If you have anything to do with the law in Scotland and have not heard of CaseCheck yet, you soon will.

The brainchild of lawyer and legal technology consultant Stephen Moore, it is an online archive covering rulings by the Scottish courts and industrial appeals tribunals that went live on October 1, and it is free.

"It's like a mini-Wikipedia for Scotland's legal community," said Moore. "And I expect the main user-base to be lawyers in private practice, claims departments, in-house lawyers and law students."

What those registered users will get when they log on is not just a database of rulings. The site also provides a summary report, illustrating the relevance and main points of law of each decision, as well as space for other lawyers and commentators to supply their own obiter dicta.

According to Moore, "It's a stage for anyone within the law to demonstrate their skill in writing the summary reports, or even in supplying their own distinctive commentary.

"People can log on and add to it, and that is what gives it an extra dimension. Because it then becomes a sure way of gaining a profile, and you never know who is going to be reading your interpretation of the law. It could be a potential client or a potential employer. And as CaseCheck provides you with the perfect showcase for your analysis and erudition, it represents a real opportunity for those willing to put themselves out there."

For working lawyers, it will also take much of the legwork away, allowing busy solicitors to concentrate on what is relevant. And for students, it could revolutionise the way they study.

Moore says: "The way law is taught, if you're studying a case, you have to read through all of the decision, and work out what it means. It would be so handy if what it means was spelt out in a concise and accurate report, and then its relevance laid out in a commentary.

"Yes, many of the big legal publishing houses have their own archives already, but a lot of their applications are expensive and complicated to use. CaseCheck, however, is a platform built upon the core principles of ease of use, flexibility and simplicity - and free."

His core team, writing the reports, is advocate Euan Dow, employment lawyer Daniel Gorry and Catherine Hart of Biggart Baillie. The commentaries are supplied, for the glory and the profile, by experts from across the profession.

Not only do CaseCheck registered users gain access to the search facility and the case comments facility, they are also updated once a week through an e-mail bulletin containing details of recently added reports.

Moore, 33, who gained his law degree from Strathclyde University, and at Leiden University in Holland, went on to train with Digby Brown. However, by his second year he was running Intersettle, Scotland's online negotiation service.

Since then Moore, who also holds a masters degree in IT, has been involved in technology and law. His Glasgow-based Moore Legal Technology consultancy works with law firms, helping them to understand how they can best make use of technology.

He said: "My motivation has always been aimed at ensuring lawyers are asked to do less, rather than more, to keep pace with developments. With CaseCheck, unlike other case reporting services, however, which are more academic in nature, I'm aiming at those actively involved in interpreting and applying the law."

So far, he says, "the feedback has been great".

The next step is to introduce an Amazon-style facility where if you call up one case, it will suggest you might like to read connected cases, too.

Moore hopes to roll out the service nationally, replicate it abroad, and branch into areas such as practice management.

Funding for the site will initially be generated through advertising, however he has a vacancy for "a prince of mammon" to take it to the next stage.