Legal Research

CasemakerX

Posted on August 17, 2008
Casemaker has started a new CasemakerX system for law students. CasemakerX is a sort of social networking site, but one only needs to register for CasemakerX, and doesn't need to include personal information, to get free access to Casemaker. Using Casemaker could make a law student familiar with how legal research is done at many smaller law firms (i...

Now the Semester REALLY begins

Posted on August 15, 2008
O.K., new students, you have had your introduction and fun at orientation, now it is time to really start Law School. As of this Sunday, I go back to my regular prowling hours and the Library resumes its regular hours as well - which are listed below and, of course, on the Library's web site...

Legal News Sources

Posted on August 14, 2008
As many of you know, our Law Library home page offers a scrolling update at the bottom of the page that provides law-related news. Those who seek even more sources for news related to the law, however, should examine Professor Peter Suber?s Legal News Sources Web portal page...

Library Walking Tours

Posted on August 13, 2008
As promised, I will let you know about Library events. As part of orientation, and to properly introduce you to the Law Library, we have 1/2 hour walking tours (schedule listed below). In these tours, you will get a sense of just how much we have to offer in the Library, some of our policies, and some tips for studying - the best place for quiet study, a great handout to help you with your Legal Writing assignment and other great tips...

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WELCOME FIRST YEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted on August 13, 2008
WELCOME TO LAW SCHOOL AND TO THE LAW LIBRARY!!!!By the end of today, you will have been introduced to me - Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat. It is my job to prowl the Library, virtually of course, and report back to you on Library events and workshops, great sites to visit in the Virtual world, and occasionally even great sites to visit in the so-called "bricks and mortar" world (occasionally referred to as the real world)...

We're not always serious

Posted on August 12, 2008
Law school is intense and time consuming, but we can still take time for fun. Thanks to Law Librarian blog for their you tube double feature: "I guess you didn't know we had a system for shelving books" and "They weren't meant to be or how discussing the Dewey Decimal System in the library leads to a break up...

Wall Street Journal Law Blog

Posted on August 11, 2008
For current events in legal news, I like to read the Wall Street Journal Law Blog. The blog is updated frequently and keeps me up to date on recent court cases, new laws and political issues. Recent topics include pregnancy discrimination, counterfeit goods on ebay, and expert witnesses...

MetaVid

Posted on August 10, 2008
MetaVid is a relatively new site that archives videos of federal legislative action. Its contents are only from about the last two years, and because it relies largely on user uploads, it does not contain videos of everything that happens in Congress...

Olympic Justice

Posted on August 09, 2008
While millions of spectators enjoy the 2008 Olympic Games, lawyers are ready in the host city to handle the sports-related disputes that always arise. This is the domain of the Tribunal for the Olympic Games in Beijing, which will operate as an ad hoc division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) through August 24...

Library Hours next week

Posted on August 08, 2008
It has come time for me to step up my prowling duties. With the new students arriving on Tuesday, I will be prowling (and the Library will be open) longer hours for orientation, as listed below. As always, you can check the Library's web site for our hours and for other Library related information...

Culture

Posted on August 06, 2008
One of my favorite free online newsletters is Culture. As a forum for "exploring the complex of meanings that informs and shapes our social world", Culture offers great articles about contemporary culture. Past subjects include: the history of the work cubicle (Fall 2007); the disappearance of shop class (Spring 2007); and individualism in social networking sites (Spring 2008)...

American Lawbreaking

Posted on August 05, 2008
American Lawbreaking by Timothy Wu is a series of articles published on slate.com in 2007. Wu explores what he calls "the black spots in American law: areas in which our laws are routinely and regularly broken and where the law enforcement response is...

Declaration Signed Today in 1776

Posted on August 02, 2008
Yes, that's right. Not many people celebrate August 2 as the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, but it is. The Continental Congress approved the Declaration on July 4, 1776, by unanimous voice vote, and also voted to have it printed...

Summer & Law & Movies

Posted on August 01, 2008
So what do summer, law and movies have in common? It is August, classes are finished and the bar exam is done, so what better time then to catch up on some good flicks. For the legal aspect, check out the latest issue of ABA Journal online for The 25 Greatest Legal Movies...

Portmanteau Words

Posted on July 31, 2008
A linguistic oddity that pervades the English language far more than many realize is the portmanteau word. Portmanteau words are ?blend? words that are derived by combining sections of two or more separate words. Some famous examples include the ?nonsense? words in Lewis Carroll?s poem ?Jabberwocky?, such as ?slithy? (compounded of slimy and lithe)...

Constitutional Sources Project

Posted on July 29, 2008
The Constitutional Sources Project is a collection of letters, speeches and journals of our nation's founders. The goal is to create and maintain the first, free, fully- indexed, comprehensive online library of constitutional sources. The collections include: Constitutional PrecedentsThe United States ConstitutionJames Madison's Notes of the Constitutional ConventionThe Federalist PapersAnti-Federalist and Pro-Federalist PapersState Ratification DebatesBill of Rights Legislative HistoryState Constitution and ChartersThe Papers of George WashingtonDocuments by AuthorTruly a treasure trove and the project is still adding documents...

The Onion on Convoluted Legal Wranglings

Posted on July 27, 2008
There was a funny article in The Onion last week about Mets third baseman David Wright appealing a check swing call to the Supreme Court. It is funny because umpires and judges have some things in common (as PrawfsBlawg points out, Chief Justice Roberts has analogized his Court to a crew of umpires), because spending years waiting for a ball-strike call exemplifies how out of sync the timing of our courts can be with real life, because a check swing involves the sort of subjective test courts like to examine at length, and because it quotes John Kruk explaining originalist interpretation...

HealthMap

Posted on July 26, 2008
The students around me are absorbed in studying for the bar exam, so it's a good time to prowl the Web for cool sites making news. If you haven't seen HealthMap yet, take a look when you have a chance. HealthMap tracks the latest infectious disease outbreaks throughout the world by gathering and filtering masses of information from news and other web sites, including health organization and government sources...

Quick Study break

Posted on July 25, 2008
For those studying hard for the bar exam and needing a quick break, try Hangman . It has topics like American Presidents, cartoon heroes and Reasons to Stay Inside on a Sunny Day. I just played a quick 2 minute game and had a bit of fun.Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Official U.S. Time

Posted on July 24, 2008
Anyone (especially busy and time-conscious students who are studying for next week?s New York State Bar Examination) who would like to set his or her timepieces to the official U.S. time will find the solution here.Just click your time zone on the map...

Multijurisdictional Practice

Posted on July 23, 2008
Attorney multijurisdictional practice is an increasingly important topic for attorneys. Thus, it is essential to be aware of topics such as, admission by motion, reciprocity, and pro hac vice admission. The web page of the ABA's Commission on Multijurisdictional Practice is a great place to start...

Westlaw and Lexis Directories

Posted on July 20, 2008
Law students often have trouble transitioning from the "free" (flat-rate) Westlaw and Lexis access they receive in law school to using these systems at firms where charges must be justified and clients don't like to see large bills for online research...

PolicyArchive Launched

Posted on July 19, 2008
PolicyArchive, billed as the "nation's first free, comprehensive, online archive of public policy research," became available yesterday. With over 12,000 policy documents from over 220 think tanks, PolicyArchive hopes to become the world's largest online repository of public policy research, reaching up to 20,000 documents by the end of 2008...

Legal Anagrams

Posted on July 17, 2008
As many of you know, an anagram is a word whose letters may be rearranged to form another word. For instance, ?time? may become ?item?, with its letters suitably rearranged. Here are some amusing anagrams created from the phrase ?the legal profession?, courtesy of the Anagram Genius site: *Large if not hopeless *Posh liars on fee gelt *Profile those angles * Pleasing fools there *Oops! All-nighter fees...

Dickens And The Law

Posted on July 10, 2008
Next to Shakespeare, the English-language author who is perhaps most famous for his characters? observations about the law is Charles Dickens. This page offers an amusing and interesting assortment of Dickens? characters? law-related ruminations.May you never be embroiled in a modern-day Jarndyce v...

Free Online Courses

Posted on July 09, 2008
You may know that universities such as Harvard, MIT and Berkeley have been offering free classes online via iTunes, YouTube and more. Open Culture has made them easier to find by providing a list of free online courses offered by several universities...

60 Gadgets in 60 minutes

Posted on July 08, 2008
Techie fun can be found at 60 Gadgets in 60 minutes. Some of the gadgets are silly and others cutting edge, but it is a good way to get a quick overview of current technological innovation.Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Laptop Distraction

Posted on July 06, 2008
Do you sometimes find yourself playing games during class, rather than taking notes? Apparently members of certain foreign parliaments have the same problem.Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

If You Think Law School Is Hard . . .

Posted on June 29, 2008
. . . just try being waterboarded. Artist Steve Powers is looking for 50 attorneys to waterboard for five seconds, because attorneys are "qualified to impartially describe the experience." There is no word on whether Steve Powers is related to Fran Powers, who ran to become the nominee of the Libertarian Party for the congressional seat representing Staten Island...

Saturday's Virtual Silence

Posted on June 27, 2008
Just a reminder to everyone - tomorrow (Saturday, June 28) all of us with Virtual voices will be silenced. The infrastructure necessary for my existence (routers, switches and other gizmos) are being upgraded and replaced. This means there will be no network access...

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