Halloween Treats (and Tricks)

REMINDER:   The Haunted Halloween Info Hunt drawing is almost here!  Winners can earn 1,000 Westlaw points, in addition to many other prizes, including study aids, OneCard Guest Cards (good for food purchases as well as printing and copying) and Barnes and Noble gift cards.

The drawing will be outside the library entrance at 5:45 pm this Thursday, October 31.  And what’s Halloween without candy?  Stop by and fill up your bag with Halloween treats . . . and maybe a few (research) tricks.

Submit completed entries by 5 pm.  For more information, click here.


‘Appy Constitution Day

To celebrate Constitution Day (September 17th), the Library of Congress has released a free app containing the official, annotated version of the United States Constitution.  This is a mobile version of its U.S. Constitution: Analysis and Interpretation work, a comprehensive analytical treatise prepared by attorneys of the Congressional Research Service.  “We the People . . .” can preamble over to the App Store to download it.  The Android version is apparently still under development.


Happy Martin Luther King Day!

Martin Luther King Day has honored the civil rights activist’s January 15th birthday since 1983. The history of the holiday’s inception, and its less than immediate acceptance by all fifty states, is briefly summarized here. You can also view bibliographies of Dr. King’s legal legacy here and here.


Library Closed Monday

A quick reminder that the Mendik Library will be closed this coming Monday, January 21, in honor of Martin Luther King day.  We will resume regular spring semester hours on Tuesday January 22, opening at 8:00 a.m.  Remember that if you check out any reserve collection materials within two hours of closing (that would be after 8:00 p.m. on Sunday, when we close at 10:00 p.m.), they will not be due until Tuesday morning when we reopen.  Enjoy the long weekend!


Scholarships for PLI Programs

PLI (Practicing Law Institute), a premier provider of Continuing Legal Education (CLE) for practicing attorneys, is offering scholarships for live and archived programs. The programs offer:

  • practical insights into the practice areas of most major law firms
  • an idea how the best and brightest in the practice think and speak
  • advice on showing hiring partners that you are a proactive, inquisitive,
    self-directed learner
  • timely and thought-provoking topics to talk about in interviews

Topics include IP Enforcement and Litigation, Drafting and Negotiating Corporate Agreements, Advising Nonprofit Organizations, Taking and Defending Depositions and many more. For program details, click here. Also be sure to look at PLI’s On-Demand Learning programs, which can also be covered by scholarship. To apply for either, click here.


LASIS Blog Wins Again

For the second year in a row, NYLS’s LASIS blog was named a fan favorite in the ABA Journal’s annual list of the top 100 law blogs (The Blawg 100).  This year, LASIS was voted number 1 in the News/Analysis category, besting a host of other blogs, including Above the Law, The Volokh Conspiracy, the Wall Street Journal’s Law Blog, The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times, and The Am Law Daily.  It received nearly 100 more votes than the nearest competitor.  Continuing congratulations to all the folks at LASIS!

See our previous posts here and here.


See Something, Say Something (So We Can Do Something)

Exams are here and your easygoing nature probably is diminishing quickly. There is so much studying and outlining to do — on top of reading and classes. Because of that, little things that you ignored last week are a big deal today.  So, if it bothers you, say something.

Tell us about the light bulb over your favorite study spot that is out; and about the person who always brings in those delectable garlic fries which are too garlicky and too greasy for the library; and, about the guy in the stairwell talking on his cell phone at full volume.

Tell us about the printers and copiers that are jammed, out of paper, or just plain uncooperative.

And tell us about the person who insists on using the library catalog terminal as a personal computer when you need to look up a resource.  And the woman who spilled her coffee all over the table and floor but didn’t clean it up before she walked off.  And the “one-person group” complete with contraband pizza that refuses to share a study room.

If you see, hear, or smell something, say something.  We can’t address “it” until we know about it. It’s your library and you’re here to study without distractions.  Let us help.


Need a Charge?

Need to charge your iPhone?  Stop by the Circulation Desk and plug in to our new charging station!  No charge to charge – it’s free!  Charging will be limited to 30 minutes if another student needs the charger.  Otherwise, you can fill ‘er up.

Sorry, but we’re not able to charge the new iPhone 5, BlackBerrys, or Android phones.


LASIS a Top Blog Again

The ABA Journal has just released its sixth annual list of the top 100 law blogs (or blawgs). 

NYLS’s own Legal As She Is Spoke (LASIS) blog, a product of the Program in Law and Journalism under the direction of Michelle Zierler, once again makes that prestigious list.  The blog’s staff and writers are students in Professor Zierler’s Legal Reporting classes.  Congratulations LASIS! 

The ABA Journal now asks for readers to vote on their favorites in each of 15 categories.  LASIS appears in the category News/Analysis.  Voting ends at close of business on December 21, 2012.  Here is the link to vote for your choice in each category. 

The ABA’s description of LASIS is below.

LEGAL AS SHE IS SPOKE
Student bloggers provide legal analysis of news, opinion, the arts and a catch-all category, “potpourri,” on this official blog of the New York Law School’s Program in Law and Journalism. This year LASIS is sporting a refreshed design. A recent series features dispatches from Tanzania, where a student is interning at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.