By Jas Breslin

I work in the research services team at US law firm Morrison & Foerster, where we have library staff spread across offices in the US, Asia and Europe. We run a centralised research enquiry service and all of us respond to requests from our lawyers wherever they may be based. We can be asked diverse questions in relation to legal research, business information, and competitive intelligence, and we work effectively to collaborate and share our knowledge and skills within our team in order to give the best service response to our lawyers.

On a typical day, I could be asked to retrieve company information for a UK company for Anti-Money Laundering purposes, search for privacy laws in Puerto Rico, and locate US patent documents and literature. I also look after the information resources for our London and Brussels offices, which involves contract negotiation, financial budgeting and user training, amongst other things. My role is extremely varied so it is important to keep up with developments in the legal information marketplace, and also with global current affairs to understand the context of the requests I respond to.

• 3 Geeks and a Law Blog This well-established blog provides a rounded picture of what is happening in the areas of information provision, knowledge management and marketing – specifically within the legal marketplace, and with a US leaning. The postings are often funny, rarely dull, and frequently provide a spot-on assessment of current views. I receive postings sent straight to my inbox, and each morning look forward to reading my dose of "3 Geeks" on the train.
  
  
• FT.com The Financial Times provides a wealth of financial information but also an economic slant to major world affairs – useful for business intelligence of all sorts. I receive the daily alerter "In Today's FT" which provides me with an overview of the business issues of the day. I also love the occasional column "Dear Lucy" which aims to answer career management questions like "Are headphones too isolating?", "Should I tell the truth?" and "Why can't I fiddle my expenses?"
  
  
• Sometimes it is necessary to seek help from colleagues beyond my own organisation, either because a question is outside of my knowledge or experience, or because I cannot locate materials held by my usual contacts and suppliers. Therefore, I often consult the BIALL "How Do I?" wiki for a reminder on how to research an obscure legal question – or indeed a common question which I do not come across regularly. This source is a collaborative tool maintained by volunteers of the British & Irish Association of Law Librarians. They monitor the BIALL listserv as well as others such as Lis-Law for unusual or frequently asked legal and business research questions. Recently added information covers how to locate Northern Irish legislation, and bank base rates data.
  
  
• I also rely on the wonderful WorldCat to locate print resources which might be held by a UK library. I can then approach that library to see if they offer a document delivery service and can provide me with the material I need to source.
  
  
• My last tipple is the hilarious Roll On Friday. This website keeps me up-to-date on news, views, rumour and gossip within the legal profession. It focuses mainly on the UK market, but there is more content appearing now for the US, Australia and Asia. There's a weekly email that is delivered – you've guessed it – on a Friday, and is always full of interesting facts such as trainee solicitor retention rates and how much a newly qualified lawyer is paid, as well as the more sordid stories such as confidential emails being addressed incorrectly to the whole firm, or unprofessional behaviour displayed by a partner. There are also the very important surveys, such as which firm offers the best line in biscuits for their staff.

Jas Breslin is Research Services Manager, Europe, for US law firm Morrison & Foerster (UK) LLP, based in their London office. Jas joined MoFo in 2005 and has responsibility for research resources for the European offices.

She is currently the President Elect of the British & Irish Association of Law Librarians and can be found on LinkedIn here.

Would you like to submit your Favourite Tipples suggestions to the FreePint Newsletter? Find out more »

FreePint Features offers the latest commentary on trends, issues and opportunities in the information world, as well as examples of how organisations use FreePint resources to raise the value of information.

Selection of the latest FreePint Features articles:

• More Places to Access FreePint Content: Research & Markets Website
  By Robin Neidorf on Tuesday, 2nd April 2013
  FreePint's research is now available from Research & Markets, a specialist reseller of market research reports. Product reports and other original research documents from FreePint are available for purchase from the Research & Markets website and announcements on additional outlets for FreePint articles and reports will follow soon.
  
  
• FreePint and BST America Tackle the Key Issues for Information Professionals
  By Willem Noorlander on Thursday, 28th March 2013
  In collaboration with BST America, FreePint is launching a new series of webinars and articles focusing on the key issues and challenges for information professionals and suppliers to the industry. The topics tackled in the articles will range from identifying ROI on content to negotiation with vendors; the webinar series will focus on identifying and measuring value.
  
  
• just-auto's QUBE Offers In-Depth Analysis for the Automotive Sector
  By Victor Camlek on Wednesday, 27th March 2013
  If you're seeking a source for the automotive sector then QUBE from just-auto could meet the bill, offering news and analysis on specific sectors, the OEM market and suppliers, and offering highly configurable reporting options.
  
  
• FreePint Subscription Case Study: Cargill
  By Catherine Dhanjal on Tuesday, 26th March 2013
  At global company Cargill, the information centre's team of 20 provides a range of services from procuring information sources to bespoke research and preparing for the impact of developments such as mobile devices and changes in information-seeking behaviour. We interviewed Anne Rogers, director of Research and KM, to find out how their FreePint Subscription helps them to deliver a superb service to the Cargill businesses and how they market the information service internally.
  
  
• Is Video Now a Credible Source?
  By Deborah Andrysiak on Monday, 25th March 2013
  All videos are not created equal... and this might not be a bad thing. However, each video produced should have a clear purpose for its respective audience - whether it's to entertain, to convert prospective customers, or for information/educational purposes. As with any social media, if video is used as a resource, knowing how to distinguish the legitimacy of the video will lend credibility to your research.
  
  
• ... More ...

Visit FreePint Features »

Articles and reports included in a FreePint Subscription provide customer organisations with practical insight to support information practice, content purchasing and usage, and strategic planning.

Subscribers can click any link to login and view the full item. If you have not yet purchased a FreePint Subscription, learn more about the benefits now.

Selection of FreePint Subscription articles and reports:

• Data Visualisation with AuthorMapper - Making Sense of Scientific Data
  By Yulia Aspinall on Tuesday, 2nd April 2013
  Yulia Aspinall offers a glimpse into AuthorMapper, a data visualisation tool for the scientific community which allows users to view the geographical locations of authors, subjects or other keyword searches based on data from the Springer Journals and Springer Books collections plus SpringerLink. One of the few free data visualisation tools, it can also help researchers to identify scientific trends using timeline graphs, statistics and regional data.
  
  
• Source Update April 2013: What's Happening with Factiva?
  By Anne Jordan on Tuesday, 2nd April 2013
  This month's additions and takedowns in Factiva, researched and compiled by Anne Jordan.
  
  
• Mini Review: Datamyne
  By Helen Clegg on Thursday, 28th March 2013
  Helen Clegg reviews the Datamyne database, an authoritative source of trade data which covers the cross-border commerce of 50 countries. Aggregated and transactional data is available and there is a range of output options along with in-depth reports. The search options range from simple search to more complex options such as querying just "House" or just "Master" bill-of-lading data - Datamyne is currently the only provider of international trade data on the market that allows this distinction.
  
  
• FreePint Report: Information Services Management Monthly Update (March 2013)
  Published on Thursday, 28th March 2013
  This monthly update collects the current content relevant to those responsible for information service management, information strategy and content procurement in a convenient PDF package for download and offline reading.
  
  
• Mixed Messages on Big Data
  By Tim Buckley Owen on Thursday, 28th March 2013
  Is big data headed for the hype cycle's Trough of Disillusionment, as Gartner suggests? If it is, that might weed out some of the over-sold technological solutions, leaving the survivors to develop in a maturing market. But challenges still remain - including skill shortages among data scientists and the need for a change of corporate structure, says the Economist Intelligence Unit. And although much of the concern about exploiting big data has centred on privacy hitherto, law firm Pinsent Masons contends that intellectual property rights are just as important - an opportunity on which info pros may be able to capitalise.
  
  
• Security - Appraise the Doomsayers but Believe the Authorities?
  By Tim Buckley Owen on Thursday, 28th March 2013
  Risks from the Bring Your Own Device movement or email phishing attacks inevitably attract their fair share of security scare stories from vendors keen to peddle their own solutions. Recently there have been BYOD warnings from Dell and Varonis and a phishing scare seized upon by Proofpoint. Technological solutions such as mobile device management (MDM), encryption or sender authentication may provide a short term fix - but recent reports from Britain's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) and the European Network & Information Security Agency (ENISA) suggest that human behaviour matters too.
  
  
• Online Education Services - the Market is Getting Crowded
  By Penny Crossland on Thursday, 28th March 2013
  Online learning, tutoring and education are big business with some predicting the sector to be worth $220 billion by 2017. It's not just the traditional academic publishers supplying the elearning field, online specialists such as the Khan Academy and the increasingly-popular MOOC (massive open online courses) are also in the mix. Penny Crossland investigates the key players and drivers in the market.
  
  
• FreePint Report: Product Review of just-auto's QUBE
  Published on Tuesday, 26th March 2013
  Victor Camlek takes a look under the hood of QUBE, a relatively new product offering automotive news and market information as well as coverage of the business and R&D aspects of technical research and product development. Stripping the product down, Victor offers a nuts and bolts analysis of the product and how its real-time approach to information and expert analysis can oil the wheels of audiences from automotive suppliers to those on engineering or MBA programmes or in government agencies.
  
  
• Product Review of just-auto's QUBE: Executive Summary
  By Victor Camlek on Tuesday, 26th March 2013
  QUBE is a recently introduced database from just-auto that is focused on the automotive industry. It features a mix of news, market, competitive and technological content. QUBE differs from many traditional tools by virtue of its real-time updates and the capability offered to users to create their own PDF reports by selecting content of interest from various reports whilst online. The full review looks at the attributes, strengths and weaknesses associated with QUBE and provides a detailed view of the value it offers to automotive industry researchers and analysts.
  
  
• The Evolution of Video on the Web - Towards a Legitimate Resource
  By Deborah Andrysiak on Monday, 25th March 2013
  We live in a rapidly evolving, media rich world; a world that offers a robust and effective web-delivered pipeline of information that funnels a user's need to the appropriate technology-related resource or solution. Video on the internet is one such outlet that has been a mainstay for information gathering and dissemination - but how can you determine the credibility and reliability of the video and its source?
  
  
• NewsCred - Blurring the Lines Between Traditional News and Content Marketing
  By Penny Crossland on Monday, 25th March 2013
  The lines between traditional media and brand marketing are becoming increasingly blurred with NewsCred using "game-changing" technology to target the social web. NewsCred, a 2008 internet start-up, has recently announced a $15 million funding round for its meta wire service which provides full-text licensed content from credible sources. Unlike traditional wire services, its platform operates via an API so its customers can incorporate content onto their sites via widgets, for example, making it "social media friendly".
  
  
• Product Review of just-auto's QUBE: Introduction and FreePint's View
  By Victor Camlek on Thursday, 21st March 2013
  Victor Camlek takes a look under the hood of QUBE, a relatively new product offering automotive news and market information as well as coverage of the business and R&D aspects of technical research and product development.
  
  
• US Politico Bucks the Trend by Printing a New Magazine
  By Penny Crossland on Wednesday, 20th March 2013
  While major newspaper publishers in Europe, such as the Financial Times, the Telegraph Group and the Irish Times have re-stated their commitment to digital business models, there is one journalistic anomaly in the US, which appears to be going against the trend. Politico, the must-read website for all observers of Washington news is preparing to launch a print magazine. Is this a genuine commitment to print or a marketing tool for its subscription business?
  
  
• ... More ...

Latest FreePint Subscription content »

Jinfo is the central location for supporting your information career.

The Jinfo Jobs database lists vacancies, and the Jinfo Events database lists workshops, conferences, training, webinars and other professional development opportunities.

Latest featured vacancies in Jinfo Jobs:

• Records Manager
  Records Management Specialist (senior) with EDRMS expertise to work for prestigious City law practice and manage very small team. | Recruiter: Glen Recruitment | Country: United Kingdom. Full listing »
  
  
• Head of Library Services
  Are you looking for your next senior management challenge in Higher Education? Our client in the South West requires an exceptional individual to build on their achievements... | Recruiter: Sue Hill Recruitment and Services Limited | Country: United Kingdom. Full listing »

Browse all Jinfo Jobs »

Latest featured events in Jinfo Events:

• Meeting, Tweeting and FBing: Social media for information professionals
  Organiser: SLA Europe | Date: 24 April 2013 | Country: United Kingdom
  
  
• Enterprise Search Europe 2013
  Organiser: Information Today | Date: 14 - 16 May 2013 | Country: United Kingdom

Browse all Jinfo Events »

Next steps:

• Jinfo Update - Receive the weekly email Jinfo Update, with a complete list of the latest vacancies and events.

• Recruiting - Advertise a vacancy for just £195. 10% discount for agencies. 50% discount for registered charities.
  
  
• Running An Event - List it on Jinfo to reach a targeted audience seeking professional development opportunities.

Visit Jinfo »

FreePint supports the value of information in the enterprise. We do this by publishing practical articles and reports about information practice, content and strategy.

A FreePint Subscription provides exclusive access to all premium articles, reports and packages. FreePint Features highlights latest content and comment on the information industry.

The FreePint Newsletter serves as a guide to the latest articles and reports, and highlights the value organisations get from a FreePint Subscription. View the FP Newsletter Archive and sign up for free.

To find out more about how your organisation can benefit from a FreePint Subscription, complete our online form, "How can FreePint help?"

Contribute: If you have a suggestion for an article topic, or would like to write, then find out more about contributing »

Sponsorship: Read about the range of offerings through FreePint Vendor Services »

Please note:

• The opinions, advice, products and services offered herein are the sole responsibility of the contributors. Whilst all reasonable care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the publication, the publishers cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions.

• This publication may be freely copied and/or distributed in its entirety. However, individual sections MAY NOT be copied and/or distributed without the prior written agreement of the publishers. Contact FreePint Support for more details.

• Product names used in FreePint are for identification purposes only, and may be trademarks of their respective owners. FreePint disclaims any and all rights in those marks. All rights reserved.

The FreePint Newsletter (ISSN 1460-7239) is published by Free Pint Limited. FreePint is a registered trademark of Free Pint Limited, registered in England and Wales. Registered Number: 3754481. Registered Office: Delaport Coach House, Lamer Lane, Wheathampstead, Herts, AL4 8RQ.

Copyright Free Pint Limited 1997-2013