Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Moot Court Rankings

80 moot court teams from US law schools have been ranked by Brian Koppen based on individual and team performances in the 2008 season of national and international moot court competitions. The team from South Texas Law School received the highest ranking.

Hat tip to Law Librarians Blog

Monday, March 30, 2009

Study Abroad Application Deadline - April 1

If you are applying for one of OCU's Study Abroad Programs the deadline to have your application materials turned is is April 1. See the page for the program you are interested in for application requirements.

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Law and Poetry: Are they related?

In Law and Poetry, 11 Roger Williams U. L.w Rev. 353 (2006), law and poetry are described as "human creations of imagination and ingenuity, communicate their essence through language, provide order, form and structure to a dizzying array of phenomena present in daily life, and reflect and reshape the culture from which they arise."

April is National Poetry month.

Visit the display of resources on law/lawyers and poetry in the Reference Wing.

Friday, March 27, 2009

Free and Low Cost Legal Research

Given the economic downturn, librarians around the country are working to make patrons aware of alternative free sources and cost reduction measures for subscription database. Georgetown Law recently published a Free & Low Cost Legal Research Guide and Cleveland Marshall Law's blog recently posted cost saving tips for Lexis and Westlaw research. OCU Law Library is currently preparing a research guide that will describe free resources such as those available via the Oklahoma State Courts Network (OSCN) and Fastcase, a resource available at no cost to Oklahoma attorneys via the Oklahoma Bar Association.

Hat tip to Law Librarian Blog.

Fun Friday on Law Librarian Blog - Laptops in the Classroom

Each Friday Law Librarian Blog tries to provide a little humor to your week. Check out this week's Fun Friday video regarding laptops in the classroom.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

American Assocaition of Law Libraries Management Institute


Each year the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) selects 30 law librarians from across the nation to participate in its Management Institute. The Management Institute helps to prepare law librarians to address issues such as the changing information environment and decreasing budgets.

The 2009 Management Institute was led by Maureen Sullivan (pictured at right), an organization development consultant whose practice focuses on the delivery of consulting and training services to libraries and other information organizations. Ms. Sullivan designs and presents workshops and leadership institutes on topics of current relevance to librarians, including recruitment, generational synergy, transforming libraries, creating a collaborative workplace, and new approaches to performance improvement.

OCU Head of Reference and Access Services, Darla Jackson, was selected to participate in the 2009 AALL Management Institute. The Institute was held March 19-21, 2009, in Tampa, Florida.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

OCU Immigration Law Symposium Display


Information about the Immigration Law Symposium and Roundtable, March 24 and 26, 2008, is available on the OCU Law News and Events website.

To see some of the resources on Immigration Law available at the Law Library, visit the display at the Reference Office.

Anglo-American Legal Traditions Research Website

If you are interested in the Anglo-American legal history research, you might find the University of Houston's Anglo-American Legal Tradition (AALT) website of interest. Launched in 2007, the AALT is a free-access site that now makes available 3,000,000 digitized images of documents produced primarily in the United Kingdom between the years 1218 and 1650. The documents on the site are almost all otherwise available only via the U.K. National Archives, which has made the documents available via a licence to the University of Houston.

Monday, March 23, 2009

Practice Exams Available Exclusively in Electronic Format on StarNet

To ensure equal access to practice exams, with faculty approval, practice exams for the previous five years are made available exclusively in electronic format and are no longer available in print at the Circulation Desk.

To access practice exams available on the Law Library StarNet Documents Library follow the link to http://starnet.okcu.edu/Academics/OCULaw/LawLib/Practice Exams/Forms/AllItems.aspx.

New Look to the Library Catalog

Have you noticed the new look of the library catalog? During Spring Break, a system upgrade was accomplished on the library system. While the appearance of the catalog may be somewhat different, the process of searching the catalog search is essentially the same. However, if you desire refresher training on catalog searching or if you experience any difficulty in using the system, please contact a Reference Librarian.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) Launches Search Tool for Uncovered Government Documents

In celebration of Sunshine Week, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) launched a new search engine that allows the public to examine documents obtained by the organization via request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Sunshine Week Survey Shows Citizens Still Think Government Is Secretive -- But Obama's Actions May Help

Sunshine Week is a national initiative to open a dialogue about the importance of open government and freedom of information.

The 2009 Sunshine Week survey by Scripps Howard News Service and Ohio University shows that while a majority of adults still consider the federal government still consider the federal government to be secretive, many are encouraged by President Obama's Freedom of Information memorandum calling for a presumption of disclosure.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Need a chuckle? See NYU Law Revue's Barbri Girl on YouTube

NYU's 2008 Law Revue has an amusing skit entitled Barbri Girl on YouTube.

Hat tip to Law Librarian Blog

Friday, March 13, 2009

Oklahoma Legislature Considers Making Bar Association Dues Voluntary

The Senate Appropriations Committee favorably recommended S. 997, a bill authored by Senate President Pro Tem Glenn Coffee, to make payment of dues to the Oklahoma Bar Association (OBA) voluntary. However, according to a Tulsa World article, because the deadline for the bill to make it out of the house of origin was not met, the bill will not receive further consideration at this time.

For response from the OBA click here.

The text of the bill is available at from the Oklahoma Legislature website.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Early St. Patrick's Day Celebrarion in the Law Library

Because St. Patrick's Day falls next week during Spring Break, the Law Library is holding an early celebration. Complimentary coffee, condiments (including Irish Creamer) and cookies are available today, March 12 in the Library. Also stop by and see a display of St. Patrick's Day related resources available in the Library. The display includes materials commenting on the Supreme Court case involving the St. Patrick's Day Parade, Hurley v. Irish-American Gay, Lesbian & Bisexual Group of Boston, 515 U.S. 557 (1995).

Monday, March 9, 2009

First-Year Associates Must Pay Back Advances

First-year associates laid off from one dissolving firm, Thacher Proffitt & Wood, are finding that in addition to being out of a job they are also expected to pay back salary advances. According to the firm, it is Citigroup, the firm's bank, which is requiring repayment.

Read more on Law.com

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Wiki Provides Links to Sources of Information on State Legislatures

A new Wiki project by Sunlight Labs, the Fifty State Project, is intended to provide access to information on legislation, legislators and votes in each of the fifty states.

Hat tip to Legal Research Plus

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Solo Practice and Small Firms Increasingly Attractive

In the current financial environment, cost-conscious clients appear to be attracted to solo practitioners and small firms that offer lower rates.

Additional discussion available at http://legalblogwatch.typepad.com/legal_blog_watch/2009/03/solo-is-the-new-soho.html