Although not in time for Pride month, we wanted to let you know about a new database on LGBTQ+ rights available on HeinOnline! The LGBTQ+ database, part of the broader Social Justice Suite,  charts “the gay rights movement in America, showing the civil rights codified into law in the 20^th and 21^st centuries, as well as the inequalities that still exist today.”

Divided into 15 subtopics, the database makes it easy to identify potential resources relevant to your chosen topic.   It also includes an interactive timeline covering the LGBTQ+ rights movement from 1950 to the present.  Finally, each topic includes relevant scholarly articles and a list of further reading if you want to learn more.

The library hours that were originally posted have changed slightly to accommodate bar exam studiers.  The revised hours are as follows:

Regular library hours will resume at 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, July 5.  Have a wonderful holiday weekend!

A Firm Perspective is written by Martha Goldman, a retired Big Law firm library manager who then returned to the NYLS Mendik Library where her career began…

So, you’ve started your summer job or externship. Got lots to do and feeling overwhelmed? It’s likely that you are confronting a heavy workload and multiple deadlines, all of which seem to need attention at the same time. But when you multitask, you must prioritize! Here are a few tips about prioritizing:

• Decide which tasks are most important or urgent
• Create a to-do list that reflects the tasks in order of their priority
• Place the deadlines for all tasks in your calendar
• Set realistic timelines for each task
• Add time for distractions
• Review and revise your timeline constantly, even throughout the day

You will succeed!

Due to the Monday, June 20^th observance of Juneteenth, the library will be open for studiers, however, there will be no library services such as the Reference and Circulation desks.  Regular operations will resume on Tuesday, June 21^st.

Have a Joyous Juneteenth!

We wanted to send a quick reminder to register now for the June Summer Research Challenge and Research Skills Workshops.  These sessions will help you brush up on all the tools you can use for your summer externships and your upcoming Fall semester course research needs.

Ramp Up Your Research Skills!

This summer, take advantage of multiple opportunities to up your research game and learn more about tools you’ll need in practice through our popular Summer Research Challenge! Click here to see the flyer for details.

Each session begins at 6:00 p.m., with a short introduction to the research area, and then moves on to a concrete research problem where you need to efficiently identify the law bearing on your client’s situation. The sessions are two hours long and will wrap up with a discussion of results and strategies.

Attend whichever sessions most interest you, but researchers who successfully complete all four will receive a certificate signed by both Associate Dean William LaPiana and Associate Dean & Library Director Camille Broussard recognizing this achievement. It’s a great practical skill certification for your resume.

June 8:   Researching Congressional Documents: Statutes and Legislative History

June 15: Navigating the Regulatory Maze: Research in Administrative Law

June 22: Where in the World is the Law: Tools and Strategies for International Law Research

June 29: Research on the Road to Trial: Experts, Juries, Discovery and More

For more information and to register, click this link, scroll down to the June calendar, and select the sessions you would like to register for. You will then be taken to the registration page for that session.

Research Skills Workshops

In addition to the Summer Research Challenge, we will also be offering our regular Research Skills Workshops. These sessions are intended to give pointers on how to handle research situations you might face this summer. The workshops are 30 minutes long and will be offered on Tuesdays & Thursdays at 5:15 p.m., from June 7 through June 30, 2022. To register, click this link, scroll down to the June calendar, and select the sessions you would like to register for. You will then be taken to the registration page for that session.

While spending time in the library may be the last thing on your mind this summer, if you find yourself needing some research assistance during your internship or summer classes, you should call home!  No, not Mom and Dad–your other home, also known as the Mendik Library!  While you can always email us at Reference@nyls.edu, we have also assembled a plethora of valuable resources to help you with your summer research needs.  Go to https://libguides.nyls.edu/callhomefirst to access our Call Home First Research Guide. It provides many of the research tools and information sources you need to succeed.

Ramp Up Your Research Skills!

This summer, take advantage of multiple opportunities to up your research game and learn more about tools you’ll need in practice through our popular Summer Research Challenge! Click here to see the flyer for details.

Each session begins at 6:00 p.m., with a short introduction to the research area, and then moves on to a concrete research problem where you need to efficiently identify the law bearing on your client’s situation. The sessions are two hours long and will wrap up with a discussion of results and strategies.

Attend whichever sessions most interest you, but researchers who successfully complete all four will receive a certificate signed by both Associate Dean William LaPiana and Associate Dean & Library Director Camille Broussard recognizing this achievement. It’s a great practical skill certification for your resume.

June 8:   Researching Congressional Documents: Statutes and Legislative History

June 15: Navigating the Regulatory Maze: Research in Administrative Law

June 22: Where in the World is the Law: Tools and Strategies for International Law Research

June 29: Research on the Road to Trial: Experts, Juries, Discovery and More

For more information and to register, click this link, scroll down to the June calendar, and select the sessions you would like to register for. You will then be taken to the registration page for that session.

Research Skills Workshops

In addition to the Summer Research Challenge, we will also be offering our regular Research Skills Workshops. These sessions are intended to give pointers on how to handle research situations you might face this summer. The workshops are 30 minutes long and will be offered on Tuesdays & Thursdays at 5:15 p.m., from June 7 through June 30, 2022. To register, click this link, scroll down to the June calendar, and select the sessions you would like to register for. You will then be taken to the registration page for that session.

Among the most important skills all lawyers rely upon is the ability to do legal research– to find what’s needed to interpret and analyze legal issues. It’s an integral part of the “competencies” that NYLS and the ABA require of law students.  Effective research skills are vital to students engaged in any type of legal writing, to those who are clerking or participating in externships, and to those entering legal practice.

To help prepare you for the realities of law practice, we offer several courses that will make you a more efficient, confident and successful researcher.

Legal Research: Practical Skills (1 credit)

Builds on fundamental research skills through refining students’ techniques, introducing shortcuts and new approaches, and developing effective strategies.  The course focuses on finding legislation, administrative materials, and related cases; using the secondary sources relied on by practitioners; attaining greater proficiency and comfort with Lexis, Westlaw, Bloomberg, and other online research tools, including reliable free and low-cost sources.  We also offer this class with a focus on a particular substantive practice area, including Corporate & Business Law; Criminal Law; Family Law; Intellectual Property Law; and Real Estate Law.

• For the Fall ’22 semester we are offering Legal Research: Practical Skills (4 remote Saturday classes) and Legal Research: Criminal Law (7 weekday classes, in-person).

• For the Spring ’23 semester we are offering Legal Research: Practical Skills (4 Saturday classes, in-person) and Legal Research: Corporate & Business Law (7 weekday classes, in person).

Legal Research: Skills for the Digital World (3 credits)

Continues to build on the fundamentals described in Legal Research: Practical Skills.  Students concentrate on more advanced techniques and strategies and learn to evaluate online and print materials in order to choose the best and most cost-effective source for projects.  Some assignments are geared to students’ individual subject interests.  Take-home assignments test and enhance students’ ability to perform various research tasks and strengthen their understanding of important research process and strategy consideration. This class will be offered only during the Fall ’22 semester.

Want more information? Contact Associate Dean and Professor Camille Broussard or Professor Michael Roffer.

If you’re an NYLS alum studying for the Bar Exam, we invite you to choose your own personal Library carrel (on L3 or L4) for your exclusive use through the July 26-27 Bar Exam.  If you prefer to study in a room, we have also reserved room L402 in the library for bar studiers.

For those of you interested in reserving a carrel, we’ll put your name on the carrel of your choice, and you can use it as your temporary home away from home.  Who knows…you may occasionally find study treats left just for you.

All you need to do is send an email to darlene.young@nyls.edu, and indicate the number of the carrel you’d like to call your own.  All carrels are labeled by floor and carrel number.  For example, the first carrel on level L3 is labeled L3-C1, the second is labeled L3-C2; the first carrel on level L4 is labeled L4-C1, etc.

Due to Covid-19 distancing requirements, the number of carrels available for use this summer is limited.  If you would like to reserve a carrel, please do so as soon as possible.  Here are the currently available socially distanced carrels:

L3

L4

Regular habits are essential for Bar Exam study.  And we in the Library CARE about your success.  We look forward to seeing you.