Extensions and plug-ins from third-party developers allow users to extend browser functionality far beyond that offered in the basic application. Below are some extensions/plug-ins that may be helpful with legal research and writing.
Google's Chrome and Apple's Safari browsers both support third-party extensions, however, as this ability is fairly new in both browsers, there are fewer extensions available for them than are available for Mozilla's Firefox.
LexisNexis Toolbar:
Works with Firefox and Internet Explorer; Created by LexisNexis
Free – For Windows XP, Vista, or 2000 – Adds toolbar to browser allowing you to preform searches, find citations, and Shepardize.
LexisNexis Citation Search:
Works with Firefox; Created by AttorneyTech
Free – performs the 'Get by Citation' function.
Lexis for Microsoft Office:
Works with Word; Created by LexisNexis
Written to work with Word 2010, it is backwards compatible with Word 2007. Requires Windows operating system. Links Word and Outlook to Lexis. Allows searches, document management, and makes citations into hyperlinks direct to the case in Lexis.
Westlaw Citation Search:
Works with Firefox; Created by AttorneyTech
Free – performs 'Find Citation' function.
Jureeka! :
Works with Firefox and Chrome; Created by Michael Poulshock
Free – Transforms legal citations in web pages into hyperlinks that point to online source material.
CiteGenie:
Works with Firefox; Created by CiteGenie
Beta is currently free –Copies and pastes text from Westlaw and Lexis with pinpoint citations, with proper Bluebook formatting.
CiteAdvisor:
Works with Word; Created by Westlaw
Windows operating system and Word or WordPerfect - Automates formatting citations, tagging cites, and building tables of authority in your word-processing documents.
Google Scholar Legal Content Star Paginator:
Works with Chrome; Created by Randy Becker
Makes Lexis and Westlaw users feel more at-home while using Google Scholar's legal content. It places page numbers inline with the text, rather than in the margin.
CiteStack:
Works with Chrome; Created by CiteStack
Organizes your Google Scholar legal research into a hierarchical stack of quotations, notes, and brief-ready citations.
And, if you are citing webpages that may update frequently, the following extensions let you capture either the entire page, or the portion you are quoting so you don't have to waste time repeatedly visiting the same pages, try Mendeley.
Evernote Web Clipper:
Works with Firefox, Safari, & mobile devices; Created by Evernote
Free software provides a toolbar button and context menus to easily add a selection or an entire page to Evernote.
Iterasi:
Works with Firefox; Created by Iterasi
Allows you to capture the exact state of a page in your browser and save it forever. Whereas bookmarks allow you to save the location of a Web page, Iterasi saves the exact contents of a Webpage to your own secure account on the Iterasi Website.
Bibliographic Management & Citation Software
Additionally, the volume of articles, cases, and other documents used in writing a paper or brief can quickly overwhelm. The following are some software systems that can help manage those documents and citations, and assist with creating bibliographies.
RefWorks
DU students have access to RefWorks (instructions). RefWorks is a powerful bibliography manager that helps you manage book and journal article citations, and create bibliographies in APA, MLA, or Chicago styles.
Zotero
Zotero [zoh-TAIR-oh] is a free, easy-to-use Firefox extension to help you collect, manage, cite, and share your research sources. It lives right where you do your work—in the web browser itself.
Mendeley
Mendeley is a research management tool for desktop & web. You can explore research trends and connect to other academics in your discipline. With either web-based or desktop software, and a Word plug-in, Mendeley makes bibliographic creation and citation easy.
Written By Andrew J. Tig Wartluft, Law Librarian Fellow
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