ATL -- The Nine Lives of Blawg Posts and Legal Articles

Today Above The Law has a great post with tips for how attorneys can get the most out of any legal writing that they do. Basically this involves using different social media to share articles and republishing the same article in multiple formats.

This advice could be useful for both clerks and new associates at law firms, and solo and small firm practitioners who are trying to build a practice. As ATL notes, the work of writing legal articles often falls to clerks and new associates (even though firm partners often share or take the by-lines), so getting more readers for an article can give clerks and new associates more professional exposure. And solo and small firm practitioners can make themselves appear big and important (and thus attract more clients) by writing articles that seem to have been written by seasoned experts.


Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

BP Oil Spill Lawsuits

Here they come: See a list of the British Petroleum oil spill-related lawsuits filed so far, with links to the orders and complaints, here.

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Oxford English Dictionary 'will not be printed again'

The next edition of the Oxford English Dictionary, the world’s most definitive work on the language, will never be printed because of the impact of the internet on book sales. Click here to read Alastair Jamieson's report.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

1L: Lexis & Westlaw training

1L Lexis and Westlaw training starts this Wednesday, September 1st and runs through Friday, September 17th. !L students received an email announcing the training sessions and there is the Ernester Announces poster in the hallway of the Law Library with the sessions schedules.

Lexis and Westlaw training is mandatory for all 1L students so you must attend one of these workshops. Attendance is taken.

The sign up book for the training sessions is at the Circulation Desk in the Law Library. There are restrictions on class size so be prepared to look for alternative days and times.

These are hands-on training sessions, so:

You must have registered and created your custom IDs with both Lexis and Westlaw. You must have your Custom IDs when you come to class.

If you sign up for a session in a class room, a laptop is necessary. You may bring a laptop to the sessions in the lower level computer lab or use one of the library's computers in the lab.

Schedule:

Week of 8/30
Wednesday, Sept. 1st: 12:10-1:30 - Rm 242 | 6:10-7:30 - Basement Lab
Thursday, Sept. 2nd: 12:10-1:30 - Basement Lab | 2:10-3:30 - Basement Lab | 5:10-6:30 - Basement Lab
Friday, Sept. 3rd: 12:10-1:30 - Rm 242 | 1:40-3:00 - Rm 242
Saturday, Sept. 4th: 1:10-2:30 - Basement Lab

Week of 9/6
Tuesday, Sept. 7th: 2:10-3:30 - Basement Lab | 5:10-6:30 - Basement Lab
Wednesday, Sept. 8th: 12:10-1:30 - Rm 205 | 2:10-3:30 - Basement Lab
Thursday, Sept. 9th: 12:10-1:30 - Basement Lab
Friday, Sept. 10th: 12:10-1:30 - Rm 242
Sunday, Sept. 12th: 1:10-2:30 - Basement Lab

Week of 9/13
Monday, Sept. 13th: 12:10-1:30 - Rm 242 | 5:10-6:30 - Basement Lab
Tuesday, Sept. 14th: 12:10-1:30 - Basement Lab | 2:10-3:30 - Basement Lab | 5:10-6:30 - Basement Lab
Wednesday, Sept. 15th: 12:10-1:30 - Rm 242 | 2:10-3:30 - Basement Lab
Thursday, Sept. 16th: 2:10-3:30 - Basement Lab
Friday, Sept. 17th: 1:40-3:30 - Rm 242

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Constitutional Law--Web Resources

For those absorbed in Constitutional Law this semester, there are some good background resources out on the Web. One of my favorites is "The American Constitution - A Documentary Record." Part of Yale Law Library's Avalon Project, it gathers the state constitutions from the founders' era, delegates' notes from the Constitutional Convention, ratification documents, and other early compacts, charters and resolutions on which the U.S. Constitution was built. Another good source for background and review is the annotated U.S. Constitution found on Cornell University Law School's Legal Information Institute (LII) site. For each section and amendment, there is a link to a discussion of the text in historical and theoretical context, with case citations, prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS), which provides objective, nonpartisan research and analysis to Congressional committees and members of Congress.
Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Research is more than just Lexis and Westlaw

Either you already know (or if you are a first year, you soon will) how great Lexis and Westlaw are for your research. BUT!!! There is much more out there that can make your research much better and sometimes much quicker.

The Library's Online Resources page is a subject arranged listing of available databases and really useful free web sites. Need pdfs of articles??? Try HeinOnline. Need ideas for a paper topic??? Try BNA. Have a library assignment and need to find a periodicals index??? Try Index to Legal Periodicals.

All of these and much, much more are available through the Online Resources link.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Guide To Free Legal Research Online

The Law Student Guide to Free Legal Research on the Internet is now available. We cannot improve upon the brief self-description that appears on the home page, so it is, verbatim:

"First off, you should know that this guide won’t make legal research fun or fast or easy. Legal research is boring and tedious and nothing can change that. The best you can hope for is to plug along long enough that you eventually can get an unfortunate law student such as yourself to do your research for you.

What this guide can do is make legal research cheap. Free, as a matter of fact."

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Case Reporters, RIP?

A Canadian law blog has put up an interesting post cheering what it sees as the impending death of the printed case reporter, since these are often full of public information but sold by private publishers for profit. Of course, the author doesn't mention the things that private publishers often add to cases that are a major convenience (at least for American attorneys), like headnotes. And saying that "Westlaw, Canada Law Book, Carswell - are on the precipice of corporate death" is a real overstatement. But it is true that there is a trend for law firms and law schools to cancel their subscriptions to printed case reporters. For about a decade, U.S. law librarian email lists have had regular postings of entire 100+ volume sets of case reporters, as "free to a good home" because they are being discarded.


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Copyright Issues Hit a Sour Note With Jazz Fans

The National Jazz Museum in Harlem recently acquired the Savory Collection. An audio engineer named William Savory created this treasure trove of never before released recordings. It boasts 100 hours of music recorded on 1000 aluminum and vinyl discs--a pretty impressive format at the time.

Recorded from radio broadcasts in the late 1930s, this historic collection includes performances by Count Basie, Louis Armstrong, Billy Holiday, Lester Young, Lionel Hampton, Fats Waller, Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman, and more. Take it from me, they were pretty cool cats!

However, the recordings were tucked away for decades. After Savory's death, his son sold the collection to NJM. Unfortunately, copyright issues may delay the release of these treasures. Hopefully, museum and record label officials will work through these issues and jazz lovers can leave feeling kind of blue to Miles.

Click the links to read more about William Savory, the Savory Collection, copyright issues concerning the collection, and a possible remedy.
Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Beloit College Mindset List

Since 1998 Beloit College has released the Mindset List to provide a culture touchstone for students entering college this Fall. It is fun to read the lists for different years for an overview of cultural references have changed.
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