Author Archives: Loreen Peritz

Legal Blogs – a.k.a. Blawgs – What Can They Do For You?

blawg

Are you looking for your first legal job and want to look like an expert in a particular practice area?  Maybe you just want to learn more about a specific legal issue, an area of law, or a certain industry, law firm, or company?  If so, you should investigate legal blogs, or “blawgs.”

Here are some things to know about blawgs:

  • Blawgs usually follow “hot topics” or breaking legal news.  They can cover general legal topics or can focus on specific practice areas.
  • Blawgs may be written by attorneys, law librarians, law professors, or others.
  • Blawgs can help you to become informed and to stay current but use caution as the main purpose of some blawgs may be attorney self-promotion.

If you are looking for blawgs, try:

  • blawgsearch.justia.com/ – search for blawgs by most popular, by category, or run a keyword search.
  • www.lxbn.com – search by subject, browse the headlines, or run a keyword search.
  • scotusblog.com – an excellent source of material about the Supreme Court.

Finally, you can try:

  • www.abajournal.com/blawgs – search by topic, author type, region, law school, and court.  Also, take a look at the ABA’s Annual Blawg 100.  According to ABA Journal, these are the blawgs that have “tipped us off to breaking news and the bloggers who have compelled us to write about their innovative ideas.”

 

 

American Bar Association Offers Free Membership to Law Students

aba-300x162All BLS students are eligible to take advantage of the American Bar Association’s offer of free membership to students enrolled at ABA approved law schools.   With your free membership, you can: access the ABA Job Board, subscribe to ABA publications, participate in ABA career webinars, and take advantage of ABA discounts on a wide variety of products and services.

For more information or to enroll online, visit www.americanbar.org/abalawstudents or call  the ABA Service Center at 800-285-2221.

 

The Supreme Court Crafts a New Standard in Pregnancy Discrimination Cases – Young v. UPS

On March 25, 2015, the Supreme Court handed down Young v. United Parcel Service and set forth a new standard making it easier for a female employee to establish discrimination under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act [42 U.S.C. 200e(k)] (“PDA”).  The Pregnancy Discrimination Act, which amended Title VII in 1978, explicitly provides that discrimination “because of sex” or “on the basis of sex” includes discrimination on the basis of “pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.”

The Young case arose when UPS offered light-duty accommodations to disabled and injured employees but not to pregnant employees.  Young alleged this policy violated the PDA.

In Young, the Court did not go as far as to say that employers must accommodate pregnant workers whenever they accommodate non-pregnant workers.  What the Court did say is, whenever different accommodations are provided to similarly situated pregnant and non-pregnant workers, the employer must determine whether there is any legitimate reason for the disparate treatment. If no legitimate reason exists, then the employer has discriminated on the basis of pregnancy in violation of the PDA.  Even when the employer is able to articulate a neutral business rational for the different accommodations, the Court ruled that the pregnant worker must still be given the opportunity to show that the different accommodations impose a “significant burden” on pregnant workers that cannot be justified by the employer’s neutral rationale.

Going forward, the Young decision means that a pregnant worker will not be required to establish explicit discriminatory intent to prove a PDA violation.  Instead, under Young, it is sufficient for the worker to show that different accommodations offered to similarly situated pregnant and non-pregnant workers impose a “significant burden” on pregnant employees.

 

Staying Current Using Legal Blogs and More – A Good Practice for Both Lawyers and Law Students

In order to adequately represent their clients, lawyers have an ethical obligation to “stay current.”  In short, this means lawyers should be aware of the current state of the law in both their specialty practice areas and also in the general practice of law.  Staying current also allows a lawyer to contact existing clients when the law changes – this type of contact often results in additional business.  Similarly, when competing for new business, a lawyer who is current in the potential client’s industry and regulatory environment is more likely to impress that client and to be awarded the new business.

Law students – it is never too early to begin the practice of staying current – ideally you should perfect this skill while still in law school.  Not only will you appear more knowledgeable on job interviews, you will also be better prepared to hit the ground running in your practice area when you land your first legal job.

There are a number of ways to stay current.  You can set up alerts in research databases such as Westlaw and Lexis.  You can also monitor legal news sources such as New York Law Journal and Law360 (both available on Lexis).  For the most recent “breaking news,” though, you should consider following at least a few legal blogs or “blawgs.”

Legal blogs are a great way to stay current and you can search for blogs in both your specialty area and on more general legal topics.  If you want to get started finding legal blogs in your area(s) of interest, try: http://blawgsearch.justia.com/http://www.lxbn.com/, or http://www.abajournal.com/blawgs/

.  Each of these websites is a legal blog aggregator – you can search for blogs by practice area, by keyword, by subject area, or by most popular posts.

Finally, take a look at ABA Hall of Fame.  This is ABA Journal’s picks of the best legal blogs in 2014.  You are sure to find a legal blog of interest on this list – the blogs are generally of very high quality and the subjects are wide-ranging – from legal humor, to foreign law, to the use of technology in a law practice.

 

Law Library of Congress and HeinOnline Team Up to Offer Free Access to Historical Federal Primary Law

The Law Library of Congress and Willaim S. Hein & Co., Inc. recently announced that they will partner to to offer free online access to historical U.S. legal materials, including the United States Code, U.S. Reports, Code of Federal Regulations, and the Federal Register.  Legal researchers and the public can access these Hein libraries through the Law Library of Congress legal research portal, Guide to Law Online: U.S. Federal. The following collections of historical primary law are available:

While not as comprehensive nor as easily searched as the BLS Library HeinOnline Subscription Databases, these collections help to make important historical legislative, judicial, and executive branch publications freely available to the public.  Most of these collections are available on the federal government website FDsys, but coverage only goes back to the mid-1990s.  Generally, the free Hein libraries begin with the first edition of the publication in question, and end when free access via FDsys begins.

For assistance with using the Guide to Law Online links or the BLS Library HeinOnline Subscription Databases, ask a Reference Librarian.

7 Habits of Highly Effective New Lawyers

Right now, you are focused on being a highly effective law student so you can land a good job after you graduate.  Have you ever stopped to think, though, about what characteristics and qualities will help you to succeed after you accept your first legal position?  A recent Law360 article considers just this question and, after interviewing senior lawyers at a number of New York City law firms, offers the following list of 7 characteristics of highly effective newer lawyers:

1.  They Get and Stay Organized.  Effective associates ask assigning attorneys upfront about deadlines and create a running “to do” list showing tasks and due dates.  According to the article, this helps associates keep their focus when they might otherwise become distracted by more exciting, but less time sensitive, matters.

2.  They Respond Immediately.  Effective associates never wait to respond to a partner or a senior associate according to the attorneys interviewed for the article.  These associates make sure to acknowledge each task they are assigned (by a return phone call or email) even if they are unable to complete the task right away.  These associates also always provide realistic deadlines for when they will complete the work, so assigning attorneys can plan accordingly.

3.  They Research Even the Tiniest Details.  For the new litigating attorney, this may mean becoming familiar with the layout and AV capabilities of a courtroom prior to an appearance. Newer corporate lawyers may need to do online research about opposing counsel to help develop strategies that are likely to move the ball along in a marathon negotiating session.

4.  They Act Like They Already Have the Job They Want.  This one is simple, according the article; in order to act like you already have the job you want, try to step into the shoes of the attorney giving you the assignment.  Try to anticipate all of the things that need to be done to move a case or deal forward and formulate a plan to accomplish those objectives.  Also, if you can get a sense of your supervising attorney’s writing style, work habits, and billing practices, you can tailor your own work product to make it consistent with that style.

5.  They Anticipate.  According to the article, the best new associates are prepared to answer the questions a partner or client will raise even before they are asked.  In order to do this, associates must be thoroughly familiar with the facts and law of the issue they are working on. Also, advises the article, never tell a senior attorney about a problem without also offering possible solutions to solve that problem.

6.  They’re Always Looking for Connections.  Effective associates are continually on the lookout for new mentors, staff, and other associates that can help them succeed in their careers.  One way to cultivate this network and to achieve a higher profile at the firm, according to the interviewed attorneys, is to actually visit senior attorneys in their office with questions rather than sending an email or leaving a voicemail.  Just be sure to limit the duration of your visit; senior attorneys are happy to mentor junior associates but you must respect the great demands they have on their time.

7.  They Act as if They Work Alone.  Always act as if your work is going directly to a client or a judge and that there is nobody to catch your mistakes.  Even if a senior associate finds the mistakes in your work before it lands in the hands of a judge or client, you have damaged your reputation when you cannot be trusted to verify the accuracy of your own work product.

Want to read the whole article?  Find it at Law360 on Lexis Advance: 7 Habits Of Highly Effective Associates http://www.law360.com/legalindustry/articles/584143.

LexisAdvance Has a New Look

As of today, LexisAdvance has a new look. According to Lexis, the new LexisAdvance offers a sleek, sophisticated new design, enhanced navigation and integration, as well as anywhere, any-device access.

Take a look here HERE to read more about the new LexisAdvance enhancements. You can also register for webinars on this page which are designed to help you to navigate the new Lexis interface.

Click HERE to watch video tutorials on using the new LexisAdvance, including an overview of new features and a series of “show me how” videos which demonstrate advanced skills such as working with folders, browsing sources, and Shepardizing.

If you need help using the new LexisAdvance, please see a reference librarian, we are happy to help!

Legal Research Guides – a Great Way to Get Started on Legal Research

Did you know there are detailed legal research guides freely available on the Internet on virtually any legal topic you can imagine?  Most of these guides are written by subject specialist law school librarians, although they can also be written by practitioners or government experts.  Research guides are a great place to turn when you are first beginning your research as they give an overview of an area of the law and provide links to primary law, secondary sources, relevant government agencies, and more.

Interested?  Start with our own collection of legal research guides at: http://guides.brooklaw.edu/.  First year law students, make sure to take a look at the legal research guide that we drafted especially for you http://guides.brooklaw.edu/1l.

Also, check out http://www.loc.gov/law/help/how-find.php and http://www.loc.gov/law/help/guide.php, the Law Library of Congress detailed guides to the laws of the 50 states, the Federal government, and most of the countries in the world.

Looking for more ways to find high quality legal research guides?  If you have a particular topic in mind, try doing a Google search: “Legal Research Guide [insert your topic]” or “LibGuide [insert your topic].”   This type of search will nearly always turn up one or more law school library legal research guides on your topic of interest.  A great way to get started on your research!

The Best Way to Remember a Lecture? Try Leaving Your Laptop at Home and Taking Notes by Hand

A new study published in Psychological Science, a journal for the Association of Psychological Science, suggests that students may be harming their academic performance by taking class notes on their computers.  Pam Muller of Princeton University, lead author of the study, says that even when students use their laptops as intended – and not for buying things on Amazon during class – they may still be harming their academic performance.

In the study, students listened to a lecture and were told to use whatever strategy they normally used to take notes – hand writing or typing.  Students then completed three distractor tasks and, 30 minutes later, were asked to answer factual recall questions (e.g. how many years ago did an event take place?) and conceptual application questions (e.g. how did equality differ in the countries discussed?).  The study revealed that while the two types of note takers performed equally well on the factual recall questions, those typing their notes performed significantly worse on the conceptual questions.

The difference in performance may be explained by the fact that typists take almost a verbatim record of a lecture while writers must process what they hear and then write down the ideas in their own words.  According to Muller, the hand written notes might allow students to better remember the message of a lecture because they have already processed what the lecture meant.

http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/news/releases/take-notes-by-hand-for-better-long-term-comprehension.html