Election Law – The New York State 2013 Ballot

Welcome back to our series on Gould Law Library resources! In this month’s posts, we will be highlighting some of our resources on election law, in recognition of Election Day, November 5th, which is just around the corner.

It’s always important in this field to know what issues and elected positions are at issue in any given election year.

This year, there are several proposed amendments to the New York State Constitution. You can learn about them here: http://www.elections.ny.gov/ProposedConsAmendments.html. These proposed amendments would, if enacted by the people of New York, allow for:

• Legalized gambling in New York State and the establishment of up to seven casinos
• Veterans with combat-related disabilities to be granted extra points in their application for civil service job promotions
• Municipalities to continue exceeding their debt limits for sewage facilities
• The resolution of a land dispute and a land exchange in the Adirondack forest preserve
• The mandatory retirement age of all state judges to be raised to 80 years old

No matter your stance on these amendments, it is important to exercise your right to vote if you hold that right. For reference, you can check if you are registered to vote in New York State here: https://voterlookup.elections.state.ny.us/voterSearch.aspx.

For information about registering to vote in New York State, visit: http://www.elections.ny.gov/VotingRegister.html. A mailed application must be postmarked no later than October 11th (just three days away) in order to register to vote in this year’s general election.

Check back soon for our next blog post to highlight resources on this topic.

In the meantime, keep calm and read on.

Legal Process Students: It's Westlaw and Lexis Training Time!

Attention all Legal Process students: It is time to start signing-up for your mandatory Westlaw and Lexis training sessions. To view session times and sign-up, you must access the West and Lexis Training Calendars.

WESTLAW TRAININGS:

Westlaw sessions are available Monday, September 30th – Sunday October 6th. For West, on your homepage after logging-in, click the “Training Calendar” link on the left side of the page. 

LEXIS TRAININGS:

Lexis sessions are available Monday, October 7th - Sunday, October 13. For Lexis, on your homepage after logging-in, click the “Training at my School” button on the left side of the page. 

Please consider signing up soon, as the sessions tend to fill up quickly! As always, if you ever have any questions about using any online database, please stop by the Reference Office.  We're happy to help!


 - Isaac Samuels, Reference Librarian, Contributor

Register Your Passwords - Fall 2013

Welcome, welcome, welcome!  We are so excited to introduce our 1Ls to the world of legal research.  

Alexander Graham Bell is remembered for once saying: "Before anything else, preparation is the key to success."  In law school, there are two keys to success:  preparation and passwords.  You cannot hope to succeed without either one.

After our Library Orientation sessions, the Librarians will be offering password registration assistance to 1Ls. At each session, we will walk you through registering your passwords for Westlaw, Lexis, and Bloomberg Law, and we can assist you with any technical difficulties you may be having with any registration process.

Each session will take place in the Library Computer Lab (Room 308) on the third floor of the Library. Once you exit the elevator or stairs, turn right, and the Lab will be on your left.

The sessions will take place as follows:

• Tuesday, August 13th at 6:30 p.m.
• Monday, August 19th at 12:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.
• Tuesday, August 20th at 9:30 a.m.
• Wednesday, August 21st at 9:30 a.m.
• Thursday, August 22nd at 12:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m

There is no need to pre-register, so simply come when you can.  

Please consider attending one of these sessions.  We're happy to help!

Literature for Law Students II – Summer’s Subject

How is your summer going? We hope our graduates are doing well and taking care of themselves as they successfully prepare for the bar exam next month. We know you’ll do great! We also hope all of our students are having a wonderful and educational summer.

Have you heard of the The Law School Guys? They run a website that is made for those going through the exciting yet stressful process of applying to law school, and for those in the equally exciting yet equally stressful process of getting through law school.

One of the resources they offer is a list of recommended books to read before you get here. Even if you’re a 2L or a 3L, many of these books are well worth a read. Two of the books on the list were written by Touro Law Center faculty, who clearly know their stuff. They are:


Mastering The Law School Exam : A Practical Blueprint For Preparing And Taking Law School Exams By Professor and Director of Academic Development Suzanne Darrow-Kleinhaus

Call No. KF 283 .D37 2006 

The law school exam can be a daunting prospect. Professor Kleinhaus takes the uncertainty out of the process by guiding you in “how to do it,” and “how to write it.” Her book will help you along the way to learning how to “think like a lawyer” and also how to successfully bridge the gap from class to exam.




Bridging The Gap Between College And Law School : Strategies For Success By Touro Law Assistant Dean Charlotte D. Taylor & Ruta K. Stropus

Call No. KF283 .S77 2009

Wondering how you can step up your game and translate your success in college to further success in law school? Look no further. This definitive guide will help you successfully navigate the educational terrain of law school, including how to take notes differently, prepare for class differently, and prepare for exams differently than you did in college.


We’ll post again soon with some more interesting reads about the study and the practice of law.

In the meantime, keep calm and read on.

Literature for Law Students – Summer’s Subject

Welcome to the summer! It’s a busy time here at the Gould Law Library. We’re getting ready for orientation for our new 1Ls and looking forward to welcoming all of our students to the library in the Fall with legal research instruction and library services that will help all of you succeed in law school.

No matter where you are in your legal education and preparation for entry to the bar, you may be curious about what your future career in the law has in store for you. Here are two fairly new, very popular books that provide insight on what to expect in your career:

 

Tomorrow’s Lawyers: An Introduction to Your Future  

Author:                        Richard Susskind

Call Number:              K120 .S87 2013

Publication Date:      2013

 

The New Lawyer's Handbook : 

101 Things They Don't Teach You In Law School 

Author:                           Karen Thalacker

Call Number:                KF300 .T48 2009

Publication Date:        2009

 

Tomorrow’s Lawyers has been especially well-received and is recommended by many. After you’ve read it, come by and ask us what we think about the book, or talk to our Dean and our faculty about it. You’ll find that many of us have read it, too.

We’ll post again soon with some more interesting reads about the study and the practice of law.

In the meantime, keep calm and read on.

Bar Exam Preparation - Wellness Tips

By now, those of you who are planning to sit for the July 2013 Bar Exam have already begun your bar prep courses and are well on your way to passing the bar. Here at the Gould Law Library, we’re looking out for your mental health, too, as you study. Here are a few books to consider when you’re trying to take care of you during the preparation process, all of which are available to you in our collection:

Formula for Success: The Psychological and Informational Handbook for Passing the Bar Exam - Jennifer Herrera

Call Number: KF303 .H472 1999

Publication Date: 1999

The Zen of Passing the Bar Exam - Chad Noreuil

Call Number: KF303.N69

Publication Date: 2011

If I Don't Pass the Bar I'll Die: 73 ways to keep stress and worry from affecting your performance on the bar exam - Rosemary La Puma

Call Number: KF303 .L3 2008

Publication Date: 2008

We wish you all the best as you prepare for the bar exam! Good luck and take care.

We’ll be back to post again later in June.


In the meantime, keep calm and read on.

Bar Exam Preparation – May’s Subject of the Month

Congratulations to all our students who have completed their legal education and will be graduating on May 26th!  We are so proud of you and all that you have accomplished.

In the interest of supporting you as you prepare to sit for the Bar Exam at the end of July, we have a variety of current resources that may be useful to you, even before you begin any formal study program.

Our very own Professor Suzanne Darrow-Kleinhaus has written a  comprehensive, practical, and enormously helpful guide to the bar exam, which is available to you in our library:

 

ACING THE BAR EXAM : 
A CHECKLIST APPROACH TO TAKING THE BAR EXAM

This book offers guidance on how to plan for your bar exam preparation while taking into consideration your lifestyle and your study goals.  It further de-constructs the bar exam and the bar review course for you, providing helpful tips on how to practice both the essay questions and the multiple choice questions that you will face on the bar exam.  There’s even advice on what to do when it’s all over.

 


For those of you who are sitting for the New York Bar Exam, Professors Myra E. Berman, Suzanne Darrow-Kleinhaus, & John J. Cooney have written an incredibly helpful resource that will help you prepare for that bar exam, which is available to you in our library:

THE NEW YORK BAR EXAM BY THE ISSUES 

As is stated in its description, this book "tells you how to pass the bar exam."  Every issue tested on the New York bar exam since 2001 is identified in a concise chart, together with the frequency with which it was tested and a rule of law for the issue. This guide is a must for learning how to successfully pass the essay section of the New York Bar exam, as it provides step-by-step guidance for reading, outlining, and writing essays for the bar exam.

The Gould Law Librarians have prepared a LibGuide that provides an organized means of perusing the study aids available to you in our library.  For those of you who like to study on the go, we have lists of our West subscription study aids and Bar Exam prep apps that you may want to use.  We also have a page that links you to all of the print resources we have here in the library, both in the reserve room and in the main collection.

You may also want to check out these online articles, which offer useful tips about preparing to study for the bar exam in a way that makes your studying work for you:

•    12 Tips for a Successful Bar Exam. Retrieved from http://lawyerist.com/12-tips-successful-bar-exam/ on May 13, 2013 (written by S. Gainen on 5/17/11).

•    Ten Tips for Passing the Bar Exam | Cutting Edge Law.com. Retrieved from http://www.cuttingedgelaw.com/content/ten-tips-passing-bar-exam on May 13, 2013 (written by J.K. Wright on 2/28/09).

We wish you all the best as you prepare for the bar exam!

We’ll be back to post again next week with resources on taking care of yourself during this intense study period – the home stretch  before you are a practicing, professional attorney.

In the meantime, keep calm and read on.