LexLibris

Upcoming film:

Documentary on post-9/11 hate violence, “Divided We Fall: Americans in the Aftermath�
Monday, December 3rd, at 7:30 PM at Coffman Theatre
The screening is organized by the Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights, and co-sponsored by a variety of University groups, including the Human Rights Center, Muslim Law Students Association, and Asian Pacific American Law Student Association. U of MN Law Student Ilina Chaudhuri also contributed research support to the film.

For more information, see the Events listing or the film's website: http://www.dwf-film.com/

Posted by University of Minnesota Law Library at 11:50 AM | Permalink

"Ellie Margolis (Temple) Surfin' Safari - Why Competent Lawyers Should Research on the Web, 10 Yale Journal of Law & Technology __ (2007), reviews the various ways in which the adequacy of a lawyer's research can be measured. If you are interested in the possiblity that legal research may become a bar exam component, check out this article. Here's the abstract from SSRN:

'The easy availability of information on the internet has drastically changed the way that lawyers conduct legal research, but has it affected the standards for competency to which lawyers are held? This article explores the ways in which judges' and lawyers' expectations have been shaped by technological changes in the last two decades.

The article reviews the various ways in which the adequacy of a lawyer's research can be measured - the Model Rules of Professional Conduct, court rules such as Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and malpractice claims. All of these approaches reveal that competence is measured both by what techniques are standard in practice and by what sources judges look to in supporting their decisions. By both of these measures, a competent lawyer today must go beyond Lexis and Westlaw and conduct legal research directly on the internet.

Because many legal materials are increasingly available only online, and because judges are showing a greater willingness to rely on non-legal information available on the web, the article concludes that a lawyer cannot competently represent a client without conducting research on the internet. The conclusion urges law schools and the practicing bar to be aware of this development and instruct law students and new lawyers accordingly.'"

Source: Law Librarian Blog

Posted by University of Minnesota Law Library at 04:26 PM | Permalink

During December 3-20, part of the first floor of the Law Library is designated as QUIET STUDY AREAS. Study days are Dec. 6-7, with exams officially starting Dec. 8, but some students are taking early exams and so we encourage quiet study starting Dec. 3.

We are posting signs near the areas and would appreciate your cooperation in keeping this part of the library as quiet as possible.

When studying in this area please be sure to:
• turn-off the sound on your laptop,
• turn-off or silence your cell phone,
• and refrain from talking.

Please avoid walking through this area, unless you plan to study there, and please keep your voices low in nearby areas as well.

If you are looking for a place to study in a group, please check at the circulation desk for an available study room.

Thank you.

Posted by University of Minnesota Law Library at 03:40 PM | Permalink

From the U.S. Department of State:

"Thurgood Marshall stands as one of the great American heroes of the 20th century: He was the attorney who ended legal segregation in the United States with his victory in the Brown v. Board of Education case, and the U.S. Supreme Court justice who championed expanded rights for every individual American -- minorities, women, and immigrants, among many others. The essays that follow chronicle Marshall's rise in a society marred by segregation, his development as the accomplished lawyer who won "the case of the century" as well as many other important cases, and his appointment as the first African-American Supreme Court justice. His is the story of how one person, dedicated to the ideal of human rights for all, can succeed in changing society and improve the lives of millions of men and women..."

Read more...

Source: Law Librarian Blog

Posted by University of Minnesota Law Library at 01:09 PM | Permalink

The law library has an additional place for information and news! Located near the circ desk is a display case that will rotate library news and new book announcements on a monthly (or more frequent) basis. Next time you are in the library, please take a look!

Posted by University of Minnesota Law Library at 12:32 PM | Permalink

Forged in Fire: Reconstructing Thomas Jefferson's Library

What: Public Lecture: Forged in Fire: Reconstructing Thomas Jefferson's Library
Who: Mark Dimunation, U.S. Library of Congress
Where: Cowles Auditorium, Hubert H. Humphrey Center
When: Monday, December 10, 2007, 7:30 p.m.
Free and open to the public. Advance reservations are recommended. RSVP to Lanaya Stangret at 612-624-9339 or stangret@umn.edu.

A special lecture featuring Mark Dimunation, chief of the Rare Books and Special Collections Division of the Library of Congress. He'll speak about Congress's purchase of Thomas Jefferson's personal library in 1815 to replace the congressional library destroyed when the British burned Washington the previous year. When Jefferson's books arrived in Washington, the Library of Congress found its center and its impetus.

From University Libraries Event Blog

Posted by University of Minnesota Law Library at 05:06 PM | Permalink

Peggy Hall has been added as a new member of the Reference Office staff, working part-time at the reference desk. Peggy has come out of retirement to work at the law library, but she is not unfamiliar with the environment. "I worked at the law library for three years back when it was in Fraser Hall. I was in Cataloging and Acquisitions then." Peggy next moved to the Hennepin County Law Library, working there for nearly 30 years.

Peggy likes gardening in her free time, as well as yoga and reading. She is an active member of the Falcon Heights Human Rights Commission, enjoying her work with that group. Peggy holds a BA and MA (Library Science) from the U of MN, and has completed coursework toward an MA in American Studies.

Peggy regularly works Tuesday and Friday morning shifts, as well as Sundays. Welcome Peggy!

Posted by University of Minnesota Law Library at 09:34 AM | Permalink

You can now access MN state trial court records via the internet through the Minnesota Trial Court Public Access Remote view (MPA): http://www.mncourts.gov/publicaccess

Please note that the information accessible via MPA is NOT exactly the same as what you get when you search MNCIS at the courthouses.

From the www.mncourts.gov website:
"Courthouse public access terminals provide the most complete access to electronic district court case records, because they are not restricted by the remote access provisions of the Rules of Public Access (see Rule 8, subd. 2). For example, street addresses and name searches for pre-conviction criminal case records are available at courthouse public access terminals, but not through the online case inquiry, as described above."

Attorney searches cannot be completed via MPA, but are available via the courthouse terminals.

Additionally, the MPA system is based on the MNCIS system (MN Court Information System). Dakota County records and Ramsey criminal records are not yet part of this system. Dakota records move to MNCIS at the end of February and Ramsey criminal records move the weekend of April 11, 2008. Those records are currently only available at their respective courthouses.

Source: MN Association of Law Libraries

Posted by University of Minnesota Law Library at 04:27 PM | Permalink

With exams just around the corner, the law library would like to remind you of some useful study aids available through the library’s website:

A thorough bibliography of the most current and helpful Treatises, Hornbooks, Nutshells & Study Aids for Law Courses is available at: http://www.law.umn.edu/library/tools/pathfinders/hbksnuts.html The most recent editions of the books on this list are in the reserve collection, available by request at the circ desk.

Other study aids and information about study facilities, including sample course exams, bar review exams, and conference/study room information, are available at: http://www.law.umn.edu/library/tools/studyaids.html

Over 40 research guides and pathfinders have been compiled by the law library’s reference librarians. The guides are posted here: http://www.law.umn.edu/library/tools/pathfinders/pathfinders.html

Still not finding the right research tool or study guide? Make sure to stop by the reference desk and ask a reference librarian for help. Reference Office hours are: M-Th 9 am – 8 pm; F 9 am -5 pm; Sat 11 am-5 pm; Sun 1-5 pm. The reference office will be closed this Thursday and Friday (Nov 22-23), but will be open regular hours Saturday and Sunday.

As always, please let us know if you have any questions. We’re happy to help you prepare for exams…just let us know how we can help! You can email the reference office at law-ref@umn.edu or send a general inquiry to the library at lawlib@umn.edu.

Posted by University of Minnesota Law Library at 08:49 AM | Permalink

Can Civil Law Countries Get Good Institutions? Lessons from the History of Creditor Rights and Bond Markets in Brazil
Author: Aldo Musacchio
Periodical: Journal of Economic History (forthcoming)

Abstract
Does a legal tradition adopted in the distant past constrain a country's ability to provide the protection that investors need for financial markets to develop? This paper contributes to the literature that studies the connection between law and finance by looking at the relationship between legal origin and the development of bond markets. The paper shows that there is too much variation over time in terms of bond market size, creditor protections, and court enforcement of bond contracts to assume that the adoption of a legal system can constrain future financial development. The paper examines in detail the evolution of bond markets in Brazil, a French civil law country, and provides preliminary results of similar variation for a small cross-section of countries.

Direct link to abstract: http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/5811.html

HBS Working Knowledge http://hbswk.hbs.edu/

Posted by University of Minnesota Law Library at 09:25 AM | Permalink

Law Library Thanksgiving Hours

Wed Nov 21: Closing at 4:30 pm
Thurs Nov 22-Fri Nov 23: Closed*
Sat Nov 24-Sun Nov 25: Open normal hours

*U of MN Law Students can still access the library with their UCards.

Posted by University of Minnesota Law Library at 09:22 AM | Permalink

From Thomson West:

In response to the discussion about the far-reaching changes to the Federal Civil Rules of Procedure, Thomson West has posted a 5 minute video featuring the authors of the Federal Civil Rules Handbook. The authors, Steven Baicker-McKee and Professor William Janssen, discuss the dramatic amendments to the Federal Rule of Civil Procedure, and why every major rule and form is changing on December 1, 2007. The video can be found under the "What's New for Law Librarians" section at: www.west.thomson.com/librarian.

The changes have mostly come about as a result of a comprehensive overhaul by a federal style committee. There are stylistic and substantive changes, and all the forms have changed as well.

Thomson West has published the Federal Civil Rules Handbook just in time for the coming rule changes. All rule changes will be in this volume, along with all the new forms, and a great deal of annotated commentary. There will also be a "roadmap" at the end of each rule indicating the Style Project changes and the non-stylistic (substantive) changes to the rules.

Source: Law Librarian Blog

Posted by University of Minnesota Law Library at 11:47 AM | Permalink

"Are you an American History buff or current political junkie? Either way, HeinOnline's U.S. Congressional Library collection is for you. Check out the Journals of the Continental Congress for some Revolutionary War history accounts or the current Congressional Record Daily for what presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, John McCain and Barak Obama have said on the Senate floor. These are in pdf format and are searchable."

Source: Virtual Library Cat's Eye View

Posted by University of Minnesota Law Library at 10:39 AM | Permalink

Robert J. Ambrogi writes on his LawSites blog about the upcoming launch of JD Supra:

"I wrote here in August about the planned launch of JD Supra, a new legal site with the premise, "Give content, get noticed." A preview site has been up ever since, but now the site's founder, San Francisco business lawyer Aviva Cuyler, tells me the site will launch in full operating mode in December. She also plans to launch a blog soon to track the site's development.

"Based on the preview, the site is part legal networking, part lawyer directory, part document repository and part legal research service. The basic idea is that lawyers use the site as a place to post court filings, favorable decisions, jury verdicts and articles they have written. They can also set up free profiles of themselves and their firms. Their profiles will link to the documents they have contributed and their documents will link back to their profiles.

"The plan is that this database of contributions will become a resource for other lawyers, consumers and the news media. Lawyers will use it for research, consumers will use it to find lawyers who have worked on cases similar to theirs, and reporters will use it to get information about new court filings and opinions and to find sources. It will be free for lawyers to create listings and post documents. For a fee, lawyers will be able to "enhance" their profiles with additional features, such as hyperlinks to blogs and Web sites.

"Cuyler says the idea for the site came to her while working late one night on a brief. The idea is good, but the key to the site's success will be in whether lawyers contribute – and particularly whether they contribute pleadings and briefs. We can find court decisions and articles elsewhere, but useful and relevant court filings remain harder to find. To have these readily available and easily searchable would be a boon."

JD Supra link: http://www.jdsupra.com/preview/
Robert Ambrogi's LawSites blog link: http://www.legaline.com/lawsites.html

Posted by University of Minnesota Law Library at 12:41 PM | Permalink

News from the OPL Plus Blog:
Faculty members overwhelmingly prefer using online material to printed material, according to the results of a survey released this week by Ebrary, a company that provides electronic content and technology to libraries, publishers, and other businesses. The survey shows that half of faculty members prefer electronic resources, and 18 percent prefer print. Another 32 percent said they had no preference. The results were based on responses of 906 faculty members from 300 colleges and 38 countries.

From an article by Andrea L. Foster in The Wired Campus (an online feed from The Chronicle of Higher Education), 8 November 2007.

URLs:
The full article: http://chronicle.com/wiredcampus/index.php?id=2531
Register to read the survey at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=PgvLHSl_2fYAN_2fsblRBJYqqg_3d_3d

Posted by University of Minnesota Law Library at 08:55 AM | Permalink

From the Sunlight Foundation comes news of this resource:

"Our friends at CREW [Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington] are providing a fantastic resource for reporters, bloggers, citizens and government document junkies--GovernmentDocs.org: An online compendium of scanned images of documents acquired from government agencies through the Freedom of Information Act by (right now) a handful of nonprofit groups (including the correspondence logs that Anu's been acquiring for our RealTime project). Documents that once would have been filed away can have second and third lives online, where they can be read, annotated, tagged, and otherwise scrutinized by anyone who signs up to create an account.

"CREW also uses OCR technology to make the images word-searchable; the results aren't always perfect but they do make the documents easier to navigate.

"CREW's release is online here, and, full disclosure: Sunlight Foundation supported the creation of the site."

Posted by University of Minnesota Law Library at 02:38 PM | Permalink

In a unique combination of government information meeting technology, Lifehacker presents this interesting post:

"A new Google Earth layer keeps tabs on political spending by pinpointing where and for what projects U.S. government officials are budgeting funds for across the country:

'Members of Congress know where the money is going: now citizens can, too. The Sunlight Foundation today released a Google Earth application that plots the locations for almost 1,500 earmarks in the House Defense Appropriations bill. This graphic illustration of defense earmarks gives anyone with an internet connection a bird's-eye view of exactly where Congress is directing federal spending—and the ability to investigate whether the earmarks address pressing needs, favor political contributors or are simply pure pork.'

CNet news reports that the map's points, attached to the U.S. House of Representatives defense spending bill is heavy on military tech projects like "ubiquitous RFID chem/bio detection" and "semi-autonomous robotic manipulation and sensing." You'll need Google Earth running on your desktop to open the freely downloadable map layer file."

Navigate House Defense Earmarks on Google Earth [Sunlight Foundation via CNET News.com]

Posted by University of Minnesota Law Library at 01:08 PM | Permalink

Photo by Ryan C. on flickr.com

Lawyers can be wonderful poets. If you don't believe me, take a look at Strangers to Us All, a web site dedicated to lawyers who are also published poets.

The site includes chronological, alphabetical and geographical indexes of lawyer-poets; a section on Civil War lawyer-poets; and a list of contemporary lawyer-poets (with biographical information and links to online poetry). The site is constantly updated and alerts us to recently published books of poetry.

An excerpt from the site:
"It seems, on first impression, as if lawyer and poet must surely exist in different universes of thought, feeling, and practice. And for many lawyers and poets,there must be truth embodied in this crude impression–the law leads north and poetry south, to follow one is to give up the other. Yet, lawyers write poetry, and poets practice law. Should we be surprised to learn that lawyers, by training and craft, attuned to the nuance and power of language, and to the clever deployment of language as rhetoric and drama, write poetry? We may have grown accustomed, in this era of John Grisham and Scott Turow, to the idea of the lawyer as novelist, but there is still some mystery, even a sense of wonderment, at the idea of a person both poet and lawyer."

Source: The Virtual Library Cat's Eye Blog

Posted by University of Minnesota Law Library at 08:18 AM | Permalink

A major topic of interest in criminal law and procedure is the sentencing of sex offenders and the management of their return to the community. Law students beginning research on federal or state sex offender legislation and related issues might be wise to begin with "Criminal Justice Resources: Sex Offender Laws," a new research guide posted on LLRX.com.

This guide focuses on recent developments in federal law, with some analysis of state and local developments. News and statistical sources, along with key government, academic, and professional organization resources on prosecution, risk assessment, civil commitment, and other issues are included.

For surveys of state laws and regulations on sex offender registration, try Westlaw's "50 State Surveys," where they are located under Statutes: Criminal Laws and Regulations: Criminal Procedure.

Source: Virtual Library Cat's Eye View

Posted by University of Minnesota Law Library at 09:43 AM | Permalink

From the Out of the Jungle blog:
"The National Conference of Bar Examiners is still considering how to create a test of legal research skills that can be administered, scored and validated. If that test is ever added to state bar examination requirements, it will not be long before advanced legal research becomes a required subject at many schools. At this point, there are only a handful of schools (actually only one that I know of) that has a required advanced research class. That school is University of Maryland, who reported at the NE2007 regional meeting on their experience."

How does this affect law libraries? Read more...

Posted by University of Minnesota Law Library at 08:51 AM | Permalink

Here is the list of new titles the law library acquired in October 2007. The list is also on the library's home page.

October Acquisitions

Posted by University of Minnesota Law Library at 02:18 PM | Permalink

Looking for another resource to locate articles and papers? Try bepress Legal Repository . You can locate law-related materials using simple or advanced search options and download content. Not sure what you are looking for, or where to begin? You can also browse bepress by subject, recent publications, popular papers, or peer-reviewed articles.

Source: Virtual Library Cat's Eye View

Posted by University of Minnesota Law Library at 10:08 AM | Permalink