Some very useful research websites are referenced here:
Ten Best Websites for Family Court Attorneys, September 18, 2009, by J. Benjamin Stevens
The list includes ISP List, Meetways, Pipl, and FOIA Letter Generator, to name only a few.
Non-attorney legal researchers often assume that legal indexes will use the same terms (also known as keywords, subject headings, or simply words) we use in real life. But they don’t! Welcome to my world.
(Databases also often refer to one search technique as “natural language searching.” Ha ha ha. There is little “natural” about each person’s use of the language, and there is even less that is “natural” when talking about the law. So, when you are told, “just use natural language,” I recommend you laugh darkly and do some research to find out a little about the profession’s unique nomenclature.)
When searching for criminal laws in the ORS Index, if your narrow, specific or your common sense search words don’t seem to be doing the trick, try looking under these main subject headings first, and then search using the words you selected:
The Multnomah County Library’s book blogs (Furthermore and An Embarrassment of Riches) are addictive. Look under the September 17, 2009, Penalty of Death entry for links to two books about the Oregon death penalty.
Other research guides to books and articles about the death penalty can be found from libraries and they link you to website, organizations, and to the law and history of the death penalty.
We just got our copy of this book on wine law. As you might imagine, the business of winemaking and wineries is full of law and business, plus the fun part, people, food, and wine.
Book Review: The Little Red Book of Wine Law: A Case of Legal Issues, by Heather A. Phillips, July 17, 2009.
I’ve traveled a little bit in Italy’s wine country (and there is nothing quite like listening to the grapevines talking to each other at night when they think you are sleeping) and here in Oregon. It’s a hard business, as any farming is, and the stories and dramas behind the bottle, so to speak, are the stuff of literature, not just how-to books.
Parent University in Washington County (Oregon)
The Washington County Sheriff’s office is hosting a series of classes for parents. There is no specific class on When Can I Leave My Kids Home Alone? (the #1 question this blog gets, see here and here) on the agenda, but you can always ask the experts in the class.
Topics that will be included:
I talk to lawyers wanting (and even managing quite successfully and happily) to leave the profession to become teachers (middle school seems the popular among ex-lawyers), legislators, small business owners, and even law librarians. I also know retired lawyers who are still practicing because they love the profession (but now like being selective about the cases and clients they chose to represent).
I read this article (below) recently. I suppose it’s no surprise that lobbyists do things they don’t really believe in (and we’ve all had to at some times in our lives) and those of us in jobs we do believe in are very (extremely) lucky, but it’s still startling to see it in print (or black and white):
“Push to ban smoking in tribal casinos could land in court,” by Harry Esteve, The Oregonian, September 18, 2009 (page 1, Saturday, Sept 19, 2009, print edition)
The newspapers and cyberspace are awash in stories about “financial planners.” Some manage their clients’ money with the care of a mother bird for its fledglings. Other “financial planners” manage their clients’ money as if the clients had said, “take it, my money is your money, do with it as you please – I don’t want it back.”
The September 27, 2009, Oregonian ran a story titled, “Your financial planner: friend or faux” in the It’s Only Money column. It was not the first such column on this subject they have run in recent days, nor will it be the last. These stories show up on the front pages of newspapers, blogs, and websites far and yon.
Where to find information about Financial Planners and personal money management? Try these:
I was reading a useful “Travel Troubleshooter” column in the print 9/6/09 Oregonian Travel section, written by Christopher Elliot, ombudsman for the National Geographic Traveler magazine) and saw a reference to this book:
Complete Idiot’s Guide to Person-Person Lending (and a blogger book review of it: Complete Idiot’s Guide to Person-Person Lending)
Both the blog and the book had some very useful tips and background information.
Every once in a while we get a question about which AMA Guide to Permanent Impairment Oregon uses. This website and chart say Oregon uses the 3rd Revised.
The Oregon lawyers and claims administrators I talk to say this: Oregon uses standards based on 3rd Edition of AMA Guide to Permanent Impairment, however Oregon uses it own rating standards and really doesn’t follow the AMA Guide.
So, even when there is a new edition (and there is a 6th edition available now), Oregon is the only state that does not use it? But do use the ORS and the OAR to research the permanent impairment laws the state does have.
Visit the Oregon Tax Amnesty website for details:
“What is tax amnesty?
Tax amnesty is an opportunity for taxpayers to file or amend tax returns in exchange for a waiver of penalty and partial interest.
Oregon Legal Research Blog