New member benefit from Fastcase will bring next-generation law library and free legal research to desktop of every lawyer in the state of Arizona.
Fastcase today announced an agreement with the State Bar of Arizona to provide free next-generation legal research to all SBA members. This exclusive member benefit will deliver federal and state law onto the desktop of every lawyer in the state.
The agreement includes law from Arizona and all 50 states, as well as federal law. Members log in to the service through the website of the State Bar of Arizona, http://www.myazbar.org/.
Lawyers have traditionally used a mix of books and electronic services to access the law, with these libraries increasingly migrating to the Web. Unlike many industries in which the Internet lowers costs, traditional research companies have kept their legal research services very expensive online. As a result, many law offices have only had very limited access to the law they practice.
"Until now, Arizona lawyers had to choose between expensive books, expensive online services, or long trips to the law library," said Ed Walters, CEO of Fastcase. "In Arizona, that ends today. By putting the law library on every lawyer's desktop, we're making sure that every lawyer can afford access to the law."
Fastcase launched in 1999 to democratize the law, building next-generation research tools and lowering prices for access. One way the Washington, D.C. based company has increased access to the law is through an innovative arrangement with state bar associations, which subscribe at volume discount prices and offer the research tool for free to their members. Fastcase has signed member benefit agreements with 12 state bar associations and numerous smaller bar associations, making the law free for more than 290,000 lawyers around the country.
Dan McAuliffe, President of the State Bar's Board of Governors, was one of many strong proponents of this new member service. "The launch of Fastcase comes at a time when Arizona's attorneys need it most. With our courts, legal services and State agencies facing the economic crunch, as well as our sole practitioners experiencing reductions in new business, Fastcase will substantially reduce their costs for legal research."
"We're really excited to work with the State Bar of Arizona to bring this benefit to its members," said Phil Rosenthal, president of Fastcase. "We started Fastcase to advance the art of legal research, both in next-generation technology and in finding new ways to make the law more accessible to more people. Our member benefit in Arizona does just that."
The member benefit also includes transactional access to newspaper articles, public records searches, and legal forms, all integrated into the Fastcase website, making it one of the largest online law libraries in the world.
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