Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Victim's Rights

The Westminster Law Library is pleased to announce the release of a new online research guide on Victim's Rights. This guide is part of a special series of legal research guides designed for the public as part of the Colorado Law Project, so you will notice that it looks a little different than our other guides.

Friday, November 19, 2010

Starting a Business Research Guide

The Westminster Law Library is pleased to announce the release of a new online research guide on Starting a Business. This guide is part of a special series of legal research guides designed for the public as part of the Colorado Law Project, so you will notice that it looks a little different than our other guides.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Exam Taking Tips for Law Students

Before the exam:

1. Deal with your stress. While it may seem like a good idea to put workouts on hold, consider instead making time for (a few) activities that help you release stress. This will help you keep your wits about you in the exam room.

2. Review past exams. Often law professors will make past exams available to students; consider checking them out if they would help calm your nerves or make you feel more prepared. If an answer key isn’t provided, consider asking a few colleagues to issue spot the exam and compare results.

3. Consider a study group. Would one help or hurt your studying? Your answer may be different for different courses or different semesters.

4. Create a schedule of what to study when during the month leading up to exams. Try to stick to your schedule to ensure adequate preparation time for each course.

During the exam:

1. Plan! When you first receive an exam, it is usually helpful to outline your response. IRAC (Issue, Rule, Analysis, Conclusion) is often a good way to approach an essay, as it will help you organize your thoughts and ensure concise responses.

2. Manage your time. If there are three essays, be sure you don’t burn ¾ of your time on the first question. If you are taking a multiple choice exam, recall the LSAT and give yourself a predetermined amount of time for each question. If you finish early, go back to any answers you are unsure of.

3. Read the prompt at least twice. Because issue spotting is key to being able to write a good essay, read the prompt twice before planning to ensure you have spotted everything you can.

4. Keep your answers to yourself after the exam. While it may be tempting to leave the exam and compare your answers with your 5 closest friends, doing so may leave you feeling as if you have answered questions incorrectly when you have not. This feeling may distract you as you deal with your remaining exams.

Written by Kathryn Michaels, Law Librarian Fellow

Monday, November 15, 2010

Research Guide on Common Law Marriage

The Westminster Law Library is pleased to announce the release of a new online research guide on Common Law Marriage. This guide is part of a special series of legal research guides designed for the public as part of the Colorado Law Project, so you will notice that it looks a little different than our other guides.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

America Recycles Day - Nov. 15, 2010

Everyday Americans recycle their trash because they know it’s an important activity that can have a positive impact on the environment.

But once a year the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sets aside November 15 to remind everyone that recycling plays a dramatic role in reducing pollution. It’s a great day to recommit to recycling, and to consider adding some additional recycling activities to our daily routines.

The average American discards about 4.5 pounds of trash, also known as solid waste, every day. This trash goes mostly to landfills, where it is compacted and buried. Thirty-three percent of solid waste, or 83 million tons, is recovered and recycled or composted; and 54 percent, or 135 million tons, is disposed of in landfills.

But within your trash are many valuable resources which can be recycled and reused, such as glass bottles and jars, plastic detergent jugs, aluminum cans, paper containers and packaging, yard clippings and even food scraps. As the population grows and the amount of trash continues to grow, so will pressure on our landfills, our resources and our environment.

There is nothing new under the sun, according to the National Recycling Coalition. “Before the 1920s, 70 percent of U.S. cities ran programs to recycle certain materials. During World War II, industry recycled and reused about 25 percent of the waste stream.”

America Recycles Day helps to raise awareness of the importance of recycling today. The nation's composting and recycling rate rose from 7.7 percent of the waste stream in 1960 to 17 percent in 1990 and is currently hovering around 33 percent.

Your contribution matters. In 2008 -- the latest recycling statistics available -- recycling and composting 83 million tons of waste saved the equivalent of more than 10.2 billion gallons of gasoline.

To bring the idea of what can be saved closer to home, think about this: By tossing one aluminum soda can into the recycling bin, you’ve just saved enough energy to run your TV for two hours.

It all comes back to our individual efforts. Reduce, reuse, and recycle!

For more information on recycling or for more information on America Recycles Day check out these links and the EPA website.


Reprinted from an EPA News Release dated 11/9/10.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

CIA World Factbook

The World Factbook, published by the Central Intelligence Agency, provides a wealth of information about every country in the world including information on geography, people, military, government, communication, transnational issues, and statistics for transportation. Each one of these headings includes subheadings providing the most in-depth information on every country in the world. The Factbook is published once a year and updated online every two weeks. The CIA uses three types of finished intelligence including basic, current, and estimative. Basic is purely fact based information like statistics, current is the information based on new developments, and estimative is concluding a potential outcome. The development of the Factbook is a result of the CIA’s need for basic intelligence about other countries.

The information provided in the Factbook is mostly statistical information covering various topics including the number of cell phones in use, language, death rate, infant mortality, and the percentage of manpower available for military service, to name a few. The World Factbook also contains maps and flags of the world describing each country’s flag and what it represents. Multiple appendices are available providing information on abbreviations, international organizations, international environmental agreements, and weights and measures. Topics like country data codes, hydrographic data, and geographic names are also cross-referenced in the appendix.

Use this link below to begin your research or to just poke around.


Written by Brooke Jennings, Law Librarian Fellow

Monday, November 8, 2010

Shorten URL Links

Threely 3.ly: The 3-Letter URL Shortener (The Shortest in the World!)

Just type a URL in “Enter Web Address (URL)” template and click GO! Use Threely 3.ly http://3.ly/ to shorten URLs in a conversation, instant messaging, e-mail, document or post to Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and StumbleUpon

Written by Sheila Green, Reference Librarian


Friday, November 5, 2010

Landlord / Tenant Research Guide

The Westminster Law Library is pleased to announce the release of a new online research guide on Landlord / Tenant law. This guide is part of a special series of legal research guides designed for the public as part of the Colorado Law Project, so you will notice that it looks a little different than our other guides.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Spring Legal Research Classes

Need to enhance your legal research skills before clerking this summer or graduating? Consider taking one of the following legal research classes offered at SCOL during Spring semester.

Federal Legal Research (2 credits) - Taught by Stacey Bowers
Wednesdays, 5:40pm-7:20pm

This course is will focus on advanced legal research methodologies and skills within the context and framework of federal law. The course will explore federal case law, statutes, legislation and legislative history, regulations and regulatory history, agency decisions and websites, treatises, loose leaf services, secondary and practice materials. Students will learn strategies for engaging in research at the federal level and for ensuring that their research is thorough. The course will integrate the use of both print and online resources. Students will complete a series of research assignments and projects throughout the semester.


Foreign & International Law Legal Research - Taught by Joan Policastri
Tuesdays & Thursdays, 10:30am-11:45am

This course will introduce students to concepts and skills used in international and foreign law research. Students will learn to construct successful research strategies involving questions of foreign law, public international law and private international law using print and online resources. Both primary and secondary authority will be covered in various formats. Students will understand how different legal systems and cultures influence the use and assessment of legal resources. The course will also equip students to critically evaluate current and future research tools. No foreign language skills are required and while a previous course in comparative or international law may be helpful, it is not required.


Advanced Legal Research (3 credits) - Taught by Debra Austin
Mondays & Wednesdays, 11:50am - 1:05pm


This course will provide students with the opportunity to master a major tool of law practice. Students completing this course will come away with an enhanced ability to do research in state and federal legislative and administrative materials. Students will gain knowledge and experience in the use of non-legal research resources as well as the many practice materials that attorneys frequently rely on. Students will have the opportunity to evaluate a variety of research tools, their ease of use, and relative cost with respect to creating or enhancing a law practice library. Finally, students will sharpen their presentation and public speaking skills and be exposed to innovative teaching technologies. 3 semester hours.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Brownlie Ball & Sutton Colloquium 11/5-11/6

DJILP and ILS are sponsoring a new event called the Brownlie Ball on Friday, November 5th from 7-11pm in the Atrium. There will be a band, food from Appaloosa Grill, drinks and a silent auction in order to raise money for a non-profit called Volunteers in Support of Asylum Seekers (VISAS). Their mission is to help non-detainee asylum seekers. Tickets are $15 for students & $35 for others. To attend, buy your ticket on student street or register online.

The Ball helps kick off the 42nd Annual Sutton Colloquium which is being held at the SCOL on Saturday, 11/6th from 9am-5pm. The Colloquium will be on the topic: Drones and their Implication for International Law. There are 8 general & 7 ethics credits available for attorneys attending the Colloquium.

Because of the band, the library may be noisy on Friday evening. Please take this into account when you are making your study plans for the evening.