Law, Past and Present

The Law Library of Congress has a popular blog, In Custodia Legis, written by a team of 15 librarians.  It covers modern legal trends, international law sources, and much more, in addition to gems of legal history that you won't find anywhere else.  Yesterday's "Pic of the Week" is sure to bring a smile to the faces of today's law students, because it shows how little some things have changed since the days of their medieval predecessors.  If you've ever been bored during a class lecture with a heavy casebook open on the desk, you can relate to the medieval law student who created a doodle of his boring instructor right on this page of Justinian's Institutes, the introductory textbook for Roman Law.  And if you want to find out how Richard III, the king whose remains were recently unearthed in an English parking lot, used the law of his day to take revenge on enemies and expand his legendary reputation as a cruel monarch, Thursday's post will fill you in on that subject. Count on these librarians for some different takes on the legal world.     

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Excitement On The Civil Procedure Front

Fans of the first-year staple known as Civil Procedure will be excited to learn that the U.S. Supreme Court has granted certiorari to hear a case that raises questions involving jurisdiction and venue.

Not so exciting, you say? Well, the case also involves two professional gamblers who filed a lawsuit against a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration officer after he confiscated their winnings at the airport. Read more about it here and here.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Google's New Patent Filing

Have you ever wondered how Google News works?  How does its algorithm push information to you?  Well, "the search giant updated its patent filing with a new document detailing the 13 metrics it uses to retrieve and rank articles and sources for its news service."  


Computerworld uncovered the document "while conducting an unrelated patent search on the United States Patent Office's website." Here is  an  inside look at Google’s news-ranking algorithm via Computerworld.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

New Lawyer Tips for Success

Above the Law recently posted an article that gives new lawyers the inside track on success when first starting out at a firm.  These are the kind of tips that many new lawyers wish someone had told them before they had to find out the hard way. (Never go near the office of the managing attorney without a yellow legal pad in your hand was my own "new lawyer" lesson learned.)

10 Things Your Law Firm Boss Wants You To Know, but Isn't Going to Tell You is a quick read of small things that seem obvious...but are not. The article also references Greenhorn Legal, a company that regularly posts a New Lawyer Tip of the Week on their blog and also posts real world legal tales of horror by the (formerly new) lawyers that suffered through them.  An example? The Disaster Stories Part IV: Using Social Media Irresponsibly. 

The blog's author, Desiree Moore, has written a book that explain the unspoken rules to surviving in a law firm as a new lawyer.  Find Thrive : a new lawyer's guide to law firm practice by Desirée Moore at the Hofstra Law Library.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Congressional Budget Office

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) prepares nonpartisan analysis for the U.S. Congress.   The CBO was founded in 1974 and the purpose of the CBO is to produce independent analysis of budgetary and economic issues to support the Congressional budget process.  The CBO is well known for objectivity and quality work.

Reports and projections are available to the public on the CBO website.  The most recent CBO Blog post is a response to questions they received regarding the automatic reductions in government spending (sequestration) that went into effect on March 1st. 

The CBO website is easy to navigate and offers clear and in-depth analysis of the U.S. budget. 

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Article on Legal Research Litigation Practice Materials

Shawn G. Nevers (Brigham Young University-J. Reuben Clark Law School) recently published an article entitled  "Legal Research: Litigation Practice Materials."  The article is intended for 1L students who don't always get experience in the first year classes with litigation documents but definitely can find themselves working with these documents at their summer internships.  The article provides a number of legal research resources that can be used to draft complaints, summons, motions and other litigation documents.  Click here to read the entire article.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat