Law Librarian Blog

Tim Coggins Recipient of the 2005 ProQuest/Virginia Library Association Intellectual Freedom Award

Timothy L. Coggins, associate dean for library and information services and professor of law at the University of Richmond School of Law, received the 2005 ProQuest/Virginia Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom Award at the recently concluded VLA Annual Conference in Williamsburg on Friday, October 21. The award is presented every other year at the annual VLA conference to a person who actively promotes intellectual freedom in Virginia, exemplifies the spirit of intellectual freedom, and challenges censorship efforts.

Hat tip to Claire M. Germain, AALL President
Edward Cornell Law Librarian & Professor of Law
Director, Dual Degree Programs, Paris & Berlin
Cornell Law School

ALR Annotations on Class Action Fairness Act and Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act

From Westlaw product announcement:

On Westlaw, American Law Reports (ALR) annotations are frequently available right on the heels of recently enacted federal laws, sometimes even before an act's effective date. Annotations are already available for two new federal statutory schemes: the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 and the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005.

Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005
The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA) was signed into law on April 20, 2005. The BAPCPA's more notable provisions make it more difficult for consumers to erase debt by filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The act also increases the repayment period of Chapter 13 bankruptcies from three years to five years. Most provisions of the BAPCPA didn't take effect until October 17, 2005, but the act already has a corresponding ALR annotation:

• Robin Miller, Annotation, Validity, Construction and Application of Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA), 2005 A.L.R. Fed. 2d 3 (2005).

The annotation discusses the changes made by BAPCPA, and analyzes the first federal cases to apply the act.

Class Action Fairness Act of 2005
The Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 was signed into law on February 18, 2005. Under the act, federal courts have original jurisdiction in any class action suit in which the claimed damages exceed $5 million, the class exceeds 100 members, and any defendant and any plaintiff are residents of different states. It also requires that all class members be notified of any proposed settlement agreements. You can study the act in a new ALR annotation:

• Robin Miller, Annotation, Construction and Application of Class Action Fairness Act of 2005, Pub. L. 109-2, 119 Stat. 4 (2005), 2005 A.L.R. Fed. 2d 2 (2005).

The annotation summarizes the changes to class action procedure, and analyzes more than 35 class action suits already affected by the act.

Discuss the Future of the Book on the Foreign Collection Development Blog

"Print versus Electronic, or, Books are Dead?" is the current topic under discussion at the Foreign Collection Development Blog (FCIL-SIS). Comments are being solicited. Check it out!

Lee Peoples, Oklahoma City University Law Library

Form 1040-SIMPLE

Tax Prof Blog has posted the President's Tax Reform Panel's PowerPoint presentation and sample tax forms.

SSRN's Top 10 Information Systems Papers

TOP 10 Papers for Information Systems & eBusiness Network
August 23, 2005 to October 22, 2005

Rank	Downloads	Paper Title
1	510	Three Ethical Moments in Debian E. Gabriella Coleman, Rutgers, Center for Cultural Analysis, Date posted to database: September 28, 2005 Last Revised: September 28, 2005
2	445	Virtual World Business Brands: Entrepreneurship and Identity in Massively Multiplayer Online Gaming Environments Betsy Book, Independent, Date posted to database: June 7, 2005 Last Revised: October 17, 2005
3	165	Let the People Know the Facts: Can Government Information Removed from the Internet be Reclaimed? Susan Nevelow Mart, University of California, Hastings College of the Law, Date posted to database: June 13, 2005 Last Revised: August 3, 2005
4	149	The Right to Play Edward Castronova, Indiana University Bloomington - Department of Telecommunications, Date posted to database: June 1, 2005 Last Revised: September 18, 2005
5	136	Global Village or CyberBalkans: Modeling and Measuring the Integration of Electronic Communities Marshall W. Van Alstyne, Erik Brynjolfsson, Boston University - Department of Management Information Systems, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Sloan School of Management, Date posted to database: July 27, 2005 Last Revised: August 1, 2005
6	115	A 'Research' Database on Infrastructure Economic Performance Antonio Estache, Ana Goicoechea, World Bank Group - World Bank Institute, World Bank, Date posted to database: July 23, 2005 Last Revised: August 26, 2005
7	113	Do Online Reviews Matter? - An Empirical Investigation of Panel Data Wenjing Duan, Bin Gu, Andrew B. Whinston, University of Texas at Austin-Department of Management Science & Information Systems, University of Texas at Austin - Department of Management Science & Information Systems, University of Texas at Austin - Department of Management Science & Information Systems, Date posted to database: November 9, 2004 Last Revised: January 21, 2005
8	94	The Death of the Digest and the Pitfalls of Electronic Research: What is the Modern Legal Researcher to Do? Lee F. Peoples, Oklahoma City University - Law Library, Date posted to database: August 5, 2005 Last Revised: August 5, 2005
9	90	Real Products in Imaginary Worlds Edward Castronova, Indiana University Bloomington - Department of Telecommunications, Date posted to database: July 26, 2005 Last Revised: October 11, 2005
10	89	Mobile Telecommunications at the Dawn of a New Era. How New Mobile Technologies Drive Innovative Business Models Lucia Marchegiani, Libera Università degli Studi Sociali (LUISS) Guido Carli, Date posted to database: October 6, 2004 Last Revised: September 18, 2005

Job Opening: Reference Librarian, Boalt Hall

UC Berkeley has an opening for a Reference Librarian position (Associate-Librarian rank). Applications will be reviewed beginning on November 30th and the position will remain open until filled.

Details

The Politics of Judicial Deference

On The Faculty Blog (University of Chicago Law School), Cass Sunstein answers the question "are judges political?" with a "yes" at least with respect to  judicial review of agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes. So much for the doctrine of judicial deference to agencies.

Sustein's conclusion is based on a study of all published court of appeals decisions between 1990 and the present, reviewing interpretations of law by the Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Communications Commission, and the National Labor Relations Board. Sustein's analysis will appear in the University of Chicago Law Review and Yale Law Journal.

Read all about it at Are Judges Political?

Spotlight on Paul Hellyer

Paul Hellyer
Reference Librarian
Marshall-Wythe Law Library
College of William & Mary

B.A. 1996, UCLA
J.D. 1999, UCLA
M.L.I.S. 2005, San Jose State University

I began working as a reference librarian at William & Mary in July 2005, shortly after earning my library degree at San Jose State University.  This is my first permanent position as a reference librarian.  I practiced law for a few years before I decided to pursue librarianship, and so far I’ve found that being a librarian is a lot more enjoyable and satisfying than being a lawyer.  I enjoy teaching and doing legal research, and I’m glad to have escaped all the stress, time sheets and long hours that go with being a lawyer.

While I was in library school, I worked as an intern at the University of Southern California, Loyola Law School (Los Angeles) and the Los Angeles County Law Library.  I got a lot of experience on the reference desk and taught several classes during my internships, so that by the time I started my job at William & Mary, I already felt very comfortable doing reference and teaching.  For anyone who is thinking of starting a new career as a law librarian, I cannot overemphasize the importance of having one or more good internships before starting your first permanent job.

The College of William & Mary is located in Williamsburg, Virginia, a small, historic city near the Chesapeake Bay.  Prior to moving out here, I had spent my whole life living in or near Los Angeles, so this has been quite a change for me.  On a librarian’s salary, it’s much easier to live in a small city, but I still miss L.A.

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The Spotlight on Law Librarians feature is edited by Lee Peoples, Law Librarian Blog Contributing Editor and Associate Director for Faculty, Research and Instructional Services, Oklahoma City University Law Library. Please feel free to recommend a colleague for this feature to Lee at lpeoples@okcu.edu

China IP Conference, Thursday, Oct. 27

China Institute is sponsoring a conference titled "Intellectual Property and Piracy in China: The Next Chapter" at Georgetown University Law Center, Thurday, October 27.

Download conference announcement.pdf

UTexas Puts Foreign Judgments on Web

Our sister blog, ContractsProf Blog observes that the University of Texas has announced that “nearly 1,000 translated foreign judgments and statutes” have been posted on its Institute of Transnational Law website.  The materials are (or will be) from France, Germany, Israel, Austria, and Italy.

French commercial law decisions | German contract law cases

Lee Peoples, Oklahoma City University Law Library

New Online Magazine for UK Law Students

In response to the needs of law students, Semple Piggot Rochez (Legal Education) Limited created a suite of free and paid for online resources over the past four years that now serve some 25 000 registered users, many of whom are in fact lecturers at UK and overseas universities.

SPR-Consilio, the free online magazine for UK law students features:

• Recent case updates.
• Articles covering core academic subject areas.
• A very active discussion with sensible legal discussion.
• Regular Newswire in term time - students are encouraged to submit articles for publication.
• Televised interviews.
• Rate your Law school which is still small in voting numbers but growing.

Lee Peoples, Oklahoma City University Law Library

A Quick Look at the Securities Lawyer's Deskbook

The Securities Lawyer's Deskbook is produced by the University of Cincinnati Law Library. I serve as Editor and I am assisted by Melissa Wilson, the Deskbook's web author and production editor. My predecessor, Nick Finke, was the original editor and developer of the Deskbook. He was aided by a number of part-time staffers, most notably Don Uhlinger, who was the original production editor and web author of the Deskbook.

The Deskbook contains the text of the basic federal securities laws and regulations. It is designed primarily for use by legal practitioners and scholars, securities professionals, and corporate officers. It can also be used as a digital supplement in law school courses on the federal regulation of securities.

Specifically, the Deskbook publishes regularly updated texts of the following:

• The Securities Act of 1933 (15 USC § 77a et seq.)
• General rules and regulations promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933 (17 CFR Part 230)
• The Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 USC § 78a et seq.)
• General rules and regulations promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (17 CFR Part 240)
• The Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 USC § 80a-1 et seq.)
• Rules and regulations promulgated under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (17 CFR Part 270)
• The Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (15 USC § 80b-1 et seq.)
• Rules and regulations promulgated under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (17 CFR Part 275)
• Standards of Professional Conduct for Attorneys (17 CFR Part 205)
• Regulation S-X (17 CFR Part 210)
• Regulation S-B (17 CFR Part 228)
• Regulation S-K (17 CFR Part 229)
• Regulation M-A (17 CFR 229.1000 et seq.)
• Regulation S-T (17 CFR Part 232)
• Regulation M and ATS (17 CFR 242.100 & 242.300)
• Regulation SHO (17 CFR 242.200 et seq.)
• Regulation AC (17 CFR 242.500 et seq.)
• Regulation NMS (17 CFR Part 242.600 et seq.)
• Regulation FD (17 CFR Part 243)
• Regulation G (17 CFR Part 244)
• Regulation BTR (17 CFR Part 245)
• Regulation S-P (17 CFR Part 248)
• Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (15 USC § 77a et seq.)

By "regularly updated," I mean new or amended rules and regulations are published three to five days in advance of their effective date.

The Deskbook, completely funded by the Law Library, barely survived two budget crunches, one in 2002 and a second in 2003. Luckily, the compliance requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act saved the Deskbook from extinction. The Law Library was approached by and entered into a licensing agreement with Market Resolve, LLC. The contents of the Deskbook are now incorporated into Market Resolve's Workforce Director(TM). The revenue generated from this agreement fund the production of the Deskbook, although additional monies are needed to fully fund the operation.

We are frequently asked if a hardcopy version of the Deskbook is available. There is no such thing. We do, however, entertain licensing proposals. If you would like additional information about the Deskbook, please contact Joe Hodnicki.

Reclaiming Government Information Removed from the Internet

Susan Nevelow Mart (Reference Librarian/Adjunct Professor at University of California, Hastings College of the Law) recently posted Let the People Know the Facts: Can Government Information Removed from the Internet be Reclaimed? on SSRN, a most timely and serious topic.

Abstract:      
This article examines the legal bases of the public's right to access government information, and examines and analyzes the types of information that have recently been removed from the Internet and the rationales given for the removals. The concerted use of FOIA by public interest groups and their constituents is suggested as a possible method of returning the information to the Internet. The article concludes with a brief review of recent FOIA cases that might provide some guidance on the litigation sure to follow such concerted requests.

Relaunch of Election Law @ Moritz

The Election Law @ Moritz web site has been completely re-designed and updated for the November 2005 election.  There is some Ohio specific information (such as coverage of the election-related ballot issues); but the site generally has a national focus.  The Moritz Law Library has helped create the pending litigation page, which contains information (including case documents) on eight (8) pending election-law cases.  The e-Book on Election Law is an electronic treatise designed to both cover in-depth election issues and provide quick answers to voters' questions.

This was a great site even before the redesign. It promises to be one of the best election law web destinations for the November 2005 elections.

Thanks to Sara Sampson, Reference Librarian, Moritz Law Library, Moritz College of Law, OSU, for the tip.

Education Deductions for the Employed Professional

TaxProf Blog calls attention to a recent article about the deductibility of J.D. and M.B.A. expenses, see Education Deductions for the Employed Professional by Burgess J.W. Raby & William L. Raby (also available on the Tax Analysts web site as Doc 2005-21201, 2005 TNT 202-28). The authors discuss several important cases including Galligan v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2002-150, holding that law school expenses [at William Mitchell] of a law librarian were not deductible.

Guide to US Gov't Financial Reporting

The purpose of the General Accountability Office's Understanding the Primary Components of the Annual Financial Report of the United States Government is "to make available to every American a comprehensive overview of the federal government's finances." Essentially the GAO's report is a guide to understanding the the federal government's Consolidated Financial Report. Thirty years ago, this document would be filed in a pamphet drawer; today ... bookmark it for future reference.