Cleveland Law Library Weblog

Law Librarians of Congress Post Information on Free Online Caselaw

In Custodia Legis, which is the blog run by the Law Librarians of Congress, just posted a notice about their new Research Guide to finding free case law online. The resources the Librarians curated include Google Scholar, CourtListener, FindLaw, Justia, and the Public Library of Law. As part of the Guide, the Librarians highlight the tools, coverage, and unique features of each of these online databases. Interestingly, they also pointed out that CourtListener "maintains the RECAP Archive, which includes selected case and docket information from federal appellate, district, and bankruptcy courts."

Legal World Buzzing with Announcement of new product: Westlaw Edge to replace Westlaw Next

The biggest news in the legal technology world today is the announcement of Thomson Reuter's new product called Westlaw Edge. According to the blog Dewey B. Strategic, Westlaw Edge is a new AI enabled platform to replace WestlawNext. It will apparently offer "a new search engine Westlaw Search Plus,  litigation analytics and an exciting new Keycite feature..." For more information on these new flagship products, click here.

Cleveland Law Library Modernizes Ohio Legislative History Research with New Microform Scanner

Our Law Library, the Cleveland Law Library recently modernized its Ohio legislative history research services with a new E-Image Data ScanPro machine. As law librarians know, some of the best resources for researching older versions of state codes and Ohio legislative history are still only available on microforms. Our new device easily scans both microfilm and microfiche and streamlines the process of saving images to a computer for later printing or emailing. Our thanks go to both the State Library of Ohio and the Institute of Museum and Library Services for awarding our Library a grant to make the purchase of this technology possible. 

Cleveland Law Library Records Podcast about the Library for On the Record

Today, the Cleveland Law Library recorded a podcast about the Law Library and its services for On the Record, the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court's Podcast Network. Check out the 8 minute recording here, and send us your feedback.

Join Us at Our Open House Tomorrow, Sept. 19, 2014 from 9:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

We are proud here at The Cleveland Law Library, and tomorrow, we are showcasing our resources at our Annual Open House. Please join us from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. for tours of our facility and information about our collection and services. Everyone who stops by will have the chance to spin our brand new Prize Wheel. Light refreshments will also be served.

 

New Books at the Cleveland Law Library Include Stress Management for Lawyers, OSBA Legal Technology Conference, and Black's Law Dictionary (10th ed.)

The Cleveland Law Library recently purchased a number of new books, including Stress Management for Lawyers, the OSBA Legal Technology Conference, and the new edition of Black's Law Dictionary (10th ed.). Other new titles which are now listed in our catalog and which our members can check out and take back to their offices include:

Fiduciary income tax
Class action roundup: the latest developments in state and federal court
How to prepare for FATCA if you are a nonfinancial U.S. company
Trial technology workshop
Guardianships
Financial planning for lawyers
Bankruptcy fundamentals
Professionalism, law office management, and client funds management and getting a grip on your student loans
21st annual Bradley J. Schaeffer Real Property Institute: new developments in real property law
Effective legal negotiation and settlement
Fear factor: how good lawyers get into bad ethical trouble
Must-have intelligence for "tenured" attorneys
Fifth Annual Great Lakes Antitrust Institute
Demystifying employer retirement plans
Health care law
Introduction to domestic relations practice
Finance for lawyers
Adobe Acrobat for lawyers
Demystifying intellectual property: a guide for the nonspecialist
Avoiding malpractice: the good, the bad, and the ugly of legal technology
iPad for litigators and fight the paper: the pathway to a productive, paperless law practice

Ohio Attorney General Opinions now available online for free back to 1846

According to a press release, Ohio Attorney General Opinions are now available online for free back to 1846. Search options include browsing by year or decade or searching by topic. According to the AG's website, "[a]n Attorney General opinion is an official statement of the Attorney General’s views on a legal question.  An Attorney General opinion may also be referred to as a “formal opinion.”"  

Ohio Supreme Court Creates New Interactive Online Glossary of Legal Terms

Like many professions, the practice of law requires knowing a lot of legal lingo. To help lay people understand what lawyers, judges and legal opinions are say, the Ohio Supreme Court has created an interactive online glossary of 160 legal terms like res judicata, summary judgment and sua sponte. The new glossary comes with a list of words and pop-up definitions that appear when readers of Court News Ohio (CNO) hover over words. For fun, CNO has also introduced “Legal Word of the Week," which you can follow on CNO's Facebook or Twitter pages.

The Cleveland Law Library Honors Law Day with Free WestlawNext CLE for Members on May 6th

The Cleveland Law Library is honoring Law Day this year with free WestlawNext CLE programs for members next week. We are offering two 1-hour sessions of Intermediate Research on WestlawNext from 11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 6th at the Law Library on the 4th floor of the Cuyahoga County Courthouse. Members can sign up for one of the sessions by calling the Law Library at 216-861-5070 or sending an email to lawlib@clelaw.lib.oh.us. Each attendee will receive 1 hour of free Ohio general CLE credit. 

Cleveland Law Library Continues to Offer Westlaw.com and WestlawNext

Members of the Cleveland Law Library have access to both Westlaw.com (also known as Westlaw Classic) and WestlawNext, and that is not changing in the forseeable future. If you have heard the rumors I have that WestlawNext is ceasing July 1st, rest assured that it only applies to academic law libraries. Our sales representative has confirmed that changes for local law schools like CSU and Case will not affect member privileges at our Law Library for quite a while.