case or code provision in Fastcase’s database. “Ed Walters, the CEO of Fastcase, and I have talked about this integration for years,” O’Keefe wrote. “Ed is a big proponent of open law and law blogs serving as secondary authority.”
O’Keefe noted that it can be difficult for bloggers to cite to primary authorities since the big publishers like LexisNexis, Westlaw and Bloomberg usually keep their codes, statutes and cases behind a paywall. Furthermore, even if a blogger has access to these primary sources, oftentimes its readers will not. This makes it difficult for readers to check sources or read what’s being cited for themselves.
Over the next several months, LexBlog Network blog posts will also be integrated into Fastcase’s libraries. “Courts have recognized law blogs and open online publications as secondary authority by accepting blog citations in briefs and citing blogs in their decisions,” O’Keefe pointed out. “Courts will now be able to seamlessly examine the authority cited by a law blogger.”
