The new ATLA NET.

In November 1997, ATLA NET, the association's Internet Web site, moved from the Law Journal Extra! Web server, where it has resided for the past two and a half years, to a new server located at ATLA headquarters and operated by association staff. The new server will allow ATLA to bring improved online services to members. This column tells you what's new on the site.

The new ATLA NET is now bringing ATLA's message to the public from ATLA headquarters. The home page will be regularly updated with important recent cases and hot topics showing the value of the justice system and trial lawyers to the public.

ATLA NET is now searchable. Since it is, it should be the first place you go to find cases published in the Law Reporter and articles from TRIAL and the Advocate you need but no longer have readily available. The full texts of ATLA's primary publications are on ATLA NET. Back issues of the Law Reporter from May 1993 to the present and back issues of TRIAL magazine and the Advocate from June 1995 to the present are available. Just be sure to use ATLA NETs "Search the Entire Site" feature--not "Search the Public Site," which does not include a search of the publications--when looking for cases and articles.

Meet me at the forum

The online forums have been upgraded. In an effort to foster direct communication among members, ATLA NET now provides forums, or discussion groups, for each of the association's sections and for demographic and interest areas. The forums are organized into several broad categories, and each of these has its own home page. And for the first time, ATLA NET can provide private forums for ATLA committees, which can be accessed only by committee members.

Participants in an online forum e-mail messages to everyone on the list. Members may reply to a message by responding to all forum members or only to the writer of the original message. Also, members have the option of receiving a daily digest or index of messages rather than all the messages individually.

Members can view the history of messages and search them with a Web browser. The Web interface also allows composing new messages and replies to messages in fill-in-the-blanks Web browser forms.

Those who do not want to receive forum messages as e-mail but want to participate in forum discussions can choose a no-mail option. This allows participants to post messages and view message archives but receive no messages by e-mail.

In addition to the section forums, ATLA NET also has discussion areas for the Minority Caucus, the Women Trial Lawyers Caucus, the New Lawyers Division, and law student and paralegal affiliate members. Several specialty forums feature discussions on law office technology, medical negligence, transportation, expert witnesses, and Macintosh computers.

Locate members

ATLA NET's searchable member directory makes it easy to locate a member. You can search by a member's first, middle, or last name and by a member's city, state, or country. You can also conduct a search by section membership or by words in a member's sustaining or life membership biography.

Search results show a member's name and primary address. Phone and fax numbers and e-mail and Web site addresses are shown when this information has been provided to ATLA. Section membership information is displayed for current section members, and life and sustaining member biographies are also displayed.

Find a new employee

An underutilized feature of ATLA NET is the job bank. Members can list job opportunities in their firms, and the resulting list of openings is accessible by the public. The listings page attracts regular traffic despite the limited number of listings. The more this service is used, the more valuable it will become. So next time your firm has a position open, give the job bank a try.

Research cases

You can request ATLA Exchange research services and documents online by using the electronic version of the Exchange Request Form. If you are new to the Exchange, you should read the description of services on ATLA NET before ordering. Some members find it convenient to fax a hard copy of the order form to the Exchange, but if you are comfortable working online, it's hard to beat the convenience of never having to leave your computer to order what you need.

ATLA NET features two Exchange databases that let you search for specific depositions or court documents. Other Exchange document banks and research databases are not yet available on the Web.

A new Exchange Web site is currently being designed. It will make all of the Exchange text databases available for members' use via the Internet. Although this site will not be part of ATLA NET, there will be links to it from ATLA NET.

Visit us

Visit us at http://www.atlanet.org, and let us know what you think about our site. We have opted for a straightforward presentation of information and made a conscious decision to refrain from using some of the Web's fancier features.

You can comment publicly in our Feedback Forum at [e-mail], or you can contact the ATLA NET coordinator at [phone], ext. 308 or via e-mail at [e-mail].

George Shaffer is ATLA's Information Services manager.

RELATED ARTICLE: Make yourself at home on ATLA NET

To use ATLA NET, you need to have Internet access and a Web browser. In your browser's "location," or address field, enter http:/www.atlanet.org. This will bring you to ATLA's home page. In addition to the topical items listed on the page, you will see a "Members Only" link in the left column. Click on this.

Members who have not yet registered on the new ATLA NET site should click on "Get your password here." Your password from the old site will not work; you must get a new one. If at any time you forget your password or username, you can get new ones by clicking on "Get your password here."

When you register, the e-mail address you enter will be used to update your member record. Addresses are updated each weekday evening, so your address should appear in the online directory on the day after you register.

To register on ATLA NET, you will need your seven-digit membership number, which is located just above your first name on your TRIAL magazine mailing label. Call the Membership Department at [phone] if you need help finding this number. You will also need the year in which you passed the bar exam or your birth year.

Once you have registered, you will be able to reach the members-only areas of ATLA NET. The first protected area you try to enter will ask for your username and password. Enter the username and password you assigned yourself when you registered.

With most browsers, you need to enter this only once per session, and you can then move freely between members-only and public areas without additional prompting. Each time you close your browser and later return to any members-only part of ATLA NET, you will be prompted for your username and password.

At the bottom of every ATLA NET page is a navigation bar, which makes it easy for you to move through the site. The items on this bar are linked to the main areas of the site.

Members' access to ATLA NET is free. The only charge is to your service provider (for example, America Online) for Internet access. ATLA products and services that you would ordinarily buy via fax or mail do not cost more when you order from the Web site.