If you dare, check out our new display case in the Reading Room featuring Case Law from the Crypt, a compilation of the best cases generated by Halloween. Haunted houses, chainsaw-wielding maniacs, sexy costumes, and tombstones abound. For more details, read the article that inspired the display case. Authored by Buffalo attorney Daniel Moar, the full article is available in the October, 2011, issue of the New York State Bar Association Journal, accessible through our catalog.
Oct 172011
The online resource Getting the Deal Through provides summaries of the laws of many countries on business-related topics (called “Practice Areas”) such as banking regulation, the environment, shipping, mergers & acquisitions, and product liability. The summaries, which are written by practicing attorneys throughout the world, are organized in a Q&A format. Getting the Deal Through has summaries for more than 40 practice areas and 100 jurisdictions, although not every jurisdiction is covered for each practice area. Material is up to date within the past year or so. Summaries for a practice area/jurisdiction (e.g. banking regulation in Argentina) can be downloaded in PDF. You can create a custom report by selecting only the countries and questions that interest you. To get to the database, do a title search in the Cornell Library catalog for “Getting the Deal Through” OR use the link on the Law Library’s Online Legal Resources page for Corporate & Securities.
Electronic filing of court papers with public access to many of the documents is now the standard for federal courts through PACER. And now New York State Courts have an e-Filing System, NYSCEF. NYSCEF permits the filing of legal papers by electronic means with the County Clerk and the courts in certain case types in designated venues, as well as electronic service of papers in those cases. Tompkins County is not yet one of the venues; click here for the list of current counties eligible.
For free public access, any individual can search via the “search as guest” function on the Log In screen; no NYSCEF account is required. However, the judge can order the county clerk to seal particular documents or the entire case. “Sensitive” documents can be viewed by attorneys consented in that particular case and by the public at the county clerk computer.
A demonstration video designed to familiarize filers with its functionality is available here. How to get to the Courthouse is no longer the first problem new lawyers have to deal with. NYSCEF and PACER on the web take you there virtually!
Oct 062011
The Law Library now has chat reference. We can chat with you between 9 and 5 on weekdays and from 1 to 5 on Saturday, the same hours that we have reference service. So now you can ask your research questions in person at the desk, by phone, by email and by chat reference. We are using a chat program called Chatroll which is very easy to use. You can find the chat box on our web site here. You will be asked to click a sign-in button and will be given a guest number; then you will be able to ask your question. Remember that many questions require in-depth answers and research advice and are better handled in person at the desk. You might be asked to come to the reference desk if you ask for detailed help with a research project. Otherwise, we are ready to respond to your chat questions, so ask away!
Oct 032011
This week you received a Bloomberg Law password via email. What is Bloomberg Law? It is a database that allows you to search for primary law, as well as news and company information. One of the major benefits from using B-Law is that you can keep your password and continue to use it over the summer. Our Bloomberg Law rep is Pamela Haahr. She will be here on Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 5th and 6th, to distribute information and answer your questions about this service. She will be set up at the table outside the Reading Room (in the 3rd floor stacks area) from 10am to 5pm. Feel free to stop by and get a short demo of this alternative to Lexis and Westlaw.
Sep 122011
The Law library is hosting an open house for all students on Tuesday, September 20, 2011, 11:00am-1:00pm, in the Gould Reading Room. Library resources and services will be featured at stations throughout the room, including:
• An introduction to “hidden” online databases;
• Information regarding personalized research consultations;
• An overview of upper level research classes;
• Our open access repository of Cornell student and faculty scholarship;
• Demonstrations of our library catalog and interlibrary loan services;
• A rare book display;
• And more.
Students who visit every station will receive a library pen and be entered in a grand prize drawing to win their choice of two round trip Campus-to-Campus bus tickets to New York City, or a limousine wine tour for 2-4 people. Other prize drawings will feature $25 gift certificates to local businesses including Gimme! Coffee, Cinemapolis, and Purity Ice Cream. Drawings will occur at 1pm; students need not be present to win.
A book sale will be held simultaneously with the open house. All books will be available for $1 at the East end of the Reading Room.
Join us for some quick, informative fun and snag a seasonal snack from Cornell Orchards!
Sep 012011
On the go and needing simplicity? Connect to the new mobile version of the law library website using your smartphone or i-Pod. It puts core information at your fingertips, including hours, contact information, and library news. One may also access the library catalog, query our legal research engine, schedule a research consultation with a librarian, keep up with our blog, and more.
Many thanks to Webmaster Sasha Skenderija for developing the mobile interface, and Librarians Iantha Haight and Jean Callihan for organizing the content.
Sep 012011
Want something interesting on your resume? Look into the Law Library Research Fellow program. This year we are looking for two law students (2Ls or 3Ls) to work as Fellows conducting research for faculty who don’t have their own research assistants or who need additional help with a project. Research Fellows’ hours are extremely flexible and the pay is the same as for a faculty research assistant. If you are interested you can find an online application at Library Research Fellows.
Aug 242011
Many of you knew Iantha Haight, Research Attorney and Lecturer in Law, over the last couple years. We are sorry to have to tell you that she has left Cornell to go to Wichita Falls, Texas, where her husband has a new job.
Iantha was an excellent researcher and highly skilled with technology. In fact, she is the person who created, edited, and managed this blog, The Competitive Edge, from its inception. She also created the popular new course in “Online Legal Research: Free Sources,” and was well known for teaching research in Lawyering with John Mollenkamp.
We will miss Iantha – and her little girl Vinnae, born in May. We wish their family all the best in their new life in Texas.
Have you ever shown up for class, or come to the library to do research, only to discover that you didn’t bring your laptop with you? No need to resort to taking notes by hand! The Law Library has two laptops ready to loan out should you find yourself in this predicament. The laptops may be checked out to law students for three hours at a time, for use within Myron Taylor Hall. The laptops have secure wi-fi access to the Internet and are loaded with the Microsoft Office suite of programs. The Law Library also has available for loan: headphones and earbuds (loan period three hours), a flash drive (loan period three hours), and five digital audio recorders (useful for recording lectures; loan period one week). Students must have a note from their professor in order to check out one of the recorders. Equipment can be checked out at the circulation desk in the Reading Room – just ask!
