Resource of the Week: Knowledge Mosaic

This week’s spotlight falls squarely on Knowledge Mosaic, an extensive repository of regulatory and disclosure information, current awareness, and law firm memos.  Knowledge Mosaic features a dazzling array of rich, highly searchable databases on financial, compliance, and other business data resources.  The portal provides robust query and analysis tools for mining and interpreting data plus a suite of electronically delivered news publications.  Further details regarding the database’s offerings can be viewed here.

While customizable e-mail alerts keeps users abreast of new developments, the real crown jewel of Knowledge Mosaic  is the Dodd-Frank Rulemaking Tracking feature which allows subscribers to easily sift through the torrential onslaught of changes initiated by the Dodd-Frank Act.  The tracker permits users to monitor ongoing rulemaking without being overwhelmed by allowing them to specify certain search conditions, such as corresponding references within the Act itself or by action type (i.e final rule, proposed rule, study, etc.).  Other filtering options include date, agency, and topic.  A handy video tutorial walks new users through the process of tailoring this amazing tool for their own research needs.

On-site and remote access is available to all NSU students, faculty, staff, and in-house users; a SharkLink ID is required for remote access.  Only NSU Law students, faculty, and staff can create personal accounts at no extra charge.  Personal accounts allow you to set up e-mail alerts but to utilize these features, you must register using a law school e-mail address.  To learn more about personal accounts, refer to the Personal Account FAQs.

Virtual Law Practice CALI-Style

The Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction (CALI) is offering a FREE online course called Topics in Digital Law Practice.  Taught by North Carolina-based attorney Stephanie L. Kimbro, the first session took place on Friday, February 10, 2012.  You can view the video and slides at http://tdlp.classcaster.net/

Two copies of Ms. Kimbro’s book Virtual Law Practice: How to Deliver Legal Services Online are available in the LLTC’s collection.  Kimbro also blogs at the Virtual Law Practice.

Weekend Reading/ Viewing: The Lincoln Lawyer

The Lincoln Lawyer is the highly charged story of criminal defense attorney Mickey Haller and his battles within the Los Angeles court system.   While the movie has yet to appear on any 25-Greatest-Legal-Movies-Evah lists, I contend that LL could be a strong candidate for inclusion on future lists despite the dog-eared adage that “the book is always better than the movie.”

In the book, author Michael Connelly paints protagonist Mickey Haller as a free-wheeling, free-dealing criminal defense attorney who, rather than pay overhead for a fixed office space,  does business out of the back of his late-model Lincoln Town car.  His standard run-of-the-mill clients are petty thugs, drug dealers, and prostitutes.  The action heats up when Haller agrees to defend a rich young man from Beverly Hills charged with attempted murder and aggravated sexual assault and battery.

The son of legal legend Michael Haller, Mick is a creature born and bred to the L.A. Superior Court and former-police-beat-reporter-turned-novelist Connelly doesn’t disappoint readers, providing a vivid insider look at the City of Angels.  As his protoganist tears up Highway 5, oiling the wheels of the American criminal justice system, Connelly’s writing is reminiscent of Raymond Chandler which is unsurprising since he decided to become a mystery writer upon discovering Chandler’s works while studying at the University of Florida.

Trivia sidebar:  About 10 years after moving to the West Coast, Connelly literally followed in the footsteps of Chandler’s hard-boiled PI Philip Marlowe by renting the unit in High Tower Apartments where the famous character lived in The Long Goodbye.  Director Robert Altman also filmed portions of The Long Goodbye in the same location.

While the movie takes liberty with the written word, The Lincoln Lawyer succeeds as a film due to its ability to convey the book’s nuances within the hour and a half allotted by director Brad Furman.  The film excises a great deal of the material relevant to the intricacies of legal profession, but the star-studded cast, featuring Matthew McConaughey, Marisa Tomei, Ryan Phillippe, William H. Macy, and Michael Peña, meshes well, keeping the audience engaged in each character’s role as the script’s plotlines converge.  Their collective performance is offset by a slick soundtrack and terse dialogue that evokes the drama and action inherent to high-stakes cases in the courtroom.

The Law Library & Technology Center is proud to count both the print and film versions of The Lincoln Lawyer among its holdings.  The book is shelved at PS3553.O51165 L56 2005 in the Law and Popular Culture Collection (2nd Floor) while the DVD resides at PN1997.2 .L553656 2011 in the Media Collection.  The Sherman Library also offers additional formats of this title, such as audiorecordings on CD-ROM and Blu-Ray as well as the other five books in the Mickey Haller series.

You can also watch Michael Connelly and Matthew McConaughey talk about both works while on the set of The Lincoln Lawyer via the author’s official website.  So sit back, relax, and enjoy the show!

Resource of the Day: Locating the Law (5th Edition, Rev.)

The Southern California Association of American Law Libraries (SCALL) has released the revised fifth edition of Locating the Law: A Handbook for Non-Law Librarians.  initially published in 1986, this nifty handbook is an excellent resource for non-lawyers, providing basic information about California and federal legal materials along with a straightforward overview of what they are, how they are organized, and how to utilize them in the legal research process.

Thanks to SCALL’s Public Access to Legal Information (PALI) Committee, the revised edition now boasts updated links and improved navigational features as well as a new title for Chapter 10 (i.e. Bibliography of Self-Help Resources).  The original section of List of Common Abbreviations in the Law from the end of Chapter 2 has expanded substantially, morphing into a completely new Appendix B dubbed How to Read a Legal Citation.  And an extra round of snaps goes to the authors for including a superb chapter designed to help guide law librarians when working with pro se patrons (Chapter 9: Assisting Self-Represented Litigants).  Well written and concise, this pithy piece should be required reading for all law librarians.

Only available online, the full text can be freely downloaded via the SCALL website.  Individuals and libraries are encouraged to download or print as many copies as necessary in accordance with the work’s Creative Commons license.  (Adobe Acrobat required)

New Year, New Law Librarian of Congress

Welcome to 2012!  Today marks the start of David Mao’s tenure as the Law Librarian of Congress.  Appointed Deputy Law Librarian of Congress in May 2010, Mr. Mao has served as a key member of the Law Library’s leadership team and managed the Law Library’s global legal research portfolio, including the Global Legal Information Network (GLIN). He succeeds Roberta Schaffer, the 22nd Law Librarian of Congress.

The news regarding the transition was posted by Andrew Weber who has been the Legislative Information Systems Manager at the Law Library of Congress since June 2004.  An active blogger at In Custodia Legis, Weber also supplied the text of January 2011 interview in which Mr. Mao expressed his thoughts regarding the responsibilities of the Law Librarian of Congress and described the career path he chose, which should prove to be inspirational reading for law and library school students alike who are considering becoming law librarians.

Kenyan Law Reports Wins IALL Website Award Competition

Kenyan Law Reports (KLR), a free Kenyan Law database, has been announced as the winner of the International Association of Law Libraries (IALL) 2011 Website Award Competition. With this award, Kenyan Law Reports joins the ranks of the International Committee of the Red Cross and the United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law websites that claimed the 2010 and 2009 awards respectively.

KLR provides free access to primary sources of the laws of Kenya, namely case law and consolidated laws (Acts) including the subsidiary legislation for both of which it is the official source.  The field of contenders for the 2011 award included THOMAS, Global Legal Information Network (GLIN), Legifrance, as well as several other websites dedicated to international legal and jurisprudence matters.

Hat tip to In Custodia Legis, the blog of the Law Librarians of Congress, for reporting the good news. Read the full post here.

 

Lexis Advance debuts today!

The long-awaited Lexis Advance platform officially debuted today.  Bob Ambrogi gives a good review of the new interface at http://goo.gl/W6IbE while Greg Lambert provides a more technical review of the launch at http://goo.gl/p8ugR.

 

Life Without the Statistical Abstract

Published since 1878, the Statistical Abstract of the United States is the authoritative and comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States. Or should I say was…

For those who haven’t yet heard, the Statistical Compendium project ceased collecting data as of October 1, 2011.   This means that the Abstract, a remarkably compact yet comprehensive volume for statistical reference, will no longer be sent to Federal Depository Libraries which have received paper and CD-ROM versions of the Statistical Abstract each year at no charge.  Researchers will now have to track down individual sources of data that were collocated in the Abstract, including the Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bureau of Economic Analysis, and many other Federal agencies and private organizations.

In Learning to Live Without a Statistical Abstract: Thinking about Future Access to Government Information, James T. Shaw discusses the detrimental impact that the demise of the Abstract will have on librarians and researchers who must now seek alternative sources for important information that has been relatively easy, convenient, and cost-effective to find.  Shaw describes how eliminating the products created by the Statistical Compendia (namely the Statistical Abstract of the United Statesand its supplemental products, the State and Metropolitan Area Data Book and the County and City Data Book) raises important issues regarding public access to government information, especially when you stop to consider how much we depend on that data to inform our understanding of our society, the economy, and public policy.

Furthermore, Shaw explains why there is no truly good alternative to the Statistical Abstract in terms of providing both convenience and breadth, either from other government or commercial sources.  He also helpfully provides descriptions of and links to other statistical sources and methods to mine available data moving forward.

Employees Expected to ‘Bear the Burden’ of American Airlines Bankruptcy

After 81 years of flying, American Airlines landed in federal bankruptcy court in New York City yesterday.  The last of the legacy airlines to file for Chapter 11 following 9/11, the beleaguered company cited nearly $30 billion in debt, just under $25 billion in assets, and $4 billion in cash reserves as part of the decision to file for protection against its creditors.

Because this is the seventh largest bankruptcy in U.S. history by number of employees, it is widely anticipated that AA will trim labor costs by shedding jobs.  A large question also hangs over the security of American employee pensions.  Watch Judy Woodruff  discuss the contributing factors of the filing and its pending aftermath with Ben Mutzabaugh of USA Today on PBSNewsHour.

According to a public service announcement on its website, American Airlines is flying normal schedules and conducting business as usual worldwide.  Additional information about the Chapter 11 reorganization is available at www.aa.com/restructuring.

"Brace yourselves...it's gonna be a rough landing!"

StatCan announces 2011 Census data release schedule

Columnist Carl Meyer has reported that all of Statistics Canada’s standard online products, including the 2011 census, socioeconomic and geographic data, will be offered to the public for free starting February 2012.  Source: Embassy Magazine

The announcement builds on earlier decisions by internationally-acclaimed StatCan to make its census data and specialized search tools available online in 2001 and 2006.  In additon to daily CANSIM news alerts, a detailed schedule of release dates for 2011 major economic indicators has been posted on the agency’s website.  Other neat, new features on the updated site include E-tutorials and Thesaurus Search.