The
story
of
Shepard’s
Citations
began
when
a
salesman
named
Frank
Shepard
published
the
first
version
of
his
guide
to
legal
precedence
in
1873
after
noticing
how
his
attorney
colleagues
kept
notes
on
case
treatment
in
the
margins
of
their
documents.
That
was
150
years
ago
this
year.
Today,
Shepard’s
Citations
Services
continues
to
be
the
top
choice
for
attorneys
across
practice
areas,
within
law
firms
or
as
corporate
counsel,
looking
to
build
their
arguments
and
make
critical
decisions
from
the
best
case
law
available.
In
a
recent
interview,
Above
the
Law
spoke
with
Principal
Product
Manager
Huiling
Chen
and
Product
Manager
Karen
Hay
about
the
history
of
Shepard’s
Citations
and
how
LexisNexis
continually
revitalizes
Shepard’s
for
today’s
attorneys.
Take
In
History
At
A
Glance
Hay
highlights
Shepard’s
unique
historical
display
of
case
treatment
as
a
prime
example
of
that
revitalization.
Introduced
with
the
product’s
150
year
anniversary
in
mind,
History
at
a
Glance
gives
legal
researchers
a
new,
easier
way
to
view
the
historical
context
of
a
case.
History
at
a
Glance
provides
high-level
analysis
and
context
for
the
development
and
treatment
of
a
legal
case
over
time,
allowing
researchers
to
determine
whether
the
citations
used
in
their
own
drafting
are
good
law.
The
feature
tracks
a
case’s
entire
history
and
displays
that
information
in
a
dynamic
graphic
that
adapts
to
the
history
of
the
Shepardized
case,
as
well
as
to
specifications
set
by
the
researcher.
Screenshot courtesy
of
LexisNexis.
Importantly,
History
at
a
Glance
bolsters
Shepard’s
ability
to
help
researchers
to
deal
with
one
problem
Frank
Shepard
never
encountered:
today’s
massive
body
of
case
law.
“We
have
some
cases
with
over
a
thousand
results
in
their
histories,”
says
Hay.
“History
at
a
Glance
helps
you
narrow
those
results
down
and
find
where
and
when
those
important
decisions
were
made.”
History
at
a
Glance’s
intuitive
interface
is
a
key
part
of
the
product’s
ability
to
direct
researchers
to
the
best
case
law
available
and
provide
seamless
access
to
information
about
how
specific
court
decisions
have
impacted
the
Shepardized
case.
Additional
filters
streamline
the
search
process,
equipping
researchers
to
swiftly
sort
out
jurisdictions,
documents
types,
and
other
factors
that
are
irrelevant
to
the
task
at
hand.
“It
goes
back
to
our
150
years
of
experience
analyzing
these
cases
and
connecting
them,”
adds
Chen.
“What
Shepard’s
does
is
simplify
and
summarize
to
answer
your
key
question
while
providing
information
and
context
about
relevant
proceedings.”
Screenshot
courtesy
of
LexisNexis.
150
Years
of
Shepard’s
When
your
product’s
name
becomes
a
verb,
you
know
you’ve
made
it.
“Shepardizing
your
case
is
the
first
thing
you
learn
in
your
legal
research
and
writing
classes,”
says
Hay.
“When
I
was
clerking
and
practicing,
that’s
what
the
partners
would
always
ask:
‘Did
you
Shepardize?’”
“In
the
eyes
of
every
partner
I’ve
worked
for,
Shepard’s
has
been
the
gold
standard
for
whether
you’ll
demonstrate
completeness
and
competence
in
the
courtroom.”
The
high
level
of
trust
attorneys
have
in
Shepard’s,
however,
had
to
be
earned
through
a
century
and
a
half
of
excellent,
accurate
analysis
and
evaluation
of
the
law.
Frank
Shepard’s
first
pamphlets
were
a
reflection
of
a
focus
on
practicality,
initially
only
covering
case
law
relevant
to
attorneys
based
in
his
home
state
of
Illinois,
according
to
LexisNexis.
Those
pamphlets
evolved
into
“adhesive
annotations”
that
could
be
pasted
directly
into
document
margins
during
the
research
process.
Image
courtesy
of
LexisNexis.
Those
pamphlets
soon
grew
into
large,
bound
volumes
that
tackled
case
law
in
an
ever-expanding
range
of
jurisdictions
while
the
Shepard’s
company
weathered
both
World
Wars
and
the
Great
Depression.
To
this
day,
editions
of
these
printed
works
line
the
walls
of
law
libraries
across
the
nation.
(For
those
dedicated
to
physical
books,
current
print
editions
of
Shepard’s
Citations
are
still
available.)
Shepard’s
moved
online
in
1980,
but
it
wasn’t
until
LexisNexis
acquired
Shepard’s
in
1999
that
the
research
tool’s
online
platform
gained
the
extensive
analytical
capabilities
today’s
users
have
come
to
know
and
appreciate.
Image
courtesy
of
LexisNexis.
Innovations
introduced
by
LexisNexis
–
including
tech-assisted
document
analysis
tools
and
a
fresh
vetting
and
drafting
process
helmed
by
a
team
of
attorney-editors
—
have
since
boosted
the
speed,
accuracy,
and
usability
of
the
Shepard’s
platform.
History
at
a
Glance,
developed
with
the
aid
of
extensive
customer
input,
is
only
the
latest
iteration
of
how
Shepard’s
follows
Frank
Shepard’s
drive
to
streamline
the
legal
research
process
and
adapt
to
the
needs
of
today’s
attorneys.
Chen
and
Hay
say
their
team
will
continue
to
carry
on
that
mission
through
each
new
iteration
and
update
of
Shepard’s.
“We’re
driven
by
the
same
concepts
that
drove
Frank
Shepard
forward:
providing
comprehensive,
accurate,
timely
data
in
an
innovative
way,”
says
Chen.
“I
think
he’d
be
proud
of
what
he
created
and
the
fact
that
he
laid
the
foundation
that
allows
us
to
practice
the
way
we
do
today,”
Hay
adds.
To
learn
more
about
Shepard’s
Citations
Services
or
Lexis+,
please
visit
LexisNexis.com.