For those of us 1950 kids, Perry Mason is a known quantity.  For those of us non 1950s kids, this was a show featuring a pelfy attorney, aka Perry Mason, a cynical investigator, aka Paul Drake, and the most awesome quintessence of paralegal/legal assistant excellence anywhere in the known television universe, aka Della Street.

Sigh, these days reality is just not the same.   Gone is that mad rush to court. E-filing has taken a big bite out of the thrill. And gone is much of the dusty research.  The web has taken a big bite out of that as well.

So what is left?  Becoming more like that cynical investigator, that is what. Today knowing where to look is just as important as Paul Drakes’ job was back in his days on the show.

And here is where we look first.  Local court menus of cases, hours of operation for the clerks’ office, and phone numbers for the clerks and for chambers.  Legal research tools such as Lexis/Nexis and others and even Google Scholar.  Knowing where to find links to creating a praecipe when time is short sometimes makes or breaks a case.

Bottom line, know the local court’s website and check it often.