The joys of being a 1L, starting off in law school and panicking about what’s new and what you may not yet know. As another incoming student noted, most people don’t know anything so take comfort that you’re not alone.
Law schools will often have specific technology suggestions (perhaps even requirements; some examples: Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Wisconsin ) to ensure that you have the right equipment. Or at least equipment that will cooperate with on-campus resources. You should also be thinking about your Web browser, because it will be a key legal research tool not only when you start to use Westlaw, LexisNexis, or some other fee-based database, but also when you inevitably use Google or some other Web search tool.
You should be sure to have a copy of the latest-but-one version of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. Version 8 will ensure that you can access most legal research sites, since they are often developed with it in mind. Using a Macintosh or Linux computer? Consider using emulation software like Crossover Linux or Parallels Desktop so that you can get Internet Explorer to run.
Now get your real Web browser. IE is important because it is what nearly every law firm will be running and is probably the default in your law school computer lab. But it’s a second rate research tool when you take into account the extendability of Mozilla’s Firefox and Google’s Chrome. Try these out and choose one, and make it your primary research browser. Since they both run on Windows, Macintosh, and Linux, you really should be able to run one or the other on any system you have. It’s not just the browser, because they are pretty similar. Install some of the extensions and add-ons available for the browsers (Firefox, Chrome) and see how they improve your research.
Why not Opera? Safari? Other browsers? First, they are the least likely to be available at a law firm. Second, because they are no more extendable than Internet Explorer and you really only need two browsers.
Now you can walk into law school being completely overwhelmed, but also prepared to be a power researcher when it comes to finding online information.
