Check your local PBS television listings.  Starting July 5 many public television stations will begin showing the documentary “Balancing the Scales,” a film by Georgia lawyer and filmmaker Sharon Rowen. American Public Media is distributing the film to affiliates in all the major markets, including New York, and stations will be allowed to air the film any time over the next two years.  Through interviews conducted over the past twenty-years, the documentary examines a wide range of topics from discrimination, persistent biases and work/life balance to what it takes to become a partner in today’s law firms.  The hour long film features U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, civil rights lawyer Gloria Allred, State Supreme Court and Appellate Court Justices, female equity partners, women of color, as well as young associates and law students

On May 11th, the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility issued Formal Opinion 477, Securing Communication of Protected Client Information.  This important ethics opinion discusses confidentiality obligations relating to electronic client communications, including e-mail.  According to the ABA, an updated opinion was necessary given the evolution of the “role and risks of technology in the practice of law” and the 2012 “technology amendments” to the ABA’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct.

The Opinion states that if a lawyer has “undertaken reasonable efforts to prevent inadvertent or unauthorized access,” a lawyer can generally transmit client information over the Internet without violating the Model Rules.  Special security measures may be required, however, by “an agreement with the client or by law, or when the nature of the information requires a higher degree of security.”  The Opinion doesn’t define the reasonable efforts lawyers should take to comply with the Model Rules, but offers seven factors to help guide and inform decisions.

You can and should read the entire Opinion here:  ABA Comm. on Ethics & Prof’l Responsibility, Formal Op. 477 (2017).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Student access to Bloomberg Law, LexisNexis and Westlaw is based on New York Law School’s academic subscription plans.  Each has summer access provisions and usage policies for continuing and graduating students.

Students no longer need to contact LexisNexis and/or Westlaw to extend their passwords for use over the summer.

Bloomberg Law: Bloomberg Law offers students unlimited and unrestricted access to your Bloomberg Law accounts for any purpose over the summer. Graduating students will retain unlimited and unrestricted access to their accounts for 6 months after graduation.

LexisNexis: From April 30 to August 20, 2017, students may use their Lexis Advance password for any purpose at school or at work. LexisNexis permits graduating students to continue to use their law school LexisNexis account through December 31, 2017, and need not do anything further to do so. This access is intended to help you study for the bar, conduct your job search and become more efficient in Lexis Advance research.  Graduates engaged in verifiable 501(c)(3) public interest work may apply to the ASPIRE program, which provides 12 months of free access to federal and state cases, codes, regulations, law reviews, Shepard’s Citation Service and Matthew Bender treatises.  To apply for the ASPIRE program, visit: http://www.lexisnexis.com/grad-access/

Westlaw: Students can use Thomson Reuters products, including Westlaw and Practical Law, over the summer for non-commercial research.  Students can turn to these resources to gain understanding and build confidence in your research skills, but students cannot use them in situations where they are billing a client.

For 6 months after graduation, graduates have access to Westlaw and Practical Law for 60 hours per month.  Usage is for non-commercial purposes.  It may not be used in situations where a graduate is billing a client.  In addition, graduates get access to job search databases on Westlaw and TWEN for 18 months after graduation for 1 hour a month.

For more information, visit: http://www.nyls.edu/library/for_students/summergradaccess/

 

 

There are three important Library resources to keep in mind as you prepare for upcoming exams.

First: The Library’s Exam Preparation Resources guide offers a host of materials containing practical advice and strategies designed to help you navigate the exam process. Make sure to look for the link to Study Aids, which identifies a variety of study aids for first year subjects, including new digital study aids, part of our LexisNexis Digital Library of E-Books.

Second: The Library maintains an archive of previous years’ exams for most courses. You can access these exams by course or professor name. You will find them on the NYLS Portal. Go to Student Resources >> Exam Archive.

Third: CALI offers a variety of lessons and podcasts with helpful tips and advice from faculty on preparing for and taking exams. To access these materials, log in to CALI and navigate to Lessons >> First Year >> Legal Concepts and Skills. Then scroll to one or more of these lessons:

• Exam Taking Skills, Outlines, and Advice for Law Students (Panel 1 PodCast)
• Exam Taking Skills, Outlines, and Advice for Law Students (Panel 2 PodCast)
• Exam Taking Skills, Outlines, and Advice for Law Students (Panel 3 PodCast)
• Tips for Multiple Choice Exams in Law School (Podcast)
• Top 10 Tips for Successfully Writing a Law School Essay
• Writing Better Law School Exams: The Importance of Structure

With finals approaching, your thoughts may be turning to study aids. If you’re interested in digital versions, you’re in luck. Our LexisNexis Digital Library, a collection of eBooks that you can check out and read on your computer, smartphone, or tablet, includes dozens of study aids and treatises.

To sign on to the LexisNexis Digital Library, follow this link: http://nyls.law.overdrive.com/

Enter your NYLS network credentials, and you’re in!  The service is easy to use, but if you have any questions, just contact a Reference Librarian.

If you are graduating this year and you owe any library fines, here’s a chance to save some money and do some good.  For every can or unopened package of food (no glass!) you donate at the Circulation Desk, the Library will reduce the amount you owe by $2.00.  So, for example, if you owe $10 in fines, bringing five cans of food would reduce your fine balance to zero!  You can’t beat a deal like that.  (We donate all food collected to the Salvation Army’s Bensonhurst Corps and Community Center.)

Donations must be made prior to May 25, 2017.  Note:  this offer does not apply to fines for lost or damaged materials.

Saturday April 22, 2017 is Earth Day.

This year’s Earth Day Network campaign focuses on environmental and climate literacy but their Billion Acts of Green campaign, which has already reached more than 2,023,369,565 Acts of Green (with a goal of 3 billion), continues.

Visit their Create Your Own Act of Green page to offer your support. If you’re looking for some easy Acts of Green, how about turning off the library study table lamps and carrel lights whenever you leave. Or use the stairs instead of the elevators between floors. Although Elevator Ed may miss you, he’ll understand, and the Earth will thank you!

Another suggestion: By drinking your coffee, tea, or other beverage from a spill-proof, reusable mug, you can transform a single Act of Green into an ongoing one, helping continually to reduce the volume of plastic, Styrofoam, and paper cups piling up in landfills or requiring energy for recycling. At the same time, you’ll be complying with the Library’s food and drink policy and earning our thanks!

If you don’t have a spill-proof mug, pick one up at the Circulation Desk for $5.00. For every one purchased through the end of this semester’s exam period, librarians will contribute $1.00 to Earth Day Network, which works with over 50,000 partners in nearly 200 countries to broaden, diversify and mobilize the environmental movement.

For complete information about Earth Day, visit Earth Day Network.

It’s that time of year again! Are you looking for tax forms? You can find federal forms on the IRS website here, as well as free filing options, tax preparation help, and IRS publications and instructions. Remember: the deadline to file your return this year is April 18, 2017, but you can apply for an automatic extension of time (for filing your return, not for paying any taxes due). For taxpayers whose income falls below $64,000, the IRS also provides tax preparation software to help you file your taxes for free.

 Curious to know what the first Form 1040 looked like in 1913?  Click here to find out!