Present and Future Librarians: The most recent OLA Quarterly has some excellent articles well-worth reading including, but not limited to these:
OLA (Oregon Library Association) Quarterly, Fall 2010, Vol. 16, no. 3
1) ‘What “Open to the Public” Really Means,” by Jane Salisbury and Carolee Hirsch
I’ve blogged before about the very useful Oregon Council on Court Procedures website. For those who remember plowing through the print versions of these documents … this website is a miracle!
And if you want to know some history about the OCCP, this website a good place to begin. (As for why the ORCP is buried in the ORS, between Chapters 11 and 12, you’ll need to wait for another OLR blog post. I asked Legislative Counsel this question not long ago but have yet to write up the answer.)
Legislative vs. Administrative Histories:
1) It is not unusual for a legal researcher to ask for a “legislative” history of a statute, when in fact there was no legislature involved in the statute’s, or rule’s, enactment or promulgation.
Gallagher Law blog has a great post on last Friday’s Constitution Day and it links to this wonderful quiz:
“You know those silly Facebook quizzes where you answer a series of questions to learn what breed of dog or which Gilligan’s Island character you most resemble? The National Constitution Center offers a quiz to find out which Framer of the Constitution you most resemble. No kidding!” (Link to the full Gallagher Law blog post.)
Gallagher Law blog also reminds everyone that other countries have constitutions, too. Who knew?!
The October 2010 Consumer Reports magazine had a useful article on “Where to Find Lost Loot” (and we thank them for posting it free, online).
More on consumer protection from the Federal Trade Commission and the soon to be activated (we hope) Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Bankruptcy law is federal law so you want to look not only at Oregon attorney, law firm, and legal blogs, but also at federal bankruptcy online resources. (There are print bankruptcy legal resources but this blog post focuses on the online “current awareness” blogs only, or primarily.)
Federal Court: U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Oregon
I list below a few Oregon bankruptcy attorney blogs, selected from the many excellent Oregon attorney websites, many of which have a lot of information but are not strictly speaking “blogs.” (And, please see the Disclaimer, below.)
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA): National Take-Back Initiative
COLLECTION SITES: DEA collection site database (or link from NTBI website)
News stories:
There were several interesting articles in the August / September 2010 Oregon State Bar (OSB) Bulletin (or link from OSB archives), including one on “missing and misunderstood” evidence, another on unbundled legal practice (aka limited scope legal assistance), and this one on lawyers who don’t pay other lawyers for costs incurred on their clients’ behalf (behalves?).
Lawyers will want to read the article and non-lawyers may find the analysis of the legal ethics and associated legal issues generated by the question not a little bit instructive (or educational, if you prefer):
The article, Bar Counsel: Dealing with Debts: There Oughtta Be a Rule! (But There Isn’t), by Sylvia Stevens (OSB Executive Director):
Excerpt: “Recently, I heard from an arbitrator (a respected trial lawyer of many years’ experience) who was distressed at being “stiffed” when the lawyer for one of the parties in an arbitration refused to pay the arbitrator’s fee on the ground that he was unable to collect it from his client. My caller was certain he had seen authority in years past obligating lawyers to pay the litigation expenses of other professionals that were incurred on behalf of their clients. I replied that I was not aware of any such authority in Oregon. Moreover, I had always believed that the issue was governed by agency law and was not a matter of professional regulation….” (Link to full article.)
The Legal Research Plus blog has a status report on 111th Congress H.R. 6026:
“Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act,” Legal Research Plus, September 20, 2010, by George Wilson
More information about Congressionally Mandated Reports can be found at:
Constitution Day 2010 has passed with nary a whimper, but thoughts of the inimitable Classroom Law Project stay front and center.
Did you know you can volunteer with the Classroom Law Project? They are super-friendly, fun, and oh so smart. And they are willing to pass all that goodness on to you, free of charge. You just need to volunteer. (I’m volunteering so I can learn how to bring all that goodness out to my law library’s county.)
Learn and teach about civics, courts, and law making. You don’t need to be a lawyer to volunteer – really!
The Oregon Food Handlers Manual is not just for food-handlers. It’s for people who eat or buy food. Could this mean you?
1) If you eat in restaurants or at grocery stores, farmers’ markets, food carts, hospitals, country fairs, lemonade stands, fund-raising events, or just about anywhere else you buy food, you might be interested in how Oregonians are protected from food-borne illnesses.
2) Even if you don’t sell or serve food, if you EAT food, you might find the Food Handlers Manual interesting, along with the Oregon Food Safety website. (And for extra credit, you can read about Alcohol Server Education.)
Oregon Legal Research Blog