Day on Torts
I am pleased to announce the launch of BirdDog Law, a massive online resource center for Tennessee lawyers, particularly those who do trial work.
The website includes free access to the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure, the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure, and the Tennessee Rules of Evidence, as well as the Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct. I believe readers will find the these resources on this site to much more user-friendly than those found on any other website.
Another free section of the website is the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure (As Modified for Use in the Claims Commission). Those of us who practice before the Tennessee Claims Commission know that the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure generally apply to cases before the Commission but have been modified by regulation in several respects. I know of no other place where the two bodies of rules have combined into one user-friendly recourse for the benefit of Tennessee lawyers.
Another free section of the BirdDog Law is something we call “Status of Cases Pending Before the Tennessee Supreme Court.” This resources gathers information from several different publicly available sources to give lawyers the status of all civil and criminal cases pending before the Tennessee Supreme Court. For example, two clicks will lead you to access to summary pages on the twelve civil and twelve criminal cases currently pending before the Court. The resource gives you the name of the case, the summary from the intermediate court opinion, and a link to that opinion. Every two weeks we update the status of the pending cases, allowing the viewer know what briefs have been filed, when oral argument is set, and provides a link to a video of the oral argument after it has occurred. When a case is decided, we add the TSC’s opinion summary and a link to the opinion and move the case into the “Recently Decided Cases” section of the online book. Thus, in a manner of seconds a viewer can determine whether there is a pending case that will impact his or her practice or the rights of a particular client. All of this is available at no charge.
The balance of BirdDog Law gives the viewer access to three of my four books, Day on Torts Leading Cases in Tennessee Tort Law, Tennessee Law of Civil Trial Practice, and Compendium of Tennessee Tort Reform Statutes. Access is available by subscription, with a monthly option or a yearly option (the yearly option is the price of ten single months, thus providing you with two free months of access). We also offer a bundle purchase option, where you get access to all three books for at a substantial price savings. (Note: those who purchased one or more of the books in the past will receive a letter shortly offering you a discount code which will give you substantial savings of the list price. Feel free to email me at jday@birddoglaw.com to get the discount code even more quickly.
One benefit of the ebook format is the 24/7/365 access to information from a desktop, notebook, tablet or mobile phone. But, in my view as a practicing lawyer, more important than that is the ability to modify the books as new decisions are released and new statutes are enacted into law. We monitor new opinions and legislative activity and have a system for updating our online resources within fourteen days of the date a new opinion is released or a new statute becomes law. Printed books are months and months out of date when they land on your desk, as are the supplements to those books. Our online recourses are dynamic, living documents, updated by for you use on a regular basis.
You should also know that all three of these books were substantially updated before they went live online. Day on Torts saw the biggest change – it now gives you a summary of the leading Tennessee case on over 500 Tennessee tort law topics, plus citations to hundreds and hundreds of additional cases. The book now logs in at more than 500,000 words. Use of this book will save you hours and hours of research time.
Let me assure you that there is much more to come. More and more free resources will be added to the book. The goal is to create a go-to site where Tennessee lawyers will have ready access to information that will help them in their practice. If you have a suggestion of what you think we should offer as a free resource, email me with your thoughts at jday@birddoglaw.com and I will consider it.
Finally, I hope you will use BirdDog Law even if you decide not to subscribe to one or all of my books. I think you will find the free resources to materially help you serve your clients.
Bookmark Birddog!