And add these books to your reading list!
ABA Journal News: “Help pick the winner of the 2014 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction,“ by Allen Pusey
Excerpt: “The three finalists for the 2014 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction have been announced by the ABA Journal and the University of Alabama Law School, co-sponsors of the Harper Lee Prize. They are: Ronald H. Balson for Once We Were Brothers; John Grisham for Sycamore Row; and Elizabeth Strout for The Burgess Boys.
When you rely on a judicial opinion to support your cause, which version of the case do you carry into court? This is the 21st century law librarian and bench-bar dilemma.
Even if you solve the authenticity and and copyright problems (and we’re nowhere near doing that), what are we going to do about the Supreme Court?
See, “Final Word on U.S. Law Isn’t: Supreme Court Keeps Editing,” by Adam Liptak, May 24, 2014 (re the upcoming article, “The (Non)Finality of Supreme Court Opinions,” by Richard J. Lazarus, 128 HARV. L. REV. ___ (forthcoming 2014)).
The May 2014 OSB Bulletin has this article: “A Cure Worse than the Disease? Oregon’s New Social Media Law,” by Dan Webb Howard.
Excerpt:
“.... A Law of Unintended Consequences?
Provocative ABA Journal article – and Comments also worth reading:
ABA Journal, May 2014: “These venture capitalists skip law firms for legal services startups”
This particular Comment resonates in my world, where legal shortcuts land clients in hot water – and their attorneys in the law library wondering why the client didn’t seek legal advice first and saved themselves big bucks and big headaches:
“.… The Legal Services Program is a one-year pilot project, beginning December 2013 …. The purpose is to fill the unmet legal needs of Native American women incarcerated in and released from Coffee Creek Correctional Facility (CCCF) in order to reduce barriers to reentry, improve reentry planning, and empower women to successfully return to their families and communities….” [Link to information about the Red Lodge Legal Services Program.]
Washington County Disability, Aging and Veteran Services (DAVS) is hosting an Elder Abuse Forum. The community event takes place on Friday, May 16, from 1-4 p.m., at the Hillsboro Civic Center.
The community event takes place on Friday, May 16, from 1-4 p.m., at the Hillsboro Civic Center.
“Research shows that as many as five million older adults are victims of elder abuse each year and that financial exploitation costs seniors an estimated $3 billion annually. In 2013, Adult Protective Services in Washington County received 3,257 suspected elder abuse referrals. Of those, 667 resulted in Adult Protective Service investigations….” [Link to Forum webpage.]
Extend a welcome to these creative and purposeful lawyers, judges, and public law librarians who will learn about and share tips on creating effective access to justice, access to courts, access to affordable lawyers, and legal self-help programs of all shapes and sizes.
Oregon will have a good showing at this 2014 Equal Justice Conference – see the EJC homepage to see the roster of attendees.
On Thursday, May 1, 2014, The League of Oregon Cities is presenting a marijuana workshop for local governments:
9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. • DoubleTree by Hilton Portland (Lloyd Center)
• Learn what’s happening in Oregon related to medical marijuana
The news that AirBnB plans to set up shop (NA headquarters?) in Portland, Oregon (and that cheers have gone up from people who previously had been wringing their hands about AirBnB) has us scratching our heads. Not that we don’t adore living in Portland, cheer on small businesses, embrace bartering, face the challenge of making ends meet, and all that, but ….
Portland, and lots of other cities, have been wrestling, quite publicly, with the AirBnB business model, which puts customer convenience and cost priorities at odds with local safety and zoning priorities, not to mention tax revenues from locally licensed hotels and traditional B&Bs.
We might blog more about this topic, or we might not since it’s clear there is no shortage of news, hand-wringing, and economic analysis in print and cyberspace on the subject, but I did just see this article at the ABA website. So, if you’ve missed out on the conversation – or are wondering when it’s time for the lawyers and politicians (and lobbyists) to start their engines, take a moment to read:
Oregon Legal Research Blog