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May 22, 2006.
Kristy Moon, editor.
Summer Access to LexisNexis & Westlaw
See last week’s Law Library News.
Study & Exam Period
The spring quarter final exams have already begun! The compressed 8-week
courses began their exams on May 18. The regular courses will begin their exams
on June 3.
Additional Hours
During the study and exam period, law students can continue to come into the
library beginning at 7:30 a.m. (M-F) using their keycards. On Friday and
Saturday immediately preceding the regular exam period (June 2-3), additional
hours of keycard access will be offered to law students from 6:00-9:00 p.m.
Carrels
Some carrels on L1 have been reserved for law students taking the exams on
the compressed schedule. All carrels on L1 will be reserved for law students
during the regular study and exam period, June 3-9.
Past Exams
Remember that the Library makes available past exams
on its website. (organized by the professor’s name and course title). They
are restricted to UW users, so you’ll need to log in with your UW NetID. You
might also try testing your substantive knowledge with interactive lessons from
CALI. Contact the Reference Office or
Computing Services for the CALI authorization code.
Book Locators
 |
Have you noticed the new book locator maps
that are posted throughout the Library?
They are found on the building columns facing south, and they indicate
where you are as well as the Library of Congress call numbers for the books
on that floor.
Next time you’re wandering the stacks with a call number in your hand,
look for these handy book locator maps. |
Building a Personal Legal "Know-How" File
--Tom Kimbrough, Law Library Intern
As a new attorney begins his or her law career, an excellent habit to
develop is to take a few minutes at the end of a project to consider the
essential "take-aways" from that project that will be useful in future
projects. Then, after thoroughly deleting all confidential information, one
should consider whether it is worthwhile to keep the memo, brief, or contract
with the "meat" of the legal research and analysis for future reference.
During my years of practicing law, I was often amazed at how seemingly
obscure issues would arise again in different contexts. On more than one
occasion, I struggled in agony to recall critical details of work that I had
done months or years ago in order to avoid having to "reinvent the wheel" in a
current project. I guarantee that a few minutes invested immediately after a
project is completed in saving information in one’s "know-how" file will save
hours down the road.
I have found that a personal "know-how" files are more valuable in many
instances than a group "know-how" file for the following practical reasons:
- if you have personally worked on a document, you’ll know intuitively
whether it is relevant or not to your current problem and so the document
will not become merely more "information overload" that wastes your time
- people change jobs frequently. For obvious reasons, employers tend to
frown upon soon-to-depart employees who start downloading massive amounts of
stuff (e.g., the group file) from the employer’s computers or databases, and
- you will be able to find relevant information far more quickly if you
yourself have created the system in which it is filed.
However, before adding anything to your personal "know-how" file, you must
be sure to comply with all relevant confidentiality and other requirements
imposed by the state bar, your employment contract, and your employer’s
policies.
Book of the Week: Lowering the Bar
--Mary Whisner
Marc Galanter, Lowering the Bar: Lawyer Jokes and Legal Culture
(K184.G35 2005 at Classified Stacks)
Have you heard the one about the lawyer and the sharks? Or the one about
6,000 lawyers on the bottom of the sea? Of course you have – and many more.
We’ve all heard lawyer jokes – and passed some of them along, too – but no
one has researched them and thought about them as thoroughly and deeply as Marc
Galanter has. A leading law and society scholar and a professor emeritus from
the University of Wisconsin, he reports the fruits of his years of joke study
in Lowering the Bar: Lawyer Jokes and Legal Culture.
Galanter analyzes the jokes by theme, traces their historical roots, and
places them in the context of American society and legal culture. Some turn out
to be adapted (or "switched") from other contexts – a joke told in the 1920s
about business partners becomes a lawyer joke in the 1960s, for instance. Some
lawyer jokes originated as mother-in-law jokes or jokes about ethnic groups.
Some of Galanter’s categories of lawyer jokes are on the themes of
Discourse (e.g., lawyers use jargon and lie), Economic Predators
(e.g., lawyers are greedy and pad their bills), Allies of the Devil,
Conflict (lawyers foment strife), and Enemies of Justice. These are
what he terms "The Enduring Core" – jokes and themes that have been around for
a long time (he traces a few to the Renaissance and many to the early
nineteenth century). (p. 18)
Themes that have appeared more recently are Betrayers of Trust,
Moral Deficiency, Objects of Scorn, and Death Wish. (pp.
18-19) Why did these jokes become popular in the 1980s? How do they relate to
the growth of the legal profession and concerns about a "litigation explosion"?
Could their popularity be tied to the fact that it’s unacceptable in many
social contexts to tell jokes about other groups, such as racial minorities?
This book is very interesting for its commentary and analysis. Plus you also
get to read hundreds of jokes and see dozens of cartoons! | 