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The Webby Awards is like the Oscars for the Web. Since its infancy in 1997, the categories for Webby Awards have expanded a lot, but law, government and politics have been on the Webby radar for some time.

Check out these past winners. They continue to represent excellent information sources on the Web.

2007 - LawHelp.org (law category)
2006 - Justice Learning (law category)
2005 - FindLaw (law category)
2004 - HealthOntario (government & law category)
2003 - NASA (government & law category)
2002 - Library of Congress (government & law category)
2001 - Nolo Self Help Center (government & law category)
2000 - Politics.com (politics category - nonactive link on Webby)
1999 - California Voter Foundation (politics & law category)
1998 - CNN Politics (politics & law category)
1997 - The Netizen (politics & law category - nonactive link on Webby)

I'm happy to announce the publication of the January - February 2008 issue of the Faculty Current Awareness Bulletin. In it, you'll find information on ten upcoming conferences and symposia, nine publishing opportunities, and more.

The Bulletin is published every other month and past issues can be viewed here.

Weigh in with your own thoughts or read others' musings on the topic of late library books taking a toll on credit scores in today's New York Times Readers' Comments section.

It’s the time of the year to catch up with developments near the North Pole, or more generally, the Arctic. Countries are trying to sort out who has the rights to explore the continental shelf around the Arctic, and exploit natural resources there.

Russia recently planted a flag in the Arctic sea bed to claim its rights, rights which Canada disputes. Russia Plants Flag under North Pole, BBC News Aug. 2, 2007. The dispute for rights has become more pressing, because melting polar ice caps have allowed for easier exploration, and there is interest in finding new sources of oil and gas. Russia Ahead in Arctic "Gold Rush"by Paul Reynolds, BBC News, Aug. 1, 2007. Many countries are involved in the dispute over various Arctic regions, including the United States, Canada, Norway, Russia, Denmark and Greenland. According to Reynold's article, the United States needs to ratify the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea in order to help resolve the dispute.

 (More)

What's EISIL?

EISIL, the American Society of International Law's premier free online research tool, points you to the highest quality primary materials and the most authoritative websites and research guides on international law. It's a great place to start your international law research.

What's new?

EISIL's added a few new features to make researching international law online even easier. There's the EISIL Extra box that alerts you to recent items, a Recent Additions button that lets you seen the latest content up front, and the ability to save the results of your searches.

What about Bluebooking help?

Let's face it - google the name of any big name treaty -- say CITES - and you'll find the text of the treaty, no problem. But what about a decent Bluebook citation?

By clicking on More Information under any EISIL primary source, you'll find a field on Legal Citation. I won't guarantee it's 100% Bluebook, but it will sure get you on your way to writing a great citation. See this example for CITES in EISIL.

Looking for information on the environmental laws of Mexico, preferably in English? Or maybe you would like to find information on copyright laws in Germany? A great starting point for foreign law questions like these is Foreign Law Guide, an online bibliography by Reynolds & Flores. The database does not contain the full text of foreign laws, but rather, provides citations and web links. For each country, the database: (1) Lists the major legislative codifications, administrative regulations and court reports, and whether copies have been published in English. (2) Provides links to online sources, both free and for fee. (3) Lists legal subjects and citations to laws on that subject, as well as citations to secondary sources. (4) Briefly summarizes the country's legal system. This database is available both on campus and remotely with a CSU Id number and PIN.

Cornell University has improved its U.S. Code Collection by adding a better and easier to use update feature. The Code on Cornell's site is current through Jan. 2, 2006, but there are update links on the right hand side of the code section. The updates are based on the classification tables, so there may be some additional updates since the last table was issued. With its update feature, Cornell's U.S. Code appears to be the most up-to-date free U.S. Code online. Compare: U.S. House of Representative U.S. Code; U.S. Code on GPO Access; and Findlaw.

Source: BolelyBlogs!, Dec. 2, 2007.

The finals season that seemed to have no end is finally done: time for a break and some self indulgence. It’s still not too late to pass your holiday wish list along to your significant others. Here, according to the Frugal Law Student web site is a selection of must haves: 27 Holiday Gifts for Law Students that are Under $25

And, if nobody comes through for you, many of the books and videos on the list are in our collection, so come back and borrow them from us during the break : we’ll be here Wednesday through Friday from 8am until 6pm, December 26-28 and January 2-4.

Happy New Year!

Today's Chronicle of Higher Education features an article on the practical side of legal education. "All Rise. Welcome to Law School" by Katherine Mangan highlights Touro Law Center's Court Observation Program that affords 1Ls the chance to see real-life lawyering in action, moderated by experienced litigator - teachers. The article connects Touro's program to the broader trend in legal education of providing students with skills they need to represent clients in court.

I love it when I learn a new word. And today I learned a fantastic one while flipping through the pages of Law Library Journal.

Sitzfleisch. It's German, some sources say Yiddish (literally "flesh for sitting") and means the ability sit patiently for long periods.

Sitzfleisch seems like something that comes in handy around exam time. As in, "She has extraordinary Sitzfleisch - after taking a three hour contracts exam, she went home to polish her torts outline."

With less than a week of exams to go, I hope your Sitzfleisch is hanging in there.

Today's installment of Tech Therapy, The Chronicle of Higher Education's podcast series, presents "Setting Professors Right on Rights." It's a brief episode on the copyright and fair use implications of posting course materials on course webpages and other electronic media.

If you would like to delve deeper into the topic, have a look at Technology and Copyright Law: A Guidebook for Library, Research and Teaching Professions.

There are so many obstacles a law student needs to overcome on the road to becoming a lawyer: one which may seem insurmountable is a history of treatment for alcohol or drug abuse, mental illness or similar disability, which might effect the applicant’s fitness for practice under review by state bar commissioners. At its February Midwinter meeting the American Bar Association will consider a Model Rule on Conditional Admission to Practice Law, which would permit a state's board of bar examiners to authorize conditional bar admission to applicants with prior mental health or substance abuse problems if they agree to undergo supervised care or monitoring for a period of up to two years. The language of the proposed rule, as reported in the ABA/BNA Lawyer’s Manual of Professional Conduct follows:

"1. Conditional Admission. An applicant who currently satisfies all essential eligibility requirements for admission to practice law, including fitness requirements, and who possesses the requisite good moral character required for admission, may be conditionally admitted to the practice of law if the applicant demonstrates recent rehabilitation from dependency or successful treatment for mental or other illness, or from any other condition the court deems appropriate, that has resulted in conduct or behavior that would otherwise have rendered the applicant currently unfit to practice law, and the conduct or behavior, if it should recur, would impair the applicant's current ability to practice law or pose a threat to the public. The [Admissions Authority] shall recommend relevant conditions that the applicant to the bar must comply with during the period of conditional admission."

For the full report, see ABA/BNA Lawyer’s Manual of Professional Conduct Current Reports, vol. 23, no. 25, p. 626 (December 12, 2007)

Whether your stress this month comes from exams or holiday shopping, it might help to take a break and exercise your brain with an easy crossword challenge. Yes, there is a legal connection: First read or review the legal community’s answer to “It’s a Wonderful Life”: Allegheny County v. Greater Pittsburgh ACLU, 492 U.S. 573 (1989)

Then click here for an interactive puzzle based on the case – all the answers are contained in the case. And have yourself a merry little secular holiday!

Studying for exams may cause a lot of indigestion and heartburn, but you can minimize these ill effects by effective planning and pacing yourself. Think of studying for exams like a gourmet feast. First, find a quiet, distraction-free environment to study, as well as put work, family, and friends on notice that you're not available for awhile. Now for the first course -- an aromatic saffron shellfish bisque. Crystalize that outline you've been writing and updating all semester, which of course you were doing, right? Write a final outline or flowchart based upon your casebook, class notes, and study guides. You need to be able to recognize the issues, define and illustrate the elements of the rules, as well as explain theories, concepts, causes of action, and defenses. Break up your outline into manageable parts and schedule the memorization of those parts. Many people use flash cards. Reinforce the data on your flash cards according to your learning style -- say the words as you read them; tape record yourself reading the words and listen (perhaps while driving or commuting); or create an acronym, rhyme, or story. Second course -- grilled pineapple-glazed mahi mahi with almond couscous. While you're continuing to memorize your outline, really dig in and talk it up. Get into a study group that's committed to completing tasks, participating in discussions, and staying focused. A good study group will help you to develop analytical thinking and make you support your opinions with critically sound reasoning. If you just can't get something, take that deep breath and talk to your professor. Look at previous exams and practice taking them. Third course -- Mixed baby greens with rasberry vinaigrette. Be good to yourself and try to stay healthy. Schedule study time and recreation time. Prioritize. Do you really need to deal with that household repair or can it just wait a bit longer? Study the hardest materials when you're most alert. If possible, don't study for an upcoming exam the same day or evening you take an exam. Hang in there, and you'll reap the benefit of all your hard work. Final course -- flourless cocoa cake with mango sorbet. Enjoy -- you earned it!

UCLA and Cornell Law Schools have joined to create a database of law journal articles that contain either original empirical research or significant analysis of data from other sources, such as census data. The ELS Bibliography contains articles dated July 2005 and later. The creators hope to add articles going back to 2005. See Database Description.

Thanks to the Law Librarian Blog for the tip.

For those of you with writer's block or are just procrastinating, here are two more outline banks that may help you get ready for exams.

Legalnut.com

University of Buffalo - Student Bar Association

Good luck on exams.

Sometimes it's useful to try to different study method, instead of just limiting yourself to reading. Try listening to a course review on audio!

The Library collects many sets of course reviews on audio (cassette or cd) that can really help you get a leg up on studying for exams. Don't have an old-fashioned cassette player? You can check one out from the Library.

1Ls, you might be interested in our audio sets for civ pro, contracts, property and torts. Upper level students, check out admin law, con law, crim pro, evidence, estates & trusts and family law.

You can get the full list of audio sets here, scroll down and see Sum & Substance Series and Law School Legends Series. You'll find links to call numbers in the Library. All audio sets are located in room AO66 and can be checked out for one week.

Personally, I couldn't have passed civ pro (not my favorite class as a 1L) without Miller's audio set.

Need a warm place to study for finals? The Law Library will be open additional hours during Reading & Exam period, beginning Sunday, December 2nd through Wednesday, December 19th. Our hours will be...

Monday-Thursday-8am-Midnight
Friday-8am-10pm
Saturday-9am-10pm
Sunday-Noon-Midnight

On Thursday, December 20th we will be open 8am-9pm and Friday, December 21st 8am-6pm.

Good Luck with Finals and have a Safe and Happy Holiday.

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