CiteGenie

"CiteGenie automagically copy text with correct citations from Westlaw, Lexis, and other websites" so says the CiteGenie webiste.

Having done a load of appellate briefs in my day I would have loved to have had this tool.  It in an enhancement to online research that allows you through a simple "Copy to CiteGenie" command to check or get a citation.  Here's how CiteGenie describes the tool:

Cutting and pasting when doing legal research using your browser is simple. But having to construct the citation for what you pasted is not so simple. This is especially true with legal citations from sources like Westlaw. You have to stop and copy the case name separately, determine the pinpoint page numbers, and adjust the date and court name format.

So I decided to write a browser plugin that would automatically add a pinpoint citation to the text I copy and paste. Thus CiteGenie was born.

I downloaded the Firefox plug and and tried it with Fastcase.  It used the Fastcase webpage as the basis for the citation and I suspect that would work with other online sites with caselaw.  Judging by the examples on the CiteGenie website, it works more slickly with Westlaw and Lexis by actually pulling the case name, citation, and jump cites with one "Copy to CiteGenie."

It is reasonably (if strangely) priced at $14.97 and you can use it for a month before it requires you to purchase it, so you can get a good feel for whether it really works for you.

If anyone gets a chance to try it with Westlaw or Lexis, I'd love to hear your comments on how it works.

 - Peter H. Berge

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