“Rights of an Unsecured Creditor to Recover from a Decedent’s Nonprobate Property,” by Daniel C. Re and Hurley Re, in the January 2009 issue of the OSB Estate Planning and Administration section newsletter (previous issues online).
Another article in the same issue: “Appealability of Decisions in Probate and Trust Proceedings,” by Philip N. Jones.
Willamette Law Review (Winter 2008, vol. 45, no. 2) has this article: “A Last Vestige of Oregon’s Wild West: Oregon’s Lawless Approach to Electronically Stored Information,” by Leroy J. Tornquist & Christine R. Olson.
(This article is not yet at the Willamette Law Review website, but will be, eventually. Please contact your local law library for a copy of the article, which will be available from a number of online subscription services.)
Researching legislative history can sometimes require more than plowing through dusty hearing transcripts. Guides to legislative history and intent always suggest searching the secondary literature, e.g. newspaper and journal articles that are written before the legislation is passed, shortly thereafter, and reflective articles long after the law has been enacted:
Willamette Law Review (Winter 2008, vol. 45, no. 2) has this Comment:
“The Battle Over Property Rights in Oregon: Measures 37 and 40 and the Need for Sustainable Land Use Planning,” by David J. Boulanger.
If you think federalism means that in the United States the federal government operates independently of state government, or vice versa, see this blog post for an interesting civics lesson:
Isaac Laquedem’s take: Harry Reid gives Kate Brown an unexpected power over the United States Senate
For many of us, keeping on top of federal case law is a lower priority than tracking changes to our state’s laws. But we still like, and need, to stay in the loop, especially since these cases affect our day-to-day lives as much as our own state laws do: family law, criminal procedure, employement law, etc.
For U.S. Supreme Court opinions (and other courts’ opinions too), you have a number of quick ways to stay current, one of which is the Willamette Law Online service:
“Willamette Law Online functions as a notification service, alerting users to legal decisions and trends, and is neither intended to be a comprehensive resource of case law nor a substitute for in-depth legal research….”
Oregon, and especially the Portland-metro area, is awash in lawyers talking about the law to all and sundry – for no charge. (You don’t even have to buy them lunch – how much better than that can it get?)
There are pedestrian and bicycle legal clinics, bankruptcy clinics, small business legal clinics, homebuyer clinics, patent law programs (e.g. at CubeSpace), expungment clinics, and many more.
You just need to know where to look for the announcements. Despite what you think, many lawyers are just not that good at marketing. Until some of us figure out a way to maintain a website or blog where these programs can be posted, here are some tips on how to find them. Like most things that are worthwhile, it will take some effort, but it may surely pay off in the end:
I hear far too many lawyers say, “I don’t understand technology. I do just fine with the telephone and my legal assistant.” This is a far more dangerous situation than “I don’t need no stinkin’ email.”
As a public librarian, I’m in favor of self-help and I know my way around a law library, but I’m also smart enough to know when to hire lawyers (and doctors). And I sure want to know the professionals I hire to protect my legal interests also know how to protect my privacy interests. If there is a computer in the law office, but no one who knows about protecting data, let alone understanding how those computers work … well …. good grief.
Not knowing about scrubbing legal documents submitted electronically could lead to a Bad Outcome, for all. And, it can be as fatal to clients (their cases and their privacy) as it is to that lawyer (or public servant or financial advisor or bank or doctor) who doesn’t lock up paper files or encrypt electronic data. (And why DO we keep hearing about custodians of personal records leaving laptops, with unencrypted data, unattended in garages, driveways, cars, airplanes, etc.?)
Justice Bedsworth welcomes you to February 2009, via the heat of August 2008 (LOL!):
MCLEmentary: “Beds has to forego a forgettable knowledge seminar.”, by Justice William W. Bedsworth:
Excerpt: “The National Judicial College is located in Reno, Nevada. I don’t know why. I always assumed that is where the founders’ wagon train ran out of food and water.
Oregon Legal Research Blog