FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 3, 2017
Media Contact:
Jennifer Brand Ransom 202.731.114
jbrand@brandsolutionsgroup.com
Fastcase Renews Partnership with Minnesota State Bar Association
to Provide Free Access to Legal Research Library
Free Access to Smarter Legal Research Tools Available Today for Members of MSBA
Minneapolis, MN and Washington, DC (January 3, 2017) – Today the Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA) and legal publisher Fastcase renewed a partnership to provide members of the state bar with free access to Fastcase’s nationwide legal research system.
The MSBA and Fastcase had previously worked together to provide the research tools from 2007 through July of 2016, when the MSBA subscribed to another legal research benefit provider. Based on demand from users, after six months with the other provider the MSBA exercised an option to terminate its alternative contract and resumed service with Fastcase, effective today.
As MSBA Online Services Director Joe Kaczrowski notes, “there are myriad tools and services available to assist our members in the successful practice of law. The MSBA continually evaluates our products and services to maximize the value of membership and help our members keep abreast of how technology is changing the profession. In this instance, our members expressed a clear preference for the Fastcase legal research platform.”
The MSBA’s more than 15,000 members will have free access to Fastcase’s comprehensive online legal research system, which ordinarily sells for $995 per member per year. This exclusive bar member benefit provides members of the MSBA with unlimited access to one of the largest law libraries in the world, training webinars and tutorials, and live customer support from members of the Fastcase team.
The MSBA joins twenty-eight state bar associations, hundreds of law schools, dozens of voluntary bar associations, and scores of corporate legal departments who subscribe to Fastcase, representing more than 800,000 lawyers around the world.
In addition to its nationwide legal research database, Fastcase’s service also includes transactional access to newspaper articles, federal court filings, and legal forms. Starting today, members may log in by going to www.mnbar.org, clicking on the Practice Tools tab, and selecting the Fastcase option. From there, users simply log in with their bar ID and password. The member benefit is unlimited – with no restrictions on time or number of transactions, unlimited printing, unlimited reference assistance, and unlimited customer service included for free.
The member benefit also ties to Fastcase’s industry-leading mobile apps for iPhone, iPad, and Android devices. Using Fastcase Mobile Sync, users can fully integrate and securely synchronize their favorite documents, favorite jurisdictions, and search history between their desktop version of Fastcase and mobile apps.
Fastcase has pioneered the most innovative legal research tools in the market, with integrated citation analysis tools, “Bad Law Bot,” its big data-powered negative citation service, patented data visualization tools, sync with mobile apps, the first legal research apps for iPhone, iPad, Android, and Windows Phone.
The Fastcase service also includes an exclusive integration with Clio, the leading cloud-based practice management solution, and an exclusive integration with HeinOnline, which offers the world’s largest collection of law review and journal articles, integrated for an additional fee in the Fastcase service.
In addition, as of today, the updated Fastcase 7 will be available to members in beta, with a toggle in the top right-hand corner of the application. Fastcase 7 presents the cleanest, most readable legal research application of its kind.
“Especially because the MSBA is re-subscribing to Fastcase, our team is working extra hard to ensure that its members get access to the most powerful tools for legal research,” said Ed Walters, CEO of Fastcase. “Early testers love the beautiful, clean look of Fastcase 7, and we are confident that Minnesota lawyers will too.”
Fastcase has gained strong momentum in the legal research market. Fastcase was voted #1 in Law Technology News’s inaugural Customer Satisfaction Survey, finishing first in 7 out of 10 categories over traditional research providers Westlaw and LexisNexis. Fastcase’s free apps for iPhone and iPad have dominated the category, winning the prestigious 2010 American Association of Law Libraries New Product of the Year and being named the 2011 Legal Productivity App of the Year. In 2012, Fastcase was named to the Best of Legal Times list for Online Legal Research, Legal Research (including print), and Legal Research iPad app, as well as being named the Best of Research in the Daily Business Review.
Fastcase won the 2014 American Association of Law Libraries New Product of the Year award with partner HeinOnline, and in 2015, it was voted Best Small Firm Legal Research Tool by readers of the Legal Times. Fastcase has repeatedly been named the most popular app for lawyers in the ABA Technology Survey, and in 2016 was named by Engadget as One of the Top 5 Research Apps to Survive Law School and Pass the Bar.
For more information, visit www.fastcase.com.
About The Minnesota State Bar Association
Founded in 1883, the Minnesota State Bar Association is the oldest professional association for attorneys in Minnesota. For licensed attorneys in Minnesota, membership is voluntary. Membership is open to any attorney licensed to practice law in any state. Membership is also available to law students, paralegals, and law management associates.
MSBA members are leaders in their communities, participating in statewide programs such as the High School Mock Trial Program and Wills for Heroes. The MSBA advocates vigorously to ensure adequate support for the state court system, and promotes legislation to advance the cause of justice in Minnesota. Partnering with other statewide agencies, it is an ally in the effort to deliver quality legal services to all Minnesotans.
About Fastcase
As the smarter alternative for legal research, Fastcase democratizes the law, making it more accessible to more people. Using patented software that combines the best of legal research with the best of Web search, Fastcase helps busy users sift through the clutter, ranking the best cases first and enabling the re-sorting of results to find answers fast. Founded in 1999, Fastcase has more than 800,000 subscribers from around the world. Fastcase is an American company based in Washington, D.C. For more information, follow Fastcase on Twitter at @Fastcase, or visit www.fastcase.com.
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