Nassau County

Did you know our very own Nassau County has a great web site for accessing local law? My favorite page is the Accessing Government, where you can find the Nassau County Administrative Code and Charter as well as links to other localities' websites and ordinances. These local laws are what effective us everyday, from parking regulations to issues regarding your favorite furry beasts.



Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Advice For Future Litigators

When you conduct your first jury trial, make certain that your jurors are paying attention to the court proceedings, instead of, say, doing crossword puzzles, or playing Sudoku.

Think I’m exaggerating? Then read this news story from Australia, where a jury in a lengthy and expensive criminal trial was recently discharged for doing just what I mention, above!


Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

The Civil Rights Digital Library

The Civil Rights Digital Library is a wonderful source of information on the civil rights movement. In addition to offering an archive of historical news footage, the web site acts as a portal to related civil rights digital collections. You can browse the site by event, persons, places and topics.

I looked for information on the Montgomery Bus Boycott and found film footage, audio files, historical newspaper articles, and a number of photographs.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Beat the Heat

Studying in the air conditioned library helps, but there are other tips to help cope with the hot weather.

1. OK, this one should be obvious. Drink lots of water. Avoid caffeine, alcohol or drinks with a high sugar content.

2. Wear loose light colored clothing. Light colors actually help reflect the heat.

3. Avoid strenuous activity during the sun's peak hours, 11 am to 4 pm.

4. Wear a hat when outside.

5. For these tips and more check out: NYC Hazards, Extreme Heat & Your Health

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Summer Associate Writing Tips

This article in the National Law Journal offers tips to help summer associates write better, but these tips could also be helpful to any law students or new attorneys. For anyone receiving a writing assignment from a lawyer, #3 is particularly helpful--it reminds us that attorneys sometimes accidentally leave out key information when giving a writing assignment and that the person receiving the assignment should ask for the missing information before beginning.



Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Survey on Status of Women in Law Firms

Law students interested in the status of women attorneys, particularly in law firm practice, should not overlook the 2007 Survey of the Status of Women in Law Firms. Results of the survey are compiled and published by the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL), an independent organization affiliated with the American Bar Association. The NAWL survey is the only national study that annually tracks the professional progress of women in law firms by providing a comparative view of the careers of men and women lawyers at all levels of private practice. Check it out.


Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

10 Essential Legal Web sites

For some new places to find legal information on the web, look at 10 Essential Legal Web sites for Litigators . Some you should recognize, but others, such as ZoomInfo, for information on companies and people, is a new one for me.


Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Cosmic Collisions!

Nothing puts the smaller-scale activities that take place in the "human aquarium", be they Bar examinations or presidential politics, into perspective quite like images of the greater cosmos, courtesy of the Hubble telescope.

In particular, these photographs of cosmic collisions are intriguing on many levels, not least of which is the contrast between the immense power of the collisions and the glacial (by human standards) time scale at which they occur.



Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Human Rights Watch International Film Festival

The 2008 Human Rights Watch Film Festival will be screening at the Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center from June 12-26. This festival features works that "help to put a human face on threats to individual freedom and dignity, and celebrate the power of the human spirit and intellect to prevail." Films are selected on the basis of artistic merit and human rights content. This year's program features films from several countries addressing a broad range of issues such as access to health care, civil war and human trafficking



Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Looks like it will be Obama

News sources are reporting that Barack Obama is likely to become the presumptive Democratic nominee for President this evening. The contest between Senator Clinton and Senator Obama for the nomination has made for an interesting primary.

Please remember that Hofstra University is hosting a Presidential debate October 15, 2008. Educate '08: Dialogue, Democracy and the ’08 Debates, is an unprecedented educational effort that will engage not only students and faculty but also the public in a year-long series of conferences, events and lectures about the 2008 election, politics and presidential history.

Part of the Law Library's efforts for Educate '08 are the series of Displays that focus on the election and various issues.



Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat