Legal Research

Lieberman Launches PACER Inquiry

Posted on February 27, 2009

Kindle Mania

Posted on February 25, 2009
I read a lot more than the average American. According to this Harris poll, only 37 percent of those surveyed read more than ten books a year. Last year, I read 113 books in one year. Given the volume of...

Facebook Bill of Rights

Posted on February 19, 2009
We've all heard an earful this past week about Facebook's unsuccessful attempt to change its Terms of Use. After an avalanche of Facebook user protest, Facebook removed the anxiety-producing language. Now, Facebook is proving its commitment to democracy by developing...

Bringing PACER Into the 21st Century

Posted on February 13, 2009
A few times a month, I'll be happily working on a research project when suddenly I come to an unwelcome and dreaded realization. The document that I need to continue my research is on PACER, and I'm going to have...

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Judicial Tongue-Lashing

Posted on February 10, 2009
Just after mentioning Mary Whisner's essay on judicial scolding in yesterday's post, I found an excellent contemporary example of a judge issuing a stern warning about inept legal research. In United States v. Beltran-Moreno, Ninth Circuit Judge Reinhart had lots...

Cost-Cutting Changes Law Firm Legal Research

Posted on February 09, 2009
Above The Law is reporting that law firm Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell has decided to cut legal research costs by requiring its staff to use Loislaw for all non-billable legal research. Staff may no longer use Lexis or Westlaw...

Reference Desk Stumpers

Posted on January 27, 2009
Salem Press maintains a great page on its website with amusing and puzzling reference questions, most of which were asked at public and school libraries. My favorites: "I need a book that tells me how to make my own false...

Whitehouse.gov Gets a Makeover

Posted on January 21, 2009
President Obama's communications staff have been busy! Whitehouse.gov got quite the Web 2.0 makeover and now boasts a blog with RSS feed. All of the President's executive orders and proclamations will be made available on The Briefing Room page. Also,...

Lexis & Westlaw Terms & Connectors Search Presentation

Posted on January 14, 2009
For the OneLs who attended my classes on terms and connectors searching, here is a copy of the presentation: Download PresentationAJW2009

Santa Clara Symposium on Patent Law

Posted on January 13, 2009
The Santa Clara Computer & High Technology Law Journal will hold a symposium on recent developments in patent law and their impact on high technology law on Friday, January 30, 2009. The keynote speaker is Judge Randall R. Rader, Circuit...

Heartwarming News

Posted on January 12, 2009
The New York Times reported yesterday that American adults are reading more. According to a NEA report, about 50 percent of Americans said that they read at least one novel, short story, poem or play in the previous 12 months....

Ninth Circuit Revamps Website; Adds RSS Feeds

Posted on January 07, 2009
I was a relatively late convert to RSS feeds, but now I don't know how I would do my job without them. So I am thrilled to see that the Ninth Circuit not only has a very pretty new website,...

Law Students Want More Practical Legal Writing Experiences

Posted on January 07, 2009
The 2008 results of the Law School Survey of Student Engagement were just released, and according to higher ed news sources, more than a third of law students report that they do not have enough opportunities to attempt "practice-based legal...

Feeling the Need For Some Presidential Clemency? This Is the Web Site For You!

Posted on December 15, 2008
While it is doubtful that any of the upright citizens that make up the readership of our fine blog will ever need the services of the Pardon Attorney, it is good to now where to go if you need an...

HeinOnline Search Tips (for Novices & Experts!)

Posted on December 08, 2008
We love HeinOnline, and we are always looking for ways to increase usage among our faculty and students. If you've heard about this database, but are intimidated by the fact that it's quite different from Westlaw and Lexis, this collection...

OJ's Sentencing Hearing, Brilliantly Told by Lowering the Bar

Posted on December 05, 2008
Lowering the Bar has a fabulously snarky recap of OJ Simpson's sentencing hearing that is worth a break from studying to read. A few key excerpts that help to explain the decision to sentence Mr. Simpson to a minimum of...

They're Baaaack! Witkin and ALR Return to Lexis

Posted on December 04, 2008
Masterful negotiators at LexisNexis have evidently coaxed out of Thomson/West a long-term license to two of ZiefBrief's favorite secondary legal research tools: American Law Reports (ALR), and the four superlative Witkin publications. These had disappeared from Lexis when the previous...

Prof. de la Vega Comments on the U.S. and Human Rights

Posted on December 04, 2008
USF's resident human rights expert Professor Connie de la Vega is also one of the voices of IntLawGrrls, where she has recently blogged on Time for US to reaffirm commitment to principles enshrined 60 years ago in the Universal Declaration...

Library's Exam and Holiday Hours

Posted on December 04, 2008
We started getting a lot of questions about our exam and holiday hours at the reference desk, so here's the scoop -- all you need to do is check the hours page on our website. It's up to date and...

Best of the Blogs

Posted on December 02, 2008
The ABA Journal just released its annual list of the 100 best law blogs, which is worth checking out if you have time during finals. This year's list is broken down into useful subject categories, including career management, JDs in...

Bar Exam Results Day

Posted on November 21, 2008
The week before Thanksgiving always feels a little tense to me because it's the week that July bar exam results are released. For all of our graduates who will receive results today, we hope that all of you receive good...

Preparing for Exams with CALI

Posted on November 17, 2008
Zief librarians are starting to see a surge of interest in the library's exam preparation materials, so it seems like a good time to remind students that some of the best exam prep material can be found online on CALI....

Election Day 2008 and Beyond - Following the Legal Issues

Posted on November 02, 2008
While ZiefBrief hopes for an election which all sides will acknowledge as fair and well-run, ZiefBrief has prepared for any contingency by bookmarking Election Law @ Moritz, the place to go for breaking news, analysis, commentary, and actual litigation documents...

2008 Ballot Proposition Resources

Posted on October 30, 2008
Ziefbrief is non-partisan; we will be blogging no matter who wins the election next week. But Ziefbrief wants to make sure that everybody who does vote has all the information available to make an informed decision. Along those lines we...

Can You Sue God?

Posted on October 15, 2008
The answer from Douglas County District Court Judge Marlon Polk is no. According to this Associated Press story on Law.com, a senator in the Nebraska State Legislature, Ernie Chambers, tried to sue God in order to prove that "anybody can...

The Texas Scuffle

Posted on October 14, 2008
Remember our post about a Houston's attorney indignant letter to a Dallas attorney about a deposition cancellation? The Dallas attorney has responded and at great length. Above the Law has full details along with ongoing commentary on this Texas saga.

Typos Matter

Posted on October 08, 2008
Legal writing and research instructors spend a lot of time emphasizing the importance of proofreading briefs and memos, and here's why -- The Legal Intelligencer reports today that a federal judge decided to award just $26,000 in attorneys' fees instead...

Professor Richard Leo's New Book on the Norfolk Four Case

Posted on October 06, 2008
Professor Richard Leo's new book, The Wrong Guys: Murder, False Confessions, and the Norfolk Four, will be released on November 3, 2008. Co-authored with Tom Wells, the book traces the prosecution of four innocent men for a murder committed in...

Follow-Up on Kennedy v. Louisiana

Posted on October 01, 2008
Weeks ago, we reported on the legal research omissions that led some parties to ask the Supreme Court to reconsider its ruling in Kennedy v. Louisiana. To bring closure to our coverage, we are linking to the SCOTUSblog post that...

Practicing Kindness: Dallas Lawyer Chooses Not To

Posted on September 30, 2008
I follow Mary Flood's excellent blog on Houston legal happenings, Legal Trade, because one of my closest friends is a Houston attorney. Thanks to my friend's regular updates, I know just how disruptive Hurricane Ike was for Houstonians. Yesterday, Mary...

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