Research

Celebrate Earth Day!

Each year on April 22, we join people around the world in celebrating Earth Day—a time to reflect on the importance of protecting our planet for future generations. Earth Day is not only a call to environmental action, but also an opportunity to explore the science, history, and policy that shape our relationship with the natural world.

If you’re conducting legal research related to climate change, sustainability, or environmental justice, we invite you to explore our Treatises by Topic research guides. These treatises offer in-depth explanations of the general principles and specific areas of environmental law, along with extensive commentary on statutes, regulations, cases, and other primary materials. They’re excellent resources for background research and for locating authoritative legal citations.

We also encourage you to visit EarthDay.org to learn more about this year’s theme: “Our Power, Our Planet.”

Happy Earth Day—today and every day

2024 Summer Research Challenge and Research Skills Workshops

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 for details. Each virtual 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 Dean of Faculty William LaPiana and Associate Dean & Library Director Camille Broussard recognizing this achievement. It’s a great practical skill certification for your resume.

May 29: Researching Congressional Documents: Statutes and Legislative History
June 5: Navigating the Regulatory Maze: Research in Administrative Law
June 12: Research on the Road to Trial: Experts, Juries, Discovery and More
June 26: Legal Research for Transactional Lawyers

For more information and to register, click here. Select the sessions you would like to register for and you will be taken to the registration page.

Research Skills Workshops
In addition to the Summer Research Challenge, we will also be offering our regular Research Skills Workshops. These virtual 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 4 through June 27, 2024. To register, click this link. Select the sessions you would like to register for and you will be taken to the registration page.

If you cannot view the contents of this email, please click here.

Get back into research after spring break: Bloomberg Law (BLAW) training sessions on Mon., 3/20 and Thurs., 3/23

We are pleased to announce two BLAW training sessions on Monday, March 20 at 1:00 pm and Thursday, March 23 at 4:00 pm.  Join Miche de Jean, our BLAW representative, for a 45-minute Zoom training session focusing on the unique features of Bloomberg Law:   Dockets, Transactional Materials, News, Practice Centers, and Secondary Sources.  No need to sign up, just click into the Zoom session link that best fits your schedule.

 

Need to register for a BLAW ID? Go to Academics/Library/Resources & Services/Electronic Resources.  Choose Bloomberg Law from the list on the left side of the screen and click on “Register for a Bloomberg Law Account.” You must use your NYLS email address but you do not need an authorization code.

It may take 24-48 hours for a password request to be processed, but it’s not needed for this session.  See you then!

 

Monday, March 20 BLAW Session Link

Time: Mar 20, 2023 01:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

https://bloombergindustry.zoom.us/j/95701675059?pwd=L0tuMjVpYW01WlRRcVJUVXZ6SWhOUT09

Meeting ID: 957 0167 5059

Passcode: ?J9X0q

 

Thursday, March 23 BLAW Session Link

https://bloombergindustry.zoom.us/j/91976933775?pwd=M0RkTzBYSnc2Nk9DSDk0Njd2MTJkUT09

Meeting ID: 919 7693 3775
Passcode: i8je##

 

 

 

Boo! Halloween Info Hunt Returns

Happy soon-to-be-Halloween from the Mendik Library!

As an early Halloween treat, here’s your opportunity to WIN great prizes such as study aids, law dictionaries, NYLS commuter mugs, Lexis points, and more!  Just answer the six Halloween Info Hunt questions.  Your answers don’t need to be perfect—just close!

Click here to access the questions.  Each slide includes just one question, along with step-by-step instructions that will get you to the answer.

And don’t forget to stop by the Reference Desk (beginning Monday, October 31) for Halloween candy (no costume required).

Online Access to the Bluebook

The publishers of The Bluebook: a Uniform System of Citation are offering online access, at no cost, to members of the NYLS community who do not have access to a print copy.  If you wish to take advantage of this offer, please email the Library at reference@nyls.edu.  Your request must come from a NYLS email address.

2018 Summer Research Challenge

The Challenge is On!

 Join us next Wednesday June 6 (and on any or all of the following Wednesdays through June 27), for the Mendik Library’s 2018 Summer Research Challenge! Hone your research skills with real issues you’ll encounter in practice and have some fun at the same time. Get all the details here and follow this link to register.

Course Registration: Why You Should Consider Legal Research

Among the most important skills all lawyers rely upon ins 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 a number of 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 BNA, 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; Foreign and International Law; Intellectual Property Law; Labor and Employment Law; and Real Estate Law.

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.

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

Selecting Your Courses for Next Year: Why You Should Consider Legal Research

Among the most important skills all lawyers rely upon is the ability to do legal research– to find what’s needed to to interpret and analyze legal issues. Legal research is 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 you prepare for the realities of law practice, we offer a number of courses that build upon skills learned in the first year and 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 BNA, 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; Foreign and International Law; Intellectual Property Law; Labor and Employment Law; and Real Estate Law.

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 particular 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 considerations.

Want more information? Contact Prof. Camille Broussard or Prof. Michael Roffer