Summer is not a vacation for the librarians at the Ross-Blakley Law Library. The end of spring semester only renews our focus on research and study services. Meet with a Librarian to get professional, expert advice from JD holding research experts on the following:

Summer classes and bar exam prep

• Study aids for upper level classes. Hornbooks, flashcards, flowcharts, and practice questions aren’t just for 1Ls and bar preppers. Our resources can help you stay on top of your reading for courses such as intellectual property, family law, criminal procedure, and evidence.
• Study aids for the bar exam. We have been through the grind of bar prep and can identify a bevy of resources you can use to make sure the bar is a once in a lifetime experience that you’ll never have to repeat. 
•  Research for seminar papers, journal notes, and graduate writing requirements. Summer classes are in session, and we are hard at work compiling resources for researchers in our seminar research guides. We are happy to meet with you one on one to discuss your particular project and provide expert guidance to efficiently use library resources and find all of the resources you will need.

Summer employment and externships

• Summer job/externship research project assistance.Our work is not done when classes are dismissed. We can meet with you to discuss non-confidential questions related to your internship, externship, or clerkship. 
• Evaluate and strengthen your sources. We can critique your research and suggest stronger academic sources if you fear your paper may be too dependent on less than reliable materials. 

Academic and professional development

• Prepare for journal work. We can show you some tricks of the trade for finding resources you’ll need for cite checking. When all else fails, give interlibrary loan a try! We can provide lessons to ease the citation transition from the Bluebook’s practice oriented blue pages to the academic white pages. 
• Be a star research assistant. If you’re working for a new professor for the first time, the librarians can get you up to speed. We work closely with most law school faculty members and can help you become a shining academic aide.
• Land your next job. We know the ins and outs of evaluating employers and gathering intel on what they value in job candidates. We can show you the latest tools to get a sense of an employer’s operations and needs.

For your reference

• Clarify Bluebook citation. Sometimes, the Bluebook gives clear, unambiguous guidance on citation questions. We are here to help for the many times it does not.
• Get answers. We will continue to provide reference services through Ask a Librarian, and our circulation staff will be on hand to help you track down and manage library resources.

Andrea Gass, Reference Librarian

The basic rule of abbreviating, ignored by the authors of The Bluebook, is to avoid nonobvious abbreviations. The words of living judicial legend Judge Richard A. Posner in The Yale Law Journal ring out clearer than ever with the 21^st Edition of the Uniform System of Citation.

The Bluebook lists a litany of newly updated abbreviations, which may be more intuitive in some instances, such as the upgrade of the shortened “professional” from “prof’l” to “pro.” and “evntl.” to “env’t.” But they can trip up legal researchers: a seeker of case law involving professional conduct rules may need to complicate their terms with a clunky (prof’l OR pro.) in parentheses. Moreover, keeping track of all these changes can be infuriating for longtime legal writers who have internalized the now obsolete abbreviations.

Leaving aside the 21^st edition’s refresher of rules and abbreviations, the Bluebook is inherently complicated.  It runs to hundreds of pages of rigid commands, and they are divided into two overlapping sets of rules: blue pages for professional documents, and white pages for academic writing. New 2Ls facing their first round of Journal cite checking must not only learn a new citation system, but unlearn certain rules from their first year writing courses: case names are not always italicized in academic writing—only sometimes. (Italicize when using a short case citation but not a full case citation in an academic footnote.)

Even for a citation specialist, the complexities and inconsistencies can be infuriating. The rules on altering quotations can be so arcane and intrusive that even the Supreme Court has decided sometimes to just forgo them for a cleaner approach. Nevertheless, proper citation is important. Footnote formatting can affect your grade and publication chances. Other commentators note that consistency and clarity of citations can help legal readers notice the nature of information sources at a glance, easily distinguishing primary case law from secondary books and articles. Plus, learning the vast assortment of rules can be useful for instilling certain concepts of legal reasoning. Learning the Bluebook, and understanding the logic at play behind citation signals such as see and cf., turns law students into better lawyers, as painful as the process may be.

The Ross-Blakley Law Library can make that process less painful. The reference librarians have the know-how to walk you through the most complicated citation conundrums and confidently turn in quality, polished footnotes even if they reference materials that the Bluebook does not explicitly explain. While we cannot check all of your footnotes and make them conform, we can shine a light even into the most obscure corners of the reference tables.

Whether you are a 1L gearing up for the Journal Write-on Competition, a 3L polishing a graduate writing requirement or Journal note, or a tenured professor more familiar with earlier editions of the citation manual, Meet with a Librarian so we can make the Bluebook’s gray areas a little clearer.

Andrea Gass, Reference Librarian

It’s Women’s History Month and the law library would like to help you celebrate by highlighting some of the women who have helped to make Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law such a wonderful place to learn and grow.  If you’re interested, you can see our series from last year where we highlighted some of notable women who have been associated with our school: Sandra Day O’Connor, Justice Mary M. Schroeder, Professor Patty Ferguson-Bohnee, Justice Ruth V. McGregor, and more!

A recent project took reference librarian, Andrea Gass into the archives of the Arizona State Law Journal where she noticed that we have had many successful women at the helm of the ASU Law Review, starting with Patricia A. Metzger in 1975-1976.  In fact, our last eight Editors-in-Chief have been women!  Here is a list of all of the women who have served as Editor-in-Chief since 1975:

2020-21: Delilah Cassidy

2019-20: Sarah Pook

2018-19: Paloma Diaz

2017-18: Lauren Podgorski

2016-17: Tracy Olson

2015-16: Julie Hedberg

2014-15: Keelah Williams

2013-14: Hayleigh Crawford

2011-12: Melissa Posner

2010-11: Megan K. Scanlon

2007-08: Carolyn V. Williams

2006-07: Melissa Bengston

2004-05: Anne-Leigh Gaylord Moe

1999-00: Ann L. Merry

1994-95: Jennifer B. Wuamett

1989-90: Shirley Ann Kaufman

1988-89: Patricia Ann Hubbard

1983-84: Patricia A. Nolan

1980-81: Victoria S. Lewis

1979-80: Barbara J. Torrez 

1977-78: Judith E. Sirkis

1975-76: Patricia A. Metzger

If you’re currently working on an article for law review and would like an overview of the available databases, help researching your topic, or simply a sounding-board for research ideas, make an appointment with a law librarian.  We can give you 1-on-1, personalized feedback and care.

Sean Harrington, Electronic Services Librarian

Lawyers and librarians alike have a way with words, spending much of their time with books and internet databases, reading, researching, and writing. But we also must step up and let our voices be heard. Whether law students are undergoing the first year rite of passage of delivering oral arguments in their finest legal attire or honing their presentations for a moot court championship, the librarians can help budding public speakers maximize their persuasiveness.

Students preparing for the Legal Advocacy argument should check out the Law Library’s First Year Legal Writing page. This research guide points to useful resources for modeling and enhancing oral arguments. Our print study skills collection includes the updated classic Little Book on Oral Argument, which can help students nervous about public speaking channel their energy into a powerful oratorical performance. Other resources include commentary from legal communication experts and a late U.S. Supreme Court justice.

We point you to resources such as an online treatise titled Art of Advocacy—Appeals, which provides tips on presenting and engaging and persuasive case, with full length, annotated examples of effective oral arguments from which students can draw lessons about tone, style, and structure. It also helps prepare students preparing for a career in litigation for what to expect in navigating judicial procedures at courthouses.

The library also provides links to archives that enable students to observe real world court proceedings across the country, including in the U.S. Supreme Court, the Arizona Court of Appeals, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, whose jurisdiction includes Arizona. Students may learn from the examples of the professionals, and get a sense of how quickly the judges will begin peppering them with questions.

The library’s Advanced Legal Writing: Persuasion guide includes further resources to help orators prepare persuasive presentations. Books include discussions of cognitive science as the basis for recommending certain persuasive techniques, and provide concrete examples of effective rhetorical tools to employ in writing as well as oral argument.

For critiques of your oral argument’s content and technique, contact your professor or teaching assistant. And for more guidance on library resources, feel free to Meet with a Librarian.

Andrea Gass, Reference Librarian