Opportunities for a Career Attorney

Interested in working as a law firm attorney but not interested in seeking partnership? Several US law firms are offering attorneys employment as 'career attorneys.' A recent New York Times article examined this model used by several prestigious large US law firms. These people are attorney employees at their firm: they just are not on the partnership track and they are paid less than their prospective partner attorney peers. On the plus side they do not have to worry about 'billable hours' nor substantial, and frequent, long hours. This model is also seen as a means not to outsource attorney work overseas.

Good News/Bad News about Law School Construction

Work began on Monday to replace the leaking portions of the law school roof and is anticipated to be completed in early July.

The good news is that this will hopefully mean the end to bookcases covered in plastic due to leaks.

The bad news is that it's been smelly (tar) and can be loud on the 3rd floor. For the most part, the project will be external only, but there have already been occasions when work has been done internally in the 3rd floor ceilings. Please be careful when accessing materials on the 3rd floor, since you might encounter scaffolding or displaced furniture.

Thank you for your patience while we all live through the disruption.

Federal Court Opinions to be Available on FDsys

Some federal court opinions will be available for free on FDsys as part of a yearlong pilot program between the U.S. GPO and the federal judiciary.

Federal court opinions are already available on PACER, but an account is required. The pilot project will allow users to access them without a login in FDsys.

Twelve federal courts will participate in the pilot phase: the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the 2nd and 8th Circuits; the U.S. District Courts for the Districts of Minnesota, Rhode Island, Maryland, Idaho, and Kansas; the Northern District of New York; the Northern District of Alabama; and the U.S. Bankruptcy Courts for the District of Maine, the Southern District of Florida, and the Southern District of New York.

Thanks to Law Technology News and WisBlawg

Copyright law comic book style

Want an interesting discussion of copyright law? What is fair use? What rights does an author retain under copyright law? And most importantly, does that TV playing South Park in the background of my film mean that I need to pay for the rights to use it?

Keith Aoki (a law professor and a great illustrator -see here and here) with Jennifer Jenkins and James Boyle published a great overview, Bound by Law (starring Akiko, a documentary filmaker), which is humorous and informative. Check it out. The link is to Duke's Center for the Study of the Public Domain. There you can read the book via html and download some interesting extras.

A final note on Final Exams

Congratulations! You've made it through to the end of this semester. Just a few things more thing about Final Exams.

The Law Library has extended hours, until 2 PM Wednesday May 4th through Wednesday May 18th. What would be exam time without treats? The Law Library staff is providing treats and coffee from 9 AM until 5 PM during these extended hours. Please enjoy a treat and thank a Law Library staff member during this time.

If you are interested in using one of the Law Library study rooms you must reserve a room in the sign-up book at the Circulation Desk. The rules are in the book and you are expected to follow them. We know that this is a very stressful time so please be courteous to your fellow students.

OK, you know about the food and drink and where to study -- here are some study aids that can help you during this time!

We have many study aids on Reserve. Ask for them at the Circulation Desk. You can find Sum and Substance CDs, flash cards and the popular Understanding series. There are also valuable study aids for first-year courses! And there is more! Look at these web sites: On-line and hard copy exams - you can look at becoming familiar with Hamline Law school exams:
Books about successful exam-taking:

Want still more advice for studying and writing law school exams? Look at these web sites for Law School Exam-Taking Tips, Closed Book Law School Exam Preparation Tips and Preparing for Exams.

And don't forget the valuable resources available from CALI.There are many exam-taking tips and podcasts. Sign into CALI using the password you created. If you haven't yet created a password, you may do so by clicking the link that says "Create new account." The Hamline law access code is available for any librarian or at the Circulation Desk.

I know your time is valuable -- if you want to stop and chat my door is open! Good luck!

Brief history of law libraries

Today Hamline's law school library is rich in print and electronic resources that takes up two floors of the law school building, but it actually started in the trunk of Professor Biernat's car. The collection then spent some time on shelves in the basement of Drew in the then law library, until it found its way to its new home,the current law library,in the early 1980's.
The first Library of Congress included legal materials along with everything else. It wasn't until January 20, 1832 that New York senator William L. Marcy introduced a bill to "increase and improve the Law Department of the Library of Congress." The bill was passed and signed by President Andrew Jackson on July 14, 1832. A sum of $5,000 for the "present year" was given to purchase law materials, with an additional $1,000 annually for the next five years. The titles to be purchased were selected by the Chief Justice. Over 2,000 law books were transferred from the general collection of the Library of Congress and were the beginning of a collection in the Law Library of Congress that now exceeds two million volumes.
The Minnesota State Law Library was created by an act Congress on March 3, 1849. They were also given an initial sum of $5,000 to start their collection. In the 1870's the Supreme Court took responsibility for selecting titles to be purchased for the library, which emphasized books on law and the theory of law.
Law libraries have endured through the centuries with the support of people like Thomas Jefferson, Congress, Presidents, and the American Bar Association. They are here to help you make the best of your education!