The following Oregon county law libraries purchase and lend current OSB and OLI CLE course materials for independent study (and MCLE credit): Clackamas, Lane, Marion, Multnomah, and Washington.
You can find more information at the Oregon Legal Research blog post:
Oregon Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Course Materials in Law Libraries
Date: 10/3/2013
Time: 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Location: McMenamins Kennedy School, 5736 NE 33rd Ave., Portland
October 2011 ABA Journal article, by Stephanie Francis Ward: “Mr. Small Claims’ Makes a Career on Volume”
(Note: Small claims court $$ limits vary from state to state. In Oregon, it is $10,000.)
Excerpt: ‘Small claims court cases are like any other legal disputes, but minus a zero, says Jordan Farkas, a Canadian lawyer who’s built a practice advising people who have $25,000 or less at stake. “Most lawyers look down at it,” says Farkas, 31. He started small claims work as a law firm associate to pick up litigation experience, and he can be found online as “Mr. Small Claims Court.”….’ (Link to full article.]
A law degree can be a gift that keeps on giving, assuming you use it well and that it was the right thing for you to spend time and money on in the first place.
I recommend some good career coaching if you’re not sure The Law is for you – and maybe, also, sitting in on a law school class or taking an undergraduate or adult education course on the law.
And even if you’re not fixed on a job as A Lawyer, a law degree can still serve you very well indeed:
FAQ: “Do you have any books on careers in the law?”
(Note for career seekers: do not confuse books “about the law” or books on “what lawyers do” with books on “the practice of law.”)
Law librarians are often asked if we have any books in our law libraries on what a legal career might look like, e.g. what does a prosecutor do? what does a patent lawyer do? what jobs are there for law school graduates? etc. Surprisingly, or not, most of us have very few, if any books on this subject in our law libraries.
It’s that time of year when high school and college students start asking questions about “careers in the law.”
There is a lot of “recommended reading” at law school admissions websites and there are also a lot of “pre-law” and law student “Must Read” lists you can find using “the Google.” There is also this gem from the Volokh Conspiracy, but I’m not inclined to disillusion high school students with it, even though it is terribly funny.
[If you’re thinking about law school In the U.K., they have the wonderful Granville Williams “Learning the Law.”]
Law librarian colleagues brought a Legal Informatics Blog post to my attention: Susskind on the End of Lawyers.
There are a zillion links to commentary on the book. I found Carolyn Elefant’s 3/24/09 My Shingle blog post and Comments particularly interesting – and practical: And what it means for solos.
Check Your “Attorney’s” Bona Fides! (Don’t be an April Fool.)
“I thought he was a licensed attorney.”
“I thought a paralegal could advise and represent me.”
“He said he knew Oregon law.”
If you hire someone who claims to be an attorney, or who hedges when asked, trust your instincts, because when your instinct detects hedging, your instinct is often a whole lot sharper than you are at the moment. It doesn’t mean it is right, just that it isn’t bothered with “being nice” or any other need to please. Be the adult and stay in charge of the situation.
“Are you a licensed attorney in this state” is a yes or no question.
The answer should not be “uh, huh, or uhhhhhhh,” or, “ummm, uh uh, how are you today?” or “sort of,” or any variation on that theme.
The answer should either be “NO” or “YES” and “here is my bar card so you can check with the Oregon State Bar.” And then CHECK with the Oregon State Bar! Call them or check their website, for heaven’s sake.
The very funny title leads into a very, very interesting blog post from BlawgIT. I love it also because it ties in with what law librarians say all the time:
Don’t Treat Your Law Librarian Like a Lawyer! Law librarians know and teach legal research. If you have a legal problem, ask a law librarian how to research it. If you want a solution to your legal problem, hire a lawyer!
But hear it from a lawyer:
Oregon Legal Research Blog