Fastcase enhances legal research

Annotated statute products cost money, but they’re great for research – especially for providing lists of cases that cite, say, a particular section of the Illinois Compiled Statutes.

But ISBA members who use Fastcase, our free online research service, can make their own annotations at no charge. Here’s how to create your own ILCS annotations.

Go to “Search” and then “Search Cases,” select “Illinois,” and run a keyword search for the statutory section you want to annotate in quotes, for example: “735 ILCS 5/2-1117.”

You can abbreviate the term (e.g., “2-1117”) to get cases that cite the Illinois Revised Statutes, predecessor to the ILCS. You even get annotations that discuss your particular issue by adding a keyword: “2-1117” AND “automobile accident.”

Your list of search results should include all cases that use the statute section – your own annotation! Even better, you can sort your list of annotations on the fly.

Click any header of your search result to sort the list and list the most recent case first, oldest case first, most authoritative case first – however you like.

You can also sort by going to the “Results” heading at the top of the page and, once the drop down menu appears, moving your mouse over “Sort By.” Then click on the feature of your choice. It’s easy and free with Fastcase.

Finally, once you have the list of cases you want to save, just add the page to your browser’s list of favorites. (Hint: To access the list later, just make sure you are signed-in to Fastcase before clicking the link in your favorites.)

Questions? Problems? Call Fastcase at (866) 773-2782 (8 a.m.-8 p.m. EST) or shoot an e-mail to support@fastcase.com.