Legal Research

Roy Mersky at UT

Posted on May 07, 2008
I have been informed that Roy Mersky passed away. Mr. Mersky died peacefully Tuesday, May 6, 2008 at 5:23 pm at the Hospice Austin's Christopher House. He was with family.From the University of Texas' website:http://www.utexas.edu/law/faculty/profile...

Microsoft-Yahoo deal off?

Posted on May 06, 2008
From law.com newswires:Yahoo's Skadden Lawyers Engineer Rarely Used Tactic to Hold Off MicrosoftZusha Elinson05-06-2008Pundits may credit Yahoo CEO JerryYang's bullheadedness with scaring off Microsoft for the moment, but it appears that a tiny, yet timely, legal maneuver by Yahoo's lawyers also played a key role...

PLoL and Justia

Posted on May 02, 2008
Free Case Law Databasesby Carole Levitt and Mark Rosch, Editors of Internet Fact Finding For LawyersOriginally published in Internet Fact Finding For Lawyers, March/April 2008.Reprinted on The Virtual ChaseLevitt and Rosch summarize what researchers will find on The Public Library of Law (http://www...

Sneak preview of the AmLaw 100

Posted on April 30, 2008
Go over to law.com for a sneak preview of the American Lawyer 100 spread.Lessons of The Am Law 100: Is the Golden Age Over?Big firms just finished the best five years since we began our records.Now, head count and salaries outpace revenue and ratesAric Press and John O'ConnorThe American LawyerApril 30, 2008

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sched.org

Posted on April 29, 2008
I heard about this from someone on the AALLNET Advisory Committee - sched.org. It is a web-based scheduling application that was created in 14 hours by two men who wanted to keep up with the South by Southwest schedule in Austin. For more details, check the story from March at Wired...

New type of sneakwrap form

Posted on April 23, 2008
This posting deals with someone questioning a medical form to send his medical information, name, DOB and SSN to a genetics institute. He protested and eventually was able to get his procedure completed without signing the extra form. Ed Foster calls it a new sneakwrap form...

FuelEconomy.gov

Posted on April 22, 2008
FuelEconomy.govU.S. Department of Energy and U.S Environmental Protection AgencyUse this site to find out the estimated mileage of cars, even whole classes of vehicles. Many of the vehicles have the new EPA MPG estimates listed.http://www.fueleconomy...

Recycle Those Old Cell Phones

Posted on April 21, 2008
There are many ways to recycle your old cell phones. Here are a few ideas:Help Our Troops Call Homewww.cellphonesforsoldiers.comSprint: Support Internet Safety for Kidswww.sprint.com/projectconnectCharitable Recyclinghttp://www.charitablerecycling.com/CR/home...

Legal education

Posted on April 17, 2008
I found this FindLaw Writ column putting forth the theory that law students should get an MBA as well.The Case for Combining Law School with Business School: Five Key Reasons to Think Very Seriously About the OptionBy JULIE HILDENMonday, Apr. 14, 2008Recently, I discovered that a law school friend and I share one major regret: We both wish we had combined our law school education with a business school education...

Restatements

Posted on April 17, 2008
Need to keep up on the projects involving the Restatements?See the American Law Institute Project webpages:http://www.ali.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=projects.main

2008 Texas Courthouse Guide Now Available

Posted on April 16, 2008
I just saw that the new directory is ready!The Texas Lawyer has published the new guide with over 700 changes. Pre-order is available by April 30th for $44.95 per copy (plus tax). Those that pre-order receive free shipping.Contact 214-744-9300 for more information.

Check the inventory at Borders

Posted on April 15, 2008
If you like to know what's in the Borders store before you make the trek over there, then read this post on http://www.lifeclever.com/http://www.lifeclever.com/shh-borders-bookstore-has-a-secret-inventory-search-tool/

Free Access to Legal Dockets During NLW

Posted on April 15, 2008
This was on the Legal Dockets Online Blog:http://www.legaldockets.com/files/blogger.htmlBy Paul M. Bush, CEO of Courtport, LLC"In honor of National Library Week, please enjoy free access to Legal Dockets Online beginning today, and ending on April 20...

Computers In Libraries' Tech Tools

Posted on April 15, 2008
I was in DC last week for the "Computers in Libraries" conference. Roger Skalbeck (from Georgetown Law Library) and I spoke on "Tech Tools for Effectively Managing Information". For a list of the applications we presented see http://del.icio.us/tag/cil2008-techtools...

Happy Tax Day...Dunkin' Donuts Offering Free Donuts

Posted on April 15, 2008
I just saw this on the Law Librarian Blog that Dunkin' Donuts is giving away free donuts with a purchase of any size coffee.Dunkin' Donuts is a big hit in the East Coast but hard to find in the Dallas area, so here is a list of addresses for DD. DD plans to open at least 125 stores over the next few years...

University of Chicago bans classroom internet

Posted on April 14, 2008
U of C Law School Takes Classrooms Out of the Internet Age Jerry CrimminsChicago Daily Law BulletinApril 10, 2008The University of Chicago Law School has removed Internet access in most of its classrooms because of a growing problem of students surfing the Web on laptops during lectures...

Instant price quotes from Amazon

Posted on April 11, 2008
I saw a reference to this in The Virtual Chase today. Amazon.com is now offering a service to text a product name, UPC, or ISBN to 262966 from your cell phone and get an almost instant text message back with their price and other information.More details in this press release: http://phx...

Found on LLRX

Posted on April 08, 2008
Food for thoughtThe Tao of Law Librarianship: If the Books Go, Will They Still Want Us?by Connie Crosbyhttp://www.llrx.com/columns/tao13.htmhttp://conniecrosby.blogspot.com/

Portland bound!

Posted on April 07, 2008
If you're planning to go to AALL this summer, take a few minutes to read Laura J. Orr's article, "Portland in small bites" in the April 2008 issue of AALL Spectrum. Sounds like we need to pack our walking shoes and prepare for books, beer, coffee, plants, and more.

Cell phones and the Do Not Call List

Posted on April 03, 2008
It is true, you may register your phone number on the federal Do Not Call list. Contrary to the occasional round of emails you might receive, cell phone directories are not going to be released to telemarketers in the near future.For more information, read the press release from the Federal Trade Commission at http://www...

An Operating System for Law: Online Cases

Posted on March 31, 2008
An Operating System for Law: Online CasesBy Eriq Gardner IP Law & Business March 31, 2008This is an article that will have great appeal for all law librarians.Carl Malamud has been bothered for 25 years by the fact that U.S. case law is locked away from the public's eyes...

Section 108 report available

Posted on March 31, 2008
The Section 108 study is now available. Description from the website:The Section 108 Study Group is a select committee of copyright experts charged with updating for the digital world the Copyright Act's balance between the rights of creators and copyright owners and the needs of libraries and archives...

Texas legislative timeline

Posted on March 27, 2008
I just found this while looking at the Legislative Reference Library website - a timeline of Texas legislative history. It gives a chart and narrative timeline of the different publications of the statutes and the recodification project. It's worth a look, and a tool for those summer associates who need to understand just how these funny black statutes work.

Paper on PACER by Peter W. Martin of Cornell Law School

Posted on March 25, 2008
Online Access to Court Records - from Documents to Data, Particulars to Patternswas posted today to the Social Science Research Network. It is located at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1107412Abstract: For over a decade the public has had remote access to federal court records held in electronic format, including documents filed by litigants and judicial rulings...

Taxonomy Warehouse

Posted on March 25, 2008
Don't you love the serendipity of finding out about new things? This one came from reading an email from Cindy L. Chick regarding http://www.lawlibtech.com/While on that page, I saw the term Taxonomies and then discovered:Taxonomy WarehouseTaxonomy Warehouse was created in 2001 as a valuable community resource, available free to users and vocabulary publishers to help organizations maximize their information assets and break through today?s information overload...

AALL Spectrum: Member to Member

Posted on March 24, 2008
Read what they say - Jennifer Stephens and Barbara Fullerton are quoted in the AALL Spectrum when they replied to the following question - "what "extinct" book, research tool, database, etc., do you miss from an earlier time and why"http://www.aallnet...

DON?T FORGET TO VOTE IN THE PLL ELECTION!

Posted on March 24, 2008
ONE OF OUR DALL MEMBERS IS RUNNING FOR OFFICE AS A PLL BOARD MEMBERName : Jennifer S. StephensNominated for : Board MemberCurrent Position : Librarian (Attorney Services), Haynes and Boone, LLP, Dallas , TX (2002-present)Previous Positions: Tax Information Services, Halliburton Company, Carrollton , TX (1998-2002); Law Librarian, Dresser Industries Inc...

New patent rocket docket

Posted on March 24, 2008
I ran across this article on law.com this am.New Patent Rocket Docket Rises in WisconsinSheri QualtersThe National Law JournalMarch 21, 2008Patent attorneys are hailing the Western District of Wisconsin as the nation's newest so-called rocket docket, characterized by speedy trials and a jury pool friendly to patent holders...

Bloggers' Get Together At AALL

Posted on March 20, 2008
It's time to mark your calendars for the AALL's Third Annual Bloggers Get Together!Time: 5-6 p.m.Date: Sunday, July 13thPlace: TBAGuest Speaker: TBA (we are inviting bloggers from the Portland area)Come share your ideas and meet the other law librarian bloggers! Open to all bloggers and potential bloggers...

From Law Librarian Update

Posted on March 14, 2008
The Connecticut Law Tribune:Last month, Fastcase launched what it calls the "largest free law library" on the Internet with the debut of the Public Library of Law, which consolidates more than two million pages of cases.

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