What is LERN?
LERN is the on-line service of the Legal Research Network. LERN is dedicated to networking attorneys involved in litigation, with the various technical experts that support them, and engage in "expert witness" activities. The LERN service is a bulletin board style system with a variety of conferences and files related to experts and expert witness work.
One of the services of LERN is an expert witness Curriculum Vitae (CV) database, containing the full text of CV's submitted by experts. The CV's are stored in a fully text searchable database. Experts subscribing to the EXPERT-L are invited to send their CV's to LERN, by e-mail to:
system.operator@lern.mv.com
or by regular mail:
LERN also offers other services, inlucding free internet e-mail, networking opportunities between experts and legal professionals, various databases in addition to the CV database, an on-line catalog of print materials for experts, etc.
Access to the LERN service is by subscription
($99/year) or by a pay as you go method (40 cents per minute). Both legal
professionals and experts are encouraged to subscribe. The LERN service
may be accessed with any common communications program by dialing 508-829-9564.
More information about LERN can be obtained by sending an e-mail message
to
system.operator@lern.mv.com
or by regular mail to:
When is EXPERT-L?
E-mail makes nearly instantaneous communication possible. However, response from the list to a particular posting is not necessarily immediate. Usually if a posting will elicit a response, the first response will come within 48 hours (except, perhaps, around holidays). Continuing discussion of the first posting or replies can go on for weeks.
If your posting does not draw any response, it may be too general a question for an electronic mail reply. Rephrase the question while providing more information if you would like to try again. It is often helpful to follow the discussions already going on to determine the nature of the questions most successful at providing helpful responses. If you are concerned that your computer connection is unstable or the message did not make it to the list, contact the list owner at system.operator@lern.mv.com privately for help in determining whether your posting made it to the list.
Why use EXPERT-L?
EXPERT-L operates as a cooperative community of people with overlapping technical interests and expertise in the wide-ranging field of expert witness activities supporting litigation. Few of these people have large amounts of time to devote to answering questions via e-mail. However, they have a genuine interest in helping other people solve problems and concerns and learning more about other people's situations. This is what makes EXPERT-L work.
Remember that EXPERT-L is designed to be a forum for the sharing of information and expertise in a GENERAL way. It is inappropriate for specific consultations about individual concerns to be made over a computer network. This fact must be kept in mind while interpreting EXPERT-L postings - they are only general statements concerning the information which the posters have been given. Specific advice should only be given by qualified individuals who are fully aware of all the factors involved in a particular situation.
How do I use EXPERT-L?
In general, you should use EXPERT-L to help determine an appropriate next step in a particular situation. No question should be considered too basic for EXPERT-L, but remember the limitations of the medium - vague questions requiring long answers are unlikely to bring any response, and long essays are generally not conducive to e-mail discussions. If a long series of questions and answers will be required to explain a situation, it is probably best to ask for help on EXPERT-L, and then, if any willing volunteers respond, to move the discussion off the list and to correspond privately.
You join the list by sending a message to EXPERT-L@LERN.MV.COM with the single word "SUBSCRIBE" (quotes are not necessary).
To send a message to all the people currently subscribed to the list, just send mail to EXPERT-L@LERN.MV.COM. This is called "sending mail to the list", because you send mail to a single address. Copies are sent to all the people who have subscribed. This address (EXPERT-L@LERN.MV.COM) is also called the "list address".
You may leave the list at any time by sending a single line messaage with the word "UNSUBCRIBE" to EXPERT-L@LERN.MV.COM. No other text should appear in the message. It is recommended that if you will be away from your computer for an extended period that you unsubscribe to avoid a potentially large backlog of e-mail upon your return.
EXPERT-L will send you a copy of your own messages, so that you can see that the message was distributed and did not get damaged on the way.
REMINDER
EXPERT-L is a public resource. As such, anything written to EXPERT-L should be considered in the public domain and available for unlimited reproduction. Summaries and excerpts of the discussions on EXPERT-L may be printed in various media, both public and private. At the same time, please respect any copyright notice attached to a particular item by contacting the author for permission to reproduce the item. Experts should realize that there may be attorneys "lurking" on the list. This can be both potentially useful (an assignment may come from something you say on-line) or harmful (something you say on-line may be used to impeach you on the stand). Act accordingly.
DISCLAIMER
The statements on EXPERT-L are strictly personal opinion and do not represent the positions of the organization the writer works for. Any interpretations of federal, state or local government regulation must be confirmed with the appropriate agency. Neither the members of EXPERT-L nor any of the organizations providing access to EXPERT-L are responsible for the interpretation or application of the information contained within the discussions.