Justia Regulation Tracker: Rules, Proposed Rules, & Notices

The Regulation Tracker is yet another product from Justia. Like the Justia site described in last Thursday's post, the Regulation Tracker remains in beta, but it is quite usable as is.

Regulation Tracker offers free access to Federal rules, proposed rules, notices, administrative orders, executive orders, and proclamations. Users may search by department or agency and by keywords, and users may also limit their searches by document type or by date.

Coverage begins from January 1, 2005, and includes links to full text in PDF format. The full text also provides links to related documents available from the GPOAccess Web site.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Legalese or Plain English?

From my cozy spot near the reference librarians, I've noticed many law students working hard at legal writing, business drafting, and other adventures in writing like a lawyer. This is a great time to become acquainted with Party of the First Part: Adventures in Legalese, a humorous and helpful legal web site. Adam Freedman, a former litigator who writes the "Legal Lingo" column for the New York Law Journal Magazine, created the site "for everyone befuddled, enraged, or intrigued by legalese--yes, even lawyers." Features, including "Legalese Hall of Shame,"make the site both fun and instructive. Freedman's new book, The Party of the First Part: The Curious World of Legalese (Henry Holt and Company, September 2007) should arrive in the Law Library soon.



Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Finding and Researching Experts

Finding experts is not only for trial lawyers. Experts in any field are good sources for substantive paper research and analysis, i.e. for those currently enrolled in a seminar with a writing requirement. Finding and Researching Experts: “The purpose of this article is to suggest various online resources that can be used to find experts, gather information about them (whether your own or the opposing party’s), and assess the admissibility of their testimony – as well as tips on how the information uncovered might be utilized. In addition, to assist in research efforts, some potentially-relevant web sites have been included.”



Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Advice for 1L's from Lawyer/Authors

For first year law students who are making a hobby of collecting advice about law school, the Wall Street Journal's law blog has posted advice for 1L's from several lawyer/authors. The advice comes from Ron Liebman, Saira Rao, Jeffrey Toobin, Cameron Stracher, Jeremy Blachman, and Scott Turow. (Ernster does not necessarily endorse any of this advice, or the advice offered by the opinionated attorneys and students who have commented on these posts.)



Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Help is on the way

Don't forget, if you need help from a Reference Librarian, you can contact the Reference librarian at the Reference desk via IM. There is a link to the Reference Librarian's hours just to the right of the latest posting, under Links. If you do not remember the IM contact name, visit the Reference desk in person. Or comment to this post with your email address and I will send it to you. I don't want to post it here, since this is an exclusive service for the Hofstra Law students.


Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Justia's Federal District Court Filings

Although it is still in its beta version, the Federal District Court Filings & Dockets site is very much worth a look. It allows users to search all federal district court filings from January 1, 2006 to the present by party name, jurisdiction, or subject matter. Results provide party names, case number, date filed, court, name of judge, type of law suit, specific cause of action, and basis for jurisdiction, among other information.


Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Transnational Law Guides

Transnational law--law and legal issues from a cross-national and global perspective--now plays a key role in the required law school curriculum at Hofstra and a growing number of schools. For background and guidance in using global law resources, a great place to start is with research guides such as "Transnational and Comparative Family Law: Harmonization and Implementation," which are made freely available on the Gobalex web site by the Hauser Global Law School Program at New York University School of Law. Prepared by experts in international, foreign and comparative law research, Globalex guides are invaluable for exploring and understanding a wide range of global law topics. This is a site to bookmark and go back to throughout your law school years and in legal practice.


Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Web Site Orientation

You've explored the physical library, so come explore Deane Law Library's virtual resources. We are providing guided prowls of the Law Library's website. Very useful for 1L assignments that may refer to resources and information found here. Please join us. Registration is not required.

Wednesday 8/29 – 2:10 PM, 3:10 PM, 6:10 PM

Thursday 8/30 – 12:10 PM, 2:10 PM, 5:10 PM

Friday 8/31 – 11:10 AM, 1:10 PM, 2:10 PM

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Answer to Comment

Thanks for you comment on my last post. I am purring with pleasure that you are interested in keeping track of my posts. Since I thought it might be of interest to more than just one person, here is my response to your question on how you can get my posts sent to you. I do not have an email service, but you can add the Virtual Library Cat's Eye View to your Blog / RSS feed reader. Either click on the XML link on this page under Things and Stuff - scroll down a bit at the right - or paste the following URL into your reader - http://feeds.feedburner.com/VirtualLibraryCatsEyeView .

If you want to know more about RSS feed readers - a great way to keep up with your favorite news sites and blogs - ask your favorite Reference Librarian.



Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Infirmation

FindLaw's Infirmation site has been collecting law firm salary and benefit information from around the country, from various sources, including associates who submit information on the understanding that their identities will be kept anonymous. The site boasts that it is the most comprehensive database of this sort.

For the unabashed, the Infirmation salary database is coupled with the Greedy Associates discussion boards, where attorneys swap career advice anonymously.



Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat