What’s old is new again. Westlaw has recently added a “Key Numbers” link on the top of the Westlaw page, usefully highlighted in yellow for easy spotting. This new feature allows users to more easily search for relevant topics and key numbers, or browse through the digest online (remember digests from your first semester of Lawyering?). After selecting your key number, you can search West’s online digest in your specific jurisdiction to find cases based on subject or concept, rather than keywords – very useful when trying to find cases that discuss a principle of law, rather than a specific fact pattern. Access Westlaw using your personal password. More info on how to use West’s Key Number System is here.
Earlier this semester, the Law Library conducted its annual Student Summer Employment Survey, and some initial results are available. 151 students responded, 77 of them 2Ls, and 74 3Ls. Approximately 55% of the respondents worked in law firms, with more than three quarters of this group working for large firms of at least 250 attorneys. Sixteen respondents held court positions, while 21 worked in government positions. Slightly more than 10% of respondents served public interest organizations, and another 10% worked for in-house counsel or as faculty research assistants. The subjects researched ran the gamut from administrative law to torts, with significant numbers of respondents working in bankruptcy, corporate law, criminal law, securities, and immigration. A particularly interesting statistic is that half of the respondents spent more than half of their work time doing research. Wow! The numbers also show that both online and print materials were used, with online sources used more heavily. All of the data, as well as the extensive comments provided, will help the Law Library in assessing the legal research curriculum.
And, on a special note, Carter Stewart (2L) was the lucky winner of two Cornell Men’s Hockey tickets. Enjoy the game, Carter!
On November 11th, a special Law Library workshop on Chinese, Japanese, and Korean (CJK) legal research was held in conjunction with the American Society of Comparative Law (ASCL) annual conference held at Cornell Law School. About forty scholars attended presentations by Bill McCloy and Rob Britt, experts in East Asian Law at the University of Washington Law Library. The speakers discussed online legal resources in the original languages and in English translations, including free and fee-based resources. PowerPoint slides and handouts prepared by the speakers will provide welcome assistance in conducting CJK research. The workshop was organized by Thomas Mills, Research Attorney & Lecturer in Law at the Law Library, and Beth Katzoff, Head of Public Services at Kroch Asia Library.
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are the rules of engagement for litigation that lawyers live by. As of December 1, 2007, every major rule and form is changing. There are substantive as well as stylistic changes and all of the forms have been changed, so it is vital that law students and attorneys know about the new rules. Privacy concerns were one factor in the new rules, now that online access to court dockets and case information is available on the web. For a quick overview, take a look at the five minute video from Thomson/West, featuring the authors of the Federal Civil Rules Handbook: Steven Baicker-McKee and Professor William Janssen, as they discuss the amendments to the FRCP. You can find the new rules on Lexis, Westlaw, and on Reserve in the Law Library at KF8816 .A1936.
Finals and Winter Break Reference Hours
December 3, 2007 to January 18, 2008:
Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
No reference on evenings or weekends.
Normal reference hours resume January 21, 2008.
Finals and Winter Break Library Hours
During Finals:
December 3, 2007 – December 18, 2007:
Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Weekends, Noon – 10 p.m.
During Break:
December 19, 2007 to January 14, 2008:
Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Weekends CLOSED.
CLOSED December 22, 2007 through January 1, 2008.
Normal library hours resume Tuesday, January 15, 2008.