From the Law Librarians & Access to Justice Blog:
“The Law of Prison Law Libraries,” Lewis C. Zimmerman, 2/12/18, AALL SR-SIS
The LISP/SR BLOG: Law Librarians & Access to Justice (Legal Information Service to the Public and Social Responsibilities, Special Interest Sections of the American Association of Law Libraries.)
New public law librarians (MLS & MLS/JD) and new public law library employees usually have to tackle questions of Unauthorized Practice of Law (UPL) and the dreaded “Forms” questions very early in their employment (or careers, if they are in it for the long haul*).
(Non-Oregon new public law library employees reading this blog post can locate similar resources within their own state’s public law librarian world.)
FIRST AND FOREMOST:
The Legal Research is Easy blog post, Hone Those Research Skills, is California-based, but the lessons it teaches apply to law students in every state where public law libraries are supported. Be a good money manager, and get smart: seek out free and cheap legal research resources, human, print, and digital:
“A while back, I read an article in the Los Angeles Daily Journal (Bar proposes revised practical skills requirements) by Lyle Moran that caught my eye. Apparently, the California Bar Association wants to include 10 hours of “practical” legal instruction while law students are still in school. While the article did not say what specific skills the Bar want’s new attorneys to focus, might I offer a suggestion? Might I propose that in that 10 hour mix, law students spend at least three (3) hours at their local county law library to see what exactly their local county law library has to offer.
The Self-Represented Litigation Network (SRLN) is an organization for Access-to-Justice (A2J) professionals, lawyers, judges, law librarians, law professors, law students, and others who believe that everyone has a right to free or affordable legal assistance and access to courts.
The “2017 SRLN Conference will be held February 23 -24, 2017 at the California Judicial Council building in San Francisco.”
The Self-Represented Litigation Network (SRLN) is “establishing a permanent Conferences Committee as part of the Strategy and Outreach Working Group….” Locate SRLN members where you work to find out how you can contribute.
Legal Research is Easy is still one of my favorite blogs. (And I can only dream about working as a law librarian in a state with so many official court forms, practice materials, and self-help resources. Sigh.)
The blog author has fun writing the blog, is smart, funny, profane and profound, doesn’t sweat the small stuff, and is brutally honest about what self-representation is all about and what public law librarians can do – and can’t do. And he cares. When a big heart meets a tough cookie, good things can happen. (And he doesn’t even hint at the amount of dedication and work (and money management) that is required to keep his legal research skills fresh or to create and maintain a law library with the breadth and quality of legal research materials needed to provide this level of service. Easy indeed! Not!)
Try it out: Legal Research is Easy. You will learn from it, whether you’re a librarian or a self-represented litigant – or if you think you know what public law librarians and public law libraries do, but in fact have barely a clue.
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.
Have you ever wondered about the questions public law librarians are asked? Have you ever thought that answers to lawyer and non-lawyer legal questions are “all online?”
Think again!
The Oregon Special Law Library Association (ORSLA) asked the question. Read the answers (and a few samples below). Public law librarians around the country will recognize these:
Oregon Legal Research Blog