Dr. Ronald B. Standler
U.S. Legal Research Services
for Attorneys, Barristers, and Solicitors

There are three sources of law in the USA:

state and federal constitutions,
state and federal statutes, and
common law (i.e., law made by judges in deciding cases).

Criminal law in the USA is statutory, with many important constitutional principles. The law of contracts and torts in the USA is mostly common law. Intellectual property law in the USA is statutory. Law in the USA respects precedent, which means that current cases are decided in the same way as previous cases with similar facts. When deciding matters of constitutions and statutes, judges look at previous cases with similar legal issues, to understand the interpretation of words and phrases in the constitutions and statutes. Because of the respect for precedent by judges in the USA, it is necessary to search for published cases to find judicial opinions to cite as authority for issues of law.

As explained in more detail below, I offer searches of the Westlaw computer databases of cases and statutes to find relevant statements of law in the USA. In addition to finding cases and statutes, I can also write a memorandum of law that explains the significance of the cases and statutes.

Services

I offer the following services.

I can quickly search and find:
1. reported judicial opinions from any state and/or federal court in the USA,
2. statutes from any state and/or federal government in the USA,
3. regulations from the federal government in the USA,
print them on paper, and send them to you.
I can also prepare a memorandum of law that summarizes and critically reviews cases, and distinguish apparently contradictory holdings. Such a memorandum will also include citations to cases and short quotations from cases. In addition to a copy on paper, I can send a memorandum as an e-mail attachment, either in rich text format (RTF) or in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format, for your secretary to use to create future Briefs via cut-and-paste, without needing to retype the quotations and citations. This method avoids errors in the quotations and citations in your Brief, since I obtain the quotations directly from Westlaw via a cut-and-paste.
I can search and find published information in science, engineering, medicine, technology, engineering standards, and U.S. patents.
I can search for articles in journals published by law schools (i.e., law reviews) and send a paper copy to you.
I can find and purchase copy(ies) of law textbooks or legal reference books (e.g., treatises) and send them to you.

My Credentials

My brief credentials:

I earned a Ph.D. in physics in 1977.
I have more than 16 years of experience doing scholarly research in physics and electrical engineering, including writing more than 35 published technical papers and one book.
I earned a law degree in 1998, and I am licensed to practice law in all state and federal courts in Massachusetts. I am an attorney and consultant in private practice.
I have used Dialog online databases in science, engineering, and patents since 1981.
I used Lexis online legal databases during 1991-97.
I have used Westlaw online legal databases extensively since December 1995. Since Sep 2002, I have had a subscription to unlimited use of the Westlaw databases for judicial opinions and statutes from all states and the federal government, so I do not charge my clients for the cost of searching cases and statutes in the USA. I often use Westlaw more than 30 hours/month, so I am experienced with Westlaw.
I have used the online access to U.S. federal court dockets since August 2002, to retrieve briefs, judgments, and other unpublished decisions.

My c.v. is posted at my website.

I will personally do all work on your project, so you get the full benefit of my knowledge and experience.

Because I am both a scientist and an attorney, I can do more than merely find technical information: I can also interpret it in the context of law, as well as provide critical reviews of the technical information. I am creative and persistent.

My Legal Specialties

Most of my legal work in the USA is in one of the following areas:

computer law, internet law
copyright law
higher-education law (e.g., academic freedom, plagiarism, misconduct in scientific research, tenure disputes, policy for appropriate use of computers, injury in a laboratory, etc.)
contracts
torts involving science or engineering (e.g., failures of electrical surge arresters or suppressors, damage or personal injury by lightning, use of engineering standards to establish a legal obligation, personal injury in a scientific or engineering laboratory, weather modification, negligent weather forecasts, etc.)
privacy law (e.g., invasions of privacy, legal limits on government interference with personal life)

I sometimes do legal research outside of my specialties, depending on the subject matter.

Fees and Terms

I charge for my time at US$ 150/hour.

It is impossible to estimate the amount of time involved in a legal research project, because the amount of material available is not known until the search is nearly complete. In my experience, searches and preparing a memorandum of law on one topic requires between 3 and 30 hours, depending on the scope of the search (i.e., one state or all 50 states and federal) and the number of reported cases.

I ask for reimbursement of actual cost of airmail postage, Federal Express, or other delivery methods. I also ask for reimbursement of the actual cost of using the Dialog databases in science, engineering, and engineering standards.

I may ask for payment in advance, before sending paper copies of judicial opinions, statutes, articles, etc. For established clients outside the USA, I send monthly invoices, with interest on amounts unpaid more than 30 days after the date of the invoice, according to my usual terms.

My legal research services are available exclusively to licensed attorneys, barristers, or solicitors.

Contact Dr. Standler:

Dr. Ronald B. Standler
P.O. Box 3780
Concord, NH 03302-3780
USA