Ross-Blakley Law Library Blog

If you’ve ever researched a topic online, you know how easy it is to get overwhelmed with all the information out there. There’s even a term for this condition: information overload.

If you’re plagued by information overload, a citation management program may be just the cure you need. A citation management program (a.k.a. reference managment program; a.k.a. bibliographic managment program) is a tool that allows you to create a personal database of citations, so all those fabulous resources you come across while researching will be in one place, organized however you like, and easily searchable.

There are lots of these programs available, … Continue Reading

The library has three new business organizations study aids in the study skills collection.  These may be useful if you plan on outlining over spring break!

Secured Transactions: Examples and Explanations
Law Study Skills Collection KF1050.Z9 B76 2011
Secured Transactions: Examples and Explanations provides introductions and illustrations that make Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code understandable.  The text covers the rules and policies of the law governing secured transactions, and provides helpful diagrams and visual aids.

Agency, Partnership, and the LLC in a Nutshell
Law … Continue Reading

Google is going to unify its privacy policy across all of its services beginning on March 1st. This will unify the data they collect, from your web searches to what you watch on YouTube. If there’s anything you want kept a little more secret, check out How to Remove Your Google Search History before Google’s New Privacy Policy Takes Effect.

For a fuller description of what these changes mean, take a look at Google’s Privacy Policy Preview.

Westlaw and LexisNexis have been publishing publicly filed legal briefs and motions, and charging their subscription users to access them online, for years.  Two attorneys, Oklahoma lawyer Edward White and New York city lawyer Kenneth Elan, plan to put a stop to it.   White and Elan recently filed a class action lawsuit against Westlaw and LexisNexis, claiming copyright infringement of the aforementioned legal documents.   They seek to represent both lawyers who have copyrighted their work and those who have not, and claim that the two publishing companies have engaged in “unabashed wholesale copying of thousands of copyright-protected works created by, … Continue Reading

Who doesn’t love a great legal movie? The editors of Bloomberg Law sure do – they’ve come up with a list of 10 Greatest Legal Movie Lines of all time.

Did you know the Law Library has a great selection of legal movies? Stock up for the weekend with any of the movies from Bloomberg’s list:

•  The Paper Chase
•  The Firm
•  Erin Brockovich
•  The People v. Larry Flynt
•  A Civil Action
•  To Kill a Mockingbird
•  A Few Good Men
•  My Cousin Vinny
•  A Man for All Seasons
•  The Verdict

…and more!

You can … Continue Reading

Yesterday the Supreme Court agreed to revisit the issue of Affirmative Action in higher education admissions. The case in question is Fisher v. University of Texas (docket 11-345), which the court will hear in their next term.

The decision in this case could impact the future of college admissions. If you’re interested in reading up on the issues, check out:

• SCOTUSblog coverage of  Fisher v. University of Texas
• 2003 Supreme Court opinion on Grutter v. Bollinger (539 U.S. 306) (majority opinion was authored by Sandra Day O’Connor)  
• 1978 Supreme Court opinion on Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (438 U.S. 265)
• Resources … Continue Reading
  

The 16th annual Pedrick Lecture is being delivered by Senator Jon Kyle in the Great Hall of the College of Law this evening.  Senator Kyle will be speaking on “American Sovereignty and Transnational Law,” and will discuss how non-ratified international treaties and agreements are circumventing domestic laws.

The Pedrick Lecture is one of the College of Law’s signature events, and all members of the law school community are invited.  If you are interested in international law, be sure to attend, and also consider checking out one of the following new books on international law in the Law Library collection:

Shaping… Continue Reading

Some people say it with Shakespeare.

Others crank up the sultry Soul songs of Marvin Gaye or Barry White.

But why speak the language of love when you can woo them with the language of law?

At Docracy.com’s Be My Valentine – Lawyer Edition, you can “send a romantic yet legally defensible Valentine’s Day Card to that special someone.”

Hat-tip and Happy Valentine’s Day wishes to former RBLL Reference Librarian Amy Levine!

Today is a big day – not only is it Valentine’s Day, but it is also Arizona’s 100th birthday!

Celebrate both holidays at the Centennial Marriage Event this afternoon, where you can tie the knot in a ceremony presided by Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Rebecca White Berch.

Or, attend The Arizona Supreme Court and the Arizona Constitution: The First Hundred Years, a panel discussion sponsored by the College of Law and the Arizona State Law Journal.   The event is taking place at the Sandra Day O’Connor U.S. Courthouse and will feature contributing authors to a special issue … Continue Reading

It’s tax season again, and Amazon.com is facing a $53 million tax bill from the state of Arizona.

Amazon disclosed in a February 1st Securities and Exchange Commission filing that Arizona had issued it a $53 million assessment “for uncollected tax for the periods of March 1, 2006 through December 31, 2010,” and that the state was alleging the company “should have collected a transaction tax that is similar to a sales tax on applicable transactions during those years.”  Amazon stated that it will fight the tax.  It will likely rely … Continue Reading