Publisher slush piles have collapsed as much from too many lawyers (and people wanting to sue) as from the sheer volume of “slush.”
Here’s an interesting article from the Wall Street Journal:
The Death of the Slush Pile: Even in the Web era, getting in the door is tougher than ever,
Wall Street Journal, January 15, 2010, by Katherine Rosman:
The Oregon State Bar (OSB) has posted the 2010 Law Library Values Schedule. The website includes values for previous years as well:
“This schedule has been prepared by the Property Tax Division of the Department of Revenue, State of Oregon, in cooperation with the Oregon State Bar. Owners of Law Libraries should declare the schedule values to the assessor. No further reduction should be made for depreciation, shopwear, or obsolescence. Space prevents a listing of all books that might be found in a Law Library. The lack of a listing does not indicate that individual books, sets, or volumes should not be reported. Such unlisted books, sets, or volumes should be reported in Section Q values unless personal knowledge indicates greater actual value on some sets.” (Link to full schedule.)
Just as people ask if the Oregon SLRs are the “Supplemental” Local Rules or the “Supplementary” Local Rules, they also ask about those “Special” vs. those “Supplemental” Sessions. Here’s an article that may answer the question, in full or in part:
A lot is riding on February session: Senate president says it will be prelude to annual sessions ballot measure, by Peter Wong, Statesman Journal, January 17, 2010:
Excerpt: ‘Oregon lawmakers gave a test drive to an annual session two years ago, but Senate President Peter Courtney said the February session will be the one on which voters decide whether such sessions are permanent.
If you saw and were intrigued by Robert Ambrogi’s article in the OSB Bulletin (January 2010):
New and Gnarly: Will Lawyers Catch Google’s Wave?,
you might want to look at iLibrarian’s post that links to Mac Life’s post 20 Real World Uses for Google Wave.
(And just try saying judicial system without sounding inebriated, a point the wonderful comic Dana Carvey made more than a decade ago.)
I was listening to an Oregon legislative hearing the other day and a legislator commented (quite rightly) on how confusing government is to many people (legislators and the rest of us).
Those of us who live and breathe “government” spend a lot of time helping to educate the public. But we remember well a time when we were confused ourselves — because it is confusing!
It’s not easy to find a simple online explanation of the difference between Official and Unofficial sources of law. My explanation may fill in that gap – or not, depending on your specific question. (And a blog post this long can hardly be called “simple,” but such is life — and law.)
1) In a nutshell, an official source is a source that has been authorized by an official body, such as a court or a legislature. In Oregon, for example, we have the official statutes of Oregon, published in the Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS), by the Oregon Legislature, through Legislative Counsel. (This official statutory compilation should not be confused with Oregon Laws, which is the official session law compilation.)
2) We also have in Oregon, as do many states, an unofficial statutory compilation, the Oregon Revised Statutes Annotated, which is published by Thomson-Reuters (West Group).
If you want an absorbing, fascinating, and fun book to read … if you want to sound (and possibly be even more) intelligent and well-informed when discussing health care systems around the world, and you don’t want to slog through zillions of pages in boring tomes, I highly recommend that you read:
T.R. Reid’s “The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care”
This is a “I missed by bus stop!” sort of read (which is much better than saying, “whoops, I missed Minneapolis!”). Reid is a great researcher and storyteller (and very funny, at that – you might have enjoyed T.R. Reid’s other books or radio appearances.)
The official start date for the 2010 Oregon Legislature’s Special Session will be posted on the Legislature’s webpage. The likely start date is Monday, February 1, 2010, but do check to make sure that isn’t changed.
On a related note, and at the risk of making the demand for their excellent reference service greater than the supply of Legislative Liaisons, I need to put another word of praise in for our Oregon Legislative Liaisons, who can be contacted at 503-986-1000 (phone number at bottom of the Legislature’s homepage).
If you need a quick (and even a not so quick) Legislative Question answered, they are your Go To People. For example, what about those questions you just can’t find quickly, or at all, on their website?
There are lots of online home schooling resources and I’m highlighting only these two, both of which have good links to Oregon home schooling laws:
1) Oregon Department of Home Schooling
“Home schooling is an alternative education option in Oregon. Parents who choose to home school their children must register at their local Education Service District (ESD). Curriculum and assignments are not provided by the state, however, testing is required at grades 3, 5, 8 and 10. Please review the guidelines, Q & A and laws and rules for more information on home schooling….” (link to full ODHS website)
(The Law Librarian Blog has an interesting update to this story: What Would Professor Kingsfield Say? Conan O’Brien-NBC Contract Dispute Awakens Sleeping 1L Contract Students, posted, January 16, 2010.)
I read recently that “Conan’s Lawyers Screwed Up, Forgot To Specify “Tonight Show” Time Slot,” Henry Blodget, Jan. 11, 2010.
A lot of people exclaim “there ought to be a law,” but the reality is, in many instances, what people need is better contracts. From your condo/HOA bylaws, to your apartment lease, to employment contracts, to that CEO going-out-the-door sweetheart deal, to that prenuptial agreement, to your will, and on and on and on, it’s the words of the contract that matter.
