Talk about the weather

Whether you wonder what happened to June, need a warm sunny windowsill for a nap or are investigating standards of care for plane, trains and automobiles, we all talk about the weather.  You can get not only a forecast going forward, but information on historical weather to determine why something might have happened on a particular day.  For a quick check of the weather on a particular date and location, try the Weather Underground .   For a more official source, use the National Weather Service.  This site includes certified weather data for use in litigation available through the National Climatic Data Center (NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information).



Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Studying for the Bar? Take a break when you need one.

Do you have a plan for your bar preparation?  One item to keep in mind is to take breaks when you are losing concentration.  A recent study appears to indicate that taking breaks improve attention. 

So listen to your inner-self and take a walk or get a quick snack. 

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Lexis Advance Tips: How to create direct links to search results and documents

You can now create permalinks in Lexis Advance to full-text documents, search results, a Shepard’s® report, as well as a Folder or a TOC (table of contents) source. 

To use:

Find the permalink icon in the Actions pull-down menu at the top of search results or full-text documents you are viewing.

1. Select Link to this page and a dialog box displays.

2. Copy the link to paste it into work product or email. Select Close to return to your results or document.

(Hat tip: Antoinette Stafilas, Esq., Lexis Law school Executive)

To access Lexis Advance, click here. 

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Dockets on Bloomberg Law

Summer interns and recent graduates are often asked by their employers to locate complaints or other court documents from federal and state cases.  Did you know that Bloomberg Law has searchable case dockets, with links to PDF documents from cases in federal and many state courts?  Did you also know that Hofstra law students can continue to use their Bloomberg Law accounts all summer and for six months after graduation with no restrictions, regardless of where they are working?

Dockets on Bloomberg Law can be searched by court, docket number, keywords, case name, parties, attorney, and judge, and can be limited by date and to either open or closed cases.  To search dockets, either click "Dockets" under "Getting Started" on the Bloomberg Law home page, or use the orange "Litigation and Dockets" tab at the top of the page.  Under "Litigation and Dockets" you will also find "Docket Coverage" (a color-coded jurisdictional map with court and date coverage of U.S. and international dockets available on Bloomberg Law) and links to other dockets features.


Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Lexis Advance Tips: How to streamline your Transactional research with the Lexis Practice Advisor

If you are interested in streamlining your transactional research, try the following tip:
Access through the Lexis Advance Research tab on the top left of the screen.  Lexis Practice Advisor contains multiple transactional law modules which provide a deeper understanding of how business transactions are negotiated and forms are drafted, from start to finish.   Access sample documents, relevant statutes, case law and secondary sources, all in one place.

(Hat tip: Antoinette Stafilas, Esq., Lexis Law school Executive)
To access Lexis Advance, click here. 
Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

You Know It’s Summer When (pt. 2)

…You’re taking a break for some fresh air during, say, your Summer Study Abroad program and a large owl decides to land and perch on your head.

Hope your Summer break is off to a wise and productive start.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Casetext

Does legal information technology interest you?  Try Casetext. With Casetext you can discover and share legal knowledge, search millions of cases and statutes, for free, annotated with insights contributed by the legal community.  Also, users can to add in relevant information, upload briefs, and join communities.



Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Technology and Privacy Update

Today, a coalition of more than 140 technology companies and other experts and organizations--including Google and Apple--sent a letter to President Obama urging him to protect privacy rights by not undermining strong encryption technologies as the government considers law enforcement's need to access increasingly encrypted data.  The background of the letter and related issues are discussed in a Washington Post article by national security reporter Ellen Nakashima, available here. 

Looking at technology and privacy from from another angle, focusing on surveillance and data use by vendor-produced machines and apps, is a recent Guardian article by Bruce Schneier, a security technologist, author, and fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School.  Together, the letter and the two articles shed light on some of the competing and coalescing interests shaping our developing privacy policy.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Business Cards? What do you do?

3 Geeks and a Law Blog: Dan and Jane tackle business cards post is an interesting back and forth on professional networking and connecting. 

What do you do?

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S ! ! !

First years - you survived and are now experienced law students . . .

Second years - you made it through another year, just one more to go . . .

Third years - you made it through law school - best of luck in all future endeavors !!!

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat