PreCYdent: 2006 - 2009

If you haven't already done so, it's time to update your finding aids for free online legal search services. PreCYdent is no longer. Lack of funds.

On several occasions, I've written about PreCYdent because it offered, in my opinion, one of the most innovative search engines for a free online legal research service. Heck, one of the most innovative SE algorithms offered for a free, fee-based, or a very expensive licensed legal search experience. But funding dried up several months ago. That's a real shame. Not all very good ideas move beyond the experimental stage. Unfortunately, this is one that didn't. So while we check out WestLaw's "WestSearch" and "New Lexis" and try to forget the first iteration of IntelliConnect, give pause for a moment on the passing of PreCYdent and hope for its return by way of some vendor giving its merits a careful look.

For background, see LLB's  Law Prof as Toolmaker: An Interview with PreCYdent's Thomas A. Smith (San Diego). and Steven Robert Miller's PreCYdent:  A New Search Engine Enters the Legal Research World. [JH}