Passing the bar exam is a requirement to become a practicing attorney. But why is that the case? The Law Library of Congress explored the history of the bar exam in the U.S. in a couple recent blog posts.
The first discusses how the bar exam came about: The History of the U.S. Bar Exam, Part I – The Law’s Gatekeeper.
The second highlights the first person of color and the first woman to be admitted: The History of the U.S. Bar Exam, Part II – The Gate Openers.
Do you have an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) at work? Then you might have access to free legal help that you didn’t even know about!
Many employers offer their employees an EAP as an extra benefit. Many EAPs offer some legal help as part of the package. It could be as simple as articles on legal topics to free legal consultations to discounts on attorney fees.
Some EAPs offer articles on various subjects such as criminal law, immigration, and consumer law. They may also offer forms for specific states and might include various Power of Attorney forms and Wills.
If you need a reminder that there are funny, honest, and treacle-free people in this world and who are law librarians – and Ray is one – read on for a charming and very funny article about such a mensch:
“His madcap recaps of Berkeley softball games have been a hit for 25 years
Raymond Weschler has organized an egalitarian pick-up softball league since 1997, but he prefers writing emails about the games to playing in them,” by Joanne Furio, Feb. 27, 2022, at the Berkeleyside (nonprofit news, free for all, funded by readers):
Welcome a company that aims to achieve Tufte-level “Displays of Information” in the world of legal graphics (a slight exaggeration, but even so, definitely appreciated): Legal Icons
From the Legal Icons story:
“As readability and translation experts, we know that icons play a key role in communication. Imagine our surprise when we discovered that the legal industry did not have its own standardized set of universal icons.
The Oregon Health Authority has a Covid-19 Testing Site Locator.
You can also call 211 (or visit the 211 Info website)
Note of advice from OHA: “While we are working hard to keep the information about where Oregonians can get a COVID-19 test as up to date as possible, you should contact the site first to make sure testing is still occurring.”
The Internet Archive serves as, among other things, a repository for webpages. Lawyers (especially), historians (always), librarians (of course), and everyone else can save their webpages to the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine. (Ue their Save Link Now box.)
I save many of URLs I link to in my blog posts and am frequently astounded to find that too few of those URLs have been saved to the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine. These government, nonprofit, NGO, official document, and other URLs should be preserved in the Archive.
If you build, update, rely on website content, please SAVE the URL to the Internet Archive Wayback Machine. Websites come and go and you never know when you might need to reconstruct, recall, provide evidence based on, or otherwise want to view a retrospective snapshot of a particular website.
Recommended reading – and discussing: with a book group, a salon, over coffee, over beer, and with Portland (Oregon) friends and neighbors:
“Bridge City: When does local pride become exclusionary?” by Anna Vo, in Oregon Humanities, July 29, 2019.
“…. When you hear about nationalism, you may think of Trumpism, of anti-immigrant sentiment, but I bet you never think of yourself, of Portland. I wonder often about the pro-nature dogma, the cedar and mountain pride, the shoe-and-backpack consumerism entwined with suiting up for a thirty-minute “hike,” or swallowing nature like a fusion chimichanga sushi burrito. The regionalism so many people in Oregon espouse sounds a lot like localized nationalism to me. Its rhetoric can be easily weaponized to promote exclusion. …..” [Link to full article. Archived here.]
“DNA Tests Show Southern Members of Congress and Constituents are 65% Mexican (and 20% French): Results Surpass Congressional Dining Hall Chef’s Prediction Based on the Popularity of “French Fries with Salsa” Side Dish”
“Members of Congress Fail American History Test: Only 13% Earn a Barely Passing Grade (60% or better).”
Hmmm. Telling lies, making up part-truths, or simple obfuscation is clearly very difficult for some of us, but a piece of cake for others, e.g. Onion writers, Andy Borowitz, advertisement authors, drug and tobacco company CEOs, etc., etc., etc.
“How to Preserve Your Family Memories, Letters and Trinkets,” by Kelsey McKinney, New York Times, 2/8/18.
Let this article be a starting point if you haven’t already researched this subject. Please do not assume “common sense” will guide you, unless you are an archivist.
Oregon Legal Research Blog