Congratulations to the NYLS Racial Justice Project, which recently filed an amicus brief on behalf of Congressman John Lewis in Shelby County v. Holder. The case challenges the constitutionality of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and will be argued before the Supreme Court on February 27. The brief attests to the high price many paid for the enactment of the law and discusses the mechanisms that continue to suppress, dilute, and infringe upon minorities’ right to vote. Hats off to co-authors Associate Dean Deborah Archer; Professors Tamara Belinfanti, Erika Wood and Aderson Francois of Howard University; and Civil Rights Clinic students Sondah Ouattara, Cortney Nadolney, Jeremiah Rygus, Jason Sender, Joycelyn Pittard, Shantal Sparks, Vanessa Craivero, Megan Crespo, Jacob Korder, Sonia Tapryal and Will Lemon.
Questions from Cupid
An early Happy Valentine’s Day from the Mendik Library! As a Valentine’s treat, here’s an easy opportunity to be entered into a drawing to WIN great study aids, texts and other prizes. And did we mention chocolate?
Click here to access the Valentine’s Day Info Hunt – Questions from Cupid (use Internet Explorer for best results). Each slide includes one question (there are only 6) and easy, step-by-step instructions. Press enter to reveal each step. Click here to access an answer sheet or pick up a copy at the Reference Desk. Either submit your completed answer sheet at the Reference Desk or e-mail it to reference@nyls.edu by 5:00 PM on Thursday, February 14. The drawing will take place outside the library entrance on February 14 at 5:40 PM. You need not be present to win, but an additional entry form will be added for each student who does attend!
Among the titles the winners will choose from are:
Corbin on Contracts
Payment Systems (Examples & Explanations)
Secured Transactions (Examples & Explanations)
Acing Criminal Law Procedures
Civil Procedure Stories
Criminal Law Stories
Foundations of Tort Law
Leading Constitutional Cases on Criminal Justice
Understanding Islamic Law
Legal Writing: Ethical and Professional Considerations
Interactive Citation Workbook for The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation
Basic Legal Research Workbook
Questions and Answers: Wills, Trusts, & Estates
Foundations of Labor and Employment Law
Plain English for Drafting Statutes and Rules
Federal Criminal Practice: A Second Circuit Handbook
Property (Examples & Explanations)
We Keep Charging Ahead!
Great news! The Library now offers more options for charging your cell phone. You can charge your IPhone, Blackberry, LG, Motorola, Nokia or Samsung. If you need a charge, just stop by the Circulation Desk. There’s 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.
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 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.