May, 2015

Published on: May 22, 2015

Open Source, Lawyers, and Beer: FOSS+Beer, Beryl’s, and a Legal Talk Network Podcast

By Laura Orr

A podcast from LawSites (Robert Ambrogi): A Most Unusual Episode of Lawyer2Lawyer (Hint: It Involves Beer)

Excerpt: “It is not every day that I get to record a podcast episode in a brewery…. But for our interview with the hosts of the FOSS+Beer podcast, we set up our mikes in Beryl’s Beer Co. in Denver ….

I previously wrote about the FOSS+Beer podcast, which I described as A Podcast About Law, Tech and Open Source. And Beer. Craft Beer. Since I was in Denver and the FOSS folks are in nearby Boulder, we invited them down to talk about open source software, podcasting and, yes, beer….” [Link to full Open Source and Beer podcast]

Published on: May 22, 2015

Court Dockets and the $40 Million Dollar Dope Slap

By Laura Orr

From LawSites (Robert Ambrogi): New PacerPro Service Automatically Retrieves and Delivers Federal ‘Free Look’ Documents

Excerpt: “If I were to tell you that a new service could help you avoid a $40 million mistake in litigation, would you be interested?

The mistake to which I refer was Sidley Austin’s failure to timely read orders referenced in a notice of electronic filing (NEF). The orders denied Sidley’s post-trial motions filed on behalf of AT&T after it was hit with a $40 million verdict in a patent infringement case. Because Sidley did not read the orders in time, it missed the deadline to file an appeal….“[Link to full Law Sites post.]

Published on: May 20, 2015

Searching Case Law with Google Scholar: New and Improved

By Laura Orr

“Google Scholar Case Law Evolves“ by Mark Giangrande, Law Librarian blog:

Excerpt: “…. Google is hardly a substitute for any of the commercial databases as it does not have the value-added features such as secondary sources and others. At the same time, anyone searching Scholar’s case law database can do so with a good amount of confidence in my opinion….” [Google Scholar Case Law Evolves]

Published on: May 12, 2015

Alternative Legal Research Databases for New and Experienced Lawyers

By Laura Orr

From the Gallagher Law Library Blog: Alternative Legal Research Databases

“When you think of online legal research, LexisAdvance, WestlawNext, or BloombergLaw probably spring to mind. With summer fast approaching, it may be worthwhile to explore some alternative legal research databases….” [Link to Gallagher Law Library blog post.]

Published on: May 12, 2015

When Lawyers Go Bad: Law Library Book Thieves: Law and Ethics

By Laura Orr

The Law Librarian, the Washington County Bar Association, the Law Library Committee, and the Oregon State Bar consider it a serious matter when attorneys do not return borrowed Law Library materials. Please note OSB Rule of Professional Conduct 8.4(a) & ORS 164.005, 164.015, 357.975 & 357.990

More about law book page thefts at the Legal Research is Easy blog: This Just Torques my Shorts.

Published on: May 12, 2015

Librarians versus the NSA (The Nation)

By Laura Orr

Hat tip to the 5/11/15,Library Link of the Day:

“Librarians Versus the NSA: Your local library is on the front lines against government surveillance,” by Zoë Carpenter May 6, 2015, The Nation, May 25, 2015

“…. Librarians have frequently been involved in the fight against government surveillance. The first librarian to be locked up for defending privacy and intellectual freedom was Zoia Horn, who spent three week in jail in 1972 for refusing to testify against anti–Vietnam War activists. During the Cold War, librarians exposed the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s attempts to recruit library staffers to spy on foreigners, particularly Soviets, through a national effort called the Library Awareness Program….” [Link to full Nation article.]

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