... or someone with a sense of humor.
Ask Google Maps for driving directions from New York, NY, to Dublin, Ireland, and you will receive painstakingly detailed directions. Step 23 — of 85 — tells you to "Swim across the Atlantic Ocean 3,462 mi." Distances are shown in miles all the way to Dublin. The return trip shows distances in kilometers, requiring you to "Swim across the Atlantic Ocean 5,572 mi."
This item has been going around the blogs. I saw it on Boing Boing.
Nolo is a publisher of law books, legal forms, and legal software for nonlawyers. Although the books are written in plain language, they are thorough enough for a lawyer or law student to use to get a quick overview of an unfamiliar legal topic. The law library has many Nolo books in its self-help collection, which you can borrow with your law library card.
Nolo also provides free information through “Your Legal Companion” pages and Nolo Podcasts, covering a variety of topics in the areas of Business & Human Resources; Patents, Copyright & Art, Wills & Estate Planning; Property & Money; Family Law & Immigration; and Rights & Disputes. Nolo also makes transcripts of its podcasts available.
In the podcasts, authors of Nolo books answer common questions in their areas of expertise. Recent podcasts have included:
To celebrate April Fools' Day, our Featured Book of the Week is Lawyers: Jokes, Quotes, and Anecdotes, edited by Patrick Regan and published by Barnes & Noble.The other night I heard a student telling another how she had avoided a proofreading calamity. During class that night, each student had to get up and argue in support of a motion they had previously turned in. The student realized that she had inadvertently left out the word "not," so she covered her error by arguing the other side of the case. Of course, in the real world, you can't just switch sides.
The student's story reminded me of an unemployment case I attended years ago. The woman seeking unemployment benefits was a law student who had been fired for incompetence by her law-firm employer. Although several errors were given as grounds for her firing, the beginning of the firm's lack of confidence in her abilities stemmed from a near-perfect memo she had prepared. Howevere, she had left out the word "not" in the subject line of the memo. Although the remainder of the memo correctly stated the law, the most prominent sentence was wrong because of one little word.
The difficulty of proofreading is that when you try to proofread something on which you have been working for a long time, you sometimes see what you meant to write, instead of what you did write, so you can miss important errors. I try to avoid this problem by not working on the project for a day or two before my final proofreading. Some people proofread in a different font or font size than they have used while writing. Others find that printing the document forproofreading, instead of reading it on the screen, does the trick.
Eric Waltmire recently posted his tip for How to Proofread Perfectly. Eric recommends having your computer read the document to you while you read along. See Eric Waltmire's Blog for details. (Eric is an SIU Law alum.)
Meg Kribble, a reference librarian at Nova Southeastern University Law Library, has launched the All-Purpose BiblioBlawg. Meg has been a law librarian for about a year and has many interesting ideas. Listen to her give a tour of Second Life for Jim Milles on Check This Out! episode 59 and see her photos on Flickr.
In addition to law, librarianship, and legal research topics, future topics may include felines by the names of Rufus and Emma, second-sock syndrome, politics, Battlestar Galactica, Mac enthusiasm, video links, other amusing or enlightening topics. I can't wait. See Meg's introductory post for more information and subscribe to the All-Purpose Biblioblawg.
Congratulations, Meg!
This week's SIU Law Cat is Ragsdale, who belongs to Carla Chatham, who works in the law library. Ragsdale lives with Bonnie & Clyde, Mini, and Chief. Click on the photo to see more images of Ragsdale.
To see photos of all previous Law Dogs and Cats of the Week, visit our Gallery of SIU Law Dogs and Cats, which you can find under "Related Links" in the sidebar. See Submitting Your SIU Law Dog and Cat Photos for instructions.
Just last month I posted an item about the free tools for lawyers and other legal researchers that Justia had been adding to its site, and now they have added another.
Justia Regulation Tracker allows you to search, browse, and track Federal Register documents. You can subscribe to an RSS feed of all documents from a specific federal agency or refine the feed's focus to a particular type of document, such as rules, administrative orders, notices, proposed rules, executive orders, and proclamations. You can also run a search and subscribe to a feed of regulatory documents containing your search terms.
The American Bar Association's Section of Litigation has a podcast of "practical tips, tactics, and interviews with today's leading trial attorneys." Each biweekly episode is less than ten minutes long—a very easy way to pick up some practical tips.
Download episodes of the Litigation Podcast: Tips & Tactics for the Practicing Trial Lawyer or subscribe via iTunes or a newsreader or podcatcher. For example:
The North Dakota Supreme Court posts an "Appellate Practice Tip of the Week" on its website, along with other helpful information for attorneys and members of the public. This week's Appellate Practice Tip is:
The word "clearly" is no substitute for authority or logic.
There are also tips specific to the record, stays, briefs, the appendix, mootness, oral argument, petitions for rehearing, and the Administrative Agencies Practice Act. Some other Appellate Practice Tips to consider as you finalize your brief:
This week's SIU Law Cats are Verona, KiKi, and Jasmine, who belong to Jane Miller's family. Jane works in the law library. When she sent me this photo in December, they only had three watch cats. We will feature the newest Miller cat in a few weeks.
To see photos of all previous Law Dogs and Cats of the Week, visit our Gallery of SIU Law Dogs and Cats, which you can find under "Related Links" in the sidebar. See Submitting Your SIU Law Dog and Cat Photos for instructions.
Congratulations to the two SIU teams who competed in the McGee National Civil Rights Moot Court Competition at the University of Minnesota March 1–3.
The 3L team of Nate Bailey, Marty Offutt, and Erica Stanmar made the "sweet 16" seeded tenth but was narrowly defeated by the team that went on to win the competition. Nate, Marty, and Erica had fifth best brief out of 40, and Marty Offutt was ranked third best oralist.
The 2L team of Brady Barke, Natalie Gregory, and Jason Leonard went 2 and 1 on oral argument scores in the preliminary rounds. Natalie Gregory was ranked fifth best oralist.
Inheritance Law and the Evolving Family by Ralph C. Brashier and published by Temple University Press is this week's Featured Book.
You can find more Research Guides, Research Tips, and other resources through the SIU Law Library website.
I recently wrote a column on mind mapping for Law Library Journal. I received some nice feedback from other librarians, as well as references to two additional articles:
Click on the map above to see the mind maps I used for our 2006 Lawyering Skills classes.
We have added an audio research guide on practice aids to the SIU Law Library website. Listen to Introduction to Practice Aids. Duration of audio: ~10.5 minutes. Outline with links and Transcript of the recording.
Congratulations to the two SIU Law teams who competed in the Midwest Moot Court Competition, sponsored by the Illinois Appellate Lawyers Association, in Chicago last weekend.
Joe Roark and Nick Williams, who teamed with Jamie McCarthy in the preliminary rounds, made it to the final round, and the team's brief placed third. Joe Roark was named best oralist in the competition.
Jennifer Kelly, Greg Odom, and Sarah Ward advanced to the semi-final round before being defeated by the winning team.
Well done, students!
Do you procrastinate? Would you like to stop? Check out “Avoiding Procrastination,” a recent podcast episode of David Maister's Career Development series. This 15-minute audio recording is full of suggestions for controlling procrastination—a challenge for many professionals—and getting things done. As Prof. Maister explains, “A completed assignment that is adequate is better than the ‘best thing you've ever done’ that exists only in your head.” You can download this podcast and listen to it on your MP3 player or on your computer.
I discovered DavidMaister.com recently while writing an article about podcasts. David Maister is an author, speaker, consultant, and former Harvard Business School professor. His podcast is designed as a Business Masterclass. Each masterclass is a series of short podcast episodes dealing with various professional business topics. The series currently available on the site include Career Development; Strategy in Professional Businesses; Managing Professionals: Attitudes, Skills and Behaviors; and Marketing Professional Services. The site also has a blog, called “Passion, People and Principles,” and other materials for business professionals.
Related items:
This week's SIU Law Cat is Bobby, who belongs to Nate and Sharon Bailey and lives with Chipper, a previous SIU Law Dog of the Week. Bobby was rescued as a newborn kitten, along with his brother Murphy, and is named after Bobby Cox of the Atlanta Braves. Click on the photo here to see more pictures of Bobby.
To see photos of all previous Law Dogs and Cats of the Week, visit our Gallery of SIU Law Dogs and Cats, which you can find under "Related Links" in the sidebar. See Submitting Your SIU Law Dog and Cat Photos for instructions.
This week’s Featured Book is Law & Internet Cultures by Kathy Bowrey and published by Cambridge University Press. “Law & Internet Cultures raises the profile of socio-political questions about the global technology and information market. It is a close study of communication flows, networks, nodes, biopolitics and the fragmentations of power. It brings to life the role played by personalities, corporate interactions, industry compromises and the regulatory incompetencies affecting the technological world we all live in….This book is for readers interested in intellectual property law, information technology, cultural studies, globalisation and mass communications.” - Book Description
“It is a fascinating and enjoyable read, which has the hallmarks of a book which can be read in one sitting, although to write this risks undermining its scholarship and complexity, because it is a book which should be read closely, one which will reward return readings. … a fascinating book. It is an important one also, because of the way it engages deeply with Internet law, and the ways in which law shapes, and is understood and used by, Internet communities.” - Legal Studies
Law & Internet Cultures is on display on top of the first shelves to the left of the Rare Book Room and will be available to borrow after Friday, March 16, 2007.
Congratulations to the recently elected 2007–08 executive committee of the Southern Illinois University Law Journal:
This week's SIU Law Dog is Rose, an Olde English Bulldogge, who belongs to Jennifer Walsh, a 2L. Jennifer got Rose for Christmas. She is 9 months and just adorable. Click on the photo here to see more of Rose.
To see photos of all previous Law Dogs and Cats of the Week, visit our Gallery of SIU Law Dogs and Cats, which you can find under Related Links in the sidebar. See our Call for Photos for instructions on submitting your SIU Law Dog or Cat photo.
Each week the Law Library will showcase a book from our library to highlight our vast collection of print resources. The Featured Book is on display on top of the first shelves to the left of the Rare Book Room.
Our first Featured Book is The Lincoln Family Album by Mark E. Neely Jr. and Harold Holzer and published by the Southern Illinois University Press.
“The Lincoln Family Album offers a rare and revealing glimpse into the private life of Abraham Lincoln and the first family. Showcasing original and previously unpublished photographs collected and preserved by Mary Todd Lincoln and four generations of descendants, the volume includes pictures displayed in a family album when the Lincolns lived in the White House…” - Book Description
“Neely and Holzer supply a sprightly and incisive commentary that sometimes softens the melancholy of this archive of an extinguished family.” - The Illinois Historical Journal
“[T]here occasionally comes a book which … drives home the point of the sacrifices all Americans mad during the great conflict. The Lincoln Family Album is one of those volumes. The reader cannot help but be drawn by the book’s text and striking use of photos to develop the great trauma suffered by the first family of the United States.” – The Civil War News
The Lincoln Family Album will be available to borrow after Friday, March 9, 2007.
