Law Library News for Nov. 13, 2006

Law Library News Archive

Kristy Moon, editor.

• Library Lifesavers
• CALI Lessons for 1L, 2L & 3L Courses
• Book of the Week: Student Lawyer

Library Lifesavers

Join us this week on Tuesday, Nov. 14, in Room 119 for these topics:

• 12:45 – Creating Links in Documents
  Learn how to create links to articles or cases on LexisNexis and Westlaw, use tinyurl to make unwieldy links tidier, and “open document in a new window” to get a specific URL.
• 1:00 – Non-Legal Databases
  Discover great databases for finding articles from other disciplines such as economics, social science, business, and medicine.

We welcome your feedback and ideas for future topics! Talk to any of the librarians or email us.

CALI Lessons for 1L, 2L & 3L Courses

It’s hard to believe that final exams are four weeks away. In addition to making outlines for your courses, there’s another way to study. CALI has over 600 interactive lessons in 32 legal subjects. The lessons are organized by subject, casebook, and course outline.

What’s nice about these lessons is that they use text, video, audio, flow charts, and graphics to break down complex topics into short, focused lessons. They also give you feedback on your answer choices and keep track of your scores. It’s a great way to test your knowledge as you progress in your courses or to simply practice applying what you already know. You can also listen to podcasts on your computer or download them to your MP3 player or iPod.

To access the lessons on CALI website, you need to register for a password. Go to the CALI website and look for the “My CALI” box on the right side of the screen. Click on the link next to “Not a registered user yet?” and fill in the information. Contact the Law Library Reference Office to obtain the Law School Authorization Code.

Book of the Week: Student Lawyer

Actually, the Student Lawyer is not a book. It’s a journal published by the American Bar Association, Law Student Division. But it contains helpful information for law students, so it’s worth highlighting.

It is published monthly from September through May and includes articles about legal education, social/legal issues, careers, and the practice of law. Here is a sample of recently featured articles:

• Interview Tips from a Hiring Manager (avoid the common pitfalls of law firm job applicants) (September 2006)
• How to Read Law Like an Expert (pick up valuable cues from your casebook and other sources) (September 2006)
• Office Etiquette Essentials (lawyers offer dos and don’ts for behaving in the law firm environment) (April 2006)
• Lives in the Balance (lawyers strive to develop work models that accommodate their personal lives) (February 2006)
• Explain Your Behavior (improve your job search by getting to know the “behavioral interview”) (September 2005)
• Secrets of a Bar Exam Survivor (hints on how to pass the bar from someone who’s done so in seven states) (April 2005)

In addition to feature articles, browse the regular columns.

The “Jobs” column gives job-related advice. Recent articles covered  networking (December 2005), older and second-career law students (October 2005), and non-legal careers (April 2005).

The “Hot Practice” column highlights different practice areas.

And beginning with the October 2005 issue, you’ll find a new column, “Legal Research” or “Legal Writing.”

The issues conclude with “Division Dialogue,” which contains news and announcements (e.g., writing contests, internships, scholarships, etc.) from the ABA Law Student Division.

The Student Lawyer is shelved at KF287.S77 in the Reference Area and in the Classified Stacks (older volumes). Recent issues are also available for free on the ABA Student Division website. The Student Lawyer is indexed by LegalTrac, available on the Legal Databases & Indexes page.