The 2011 OSB & LASO Bankruptcy Clinic schedule is out:
The Bankruptcy Clinic classes are held on Tuesday evenings, from 6:15 to 7:15 p.m. Appointments follow the classes. There is no child-care available.
The Clinics begin at 6:15 p.m. and start with a bankruptcy class taught by a judge or experienced bankruptcy lawyer. Class are open to all residents of Clackamas, Columbia, Multnomah, Washington, and Yamhill Counties.
We not infrequently get questions from people worried about some new animal law they heard about or who just have an “animal law” question. You can start with one or more of these resources to find an answer to your question:
1) Oregon Legislature: searching for bills and laws by session
“The Portland and Spokane Field Offices of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will hold a Citizenship Instructor Workshop – via webinar – on Monday, March 21st, 2011 at 9:15 a.m.
Please re-register if you would like to take this webinar.
The webinar is a continuation of the on-location workshops presented around Oregon over the last seven years that are aimed at instructors who are currently teaching classes – and those who anticipate teaching in the near the future. Topics covered include teaching civics, basic naturalization laws and procedures, the exam and tests, and resources for instructors. The webinar allows participants to interact with the instructor and ask questions.
What DO public law librarians do? We all do pretty much what public law librarians do in Texas, Maryland, Wisconsin, Georgia, Ohio, Colorado … and California, whose county law librarians made this excellent 2 minute, 35 second video.
Among other things, we save people time, money, aggravation, and fear:
CA County Law Library Video now on YouTube: Who Have You Helped Today?
It’s never too late to think ahead to springing ahead.
For more time change information:
NIST: In 2011, March 13, 2011 (see Current Time Change Rules and some answers to the Why time change? questions). Here is a Time Change grid for those who plan ahead.
Legal Research for Parents of Adult Children with Disabilities
Questions from parents about adult children with disabilities can cover a very wide range of legal issues. The following resources (and our new Disability Law Legal Research Guide) cover a few popular topics.
Special Needs Trusts:
1) The Arc of Oregon has a website on the Oregon Special Needs Trust. The Oregon Special Needs Trust is a “pooled trust” fund that provides supplemental needs to disabled individuals.
2) The National Special Needs Network offers answers to Frequently Asked Questions about Supplemental Needs Trusts.
State and county resources:
1) The Oregon Department of Human Services has a list of County Developmental Disabilities Programs and a Support Services Brokerages List by county/region.
2) The Washington County Developmental Disability Program offers a number of useful agency links on their website.
3) Lifespan Respite, from the Oregon DHS, provides information for families and providers about caring for a child or adult with special needs.
Oregon has three law schools, and three law school libraries, two of which are private. Each provides a generous amount of service to the public even though their primary mission is to serve their student and faculty research needs. (They also provide invaluable assistance to the Oregon county law librarians.)
Oregon also has a state law library and a network of county law libraries. (There are also law firm and bar association law libraries, but they are for employees and lawyers only.)
If you need to do legal research:
[And don’t forget to look at the ABC blog post: “How Many Different Ways Can You Spell ‘Gaddafi’?” They list 112 ways to spell Gaddafi!!]
If you are a researcher, then you know that using the very literal Internet for your research means that you need to know multiple spellings for names and words.
The Library of Congress has an Authority File that is a useful tool for this purpose. For example, if you were researching Mr. Qaddafi, here are some of your options (and this is a “Name Authority Headings” example).
Fix Oregon’s budget problems with the:
“Can You Balance the Oregon Budget?” widget.
Oh, if only it was this easy! But if Dave’s accountant could balance the federal budget, why not some of you householders and business owners with your own debt-free, balanced budgets?
We have a new legal research guide, Disability Law, available on the law library’s website. The new legal research guide provides resources on a variety of disability law-related issues including ABA, ADA, disability rights, and employment rights. In related news, a proposed bill impacting the rights of disabled children in public schools, HB 2939, has been introduced to the Oregon State Legislature. The following is a brief synopsis of House Bill 2939 from the bill’s summary:
“Prohibits use of mechanical restraint, chemical restraint or prone restraint on student in public education program. Allows use of physical restraint or seclusion on student in public education program under specific circumstances. Describes procedures to be followed if physical restraint or seclusion is used. Requires preparation of annual report related to use of physical restraint or seclusion. Directs Department of Human Services to approve training programs in physical restraint and seclusion.”
You can read more about House Bill 2939 in this recent article from The Oregonian.
Oregon Legal Research Blog