Law Commons^™

Why Can't I Just Use Lexis Or Westlaw? Promoting Lesser Known Legal Research Platforms To Law Students, Theresa K. Tarves

Law Library Faculty Works

It can be difficult to convince law students to try new resources outside of Westlaw and Lexis, especially when these two resources seemingly have it all from a law student’s perspective. How do we expose law students to lesser known legal research resources so that they can be well-informed researchers who do not become dependent on only a few resources to carry them through their entire legal careers?

Teaching Cost-Effective Research Skills: Tips For Effective And Efficient Legal Research, Rebecca Mattson, Theresa K. Tarves

Law Library Faculty Works

Being a cost-effective researcher is not necessarily just about the legal research resources available where an attorney practices. Budgetary concerns are prevalent across all legal markets, from solos and public interest to large law firms. As the legal field struggles with clients who want greater efficiencies from their attorneys and alternative fee arrangements, many of which state that attorneys will not bill clients for legal research database fees, it is becoming more important than ever to teach law students and attorneys how to use alternative resources effectively and efficiently.

Inmate Legal Information Requests Analysis: Empirical Data To Inform Library Purchases In Correctional Institutions, Kimberli Morris Kelmor

Law Library Faculty Works

The introduction of legal content to Google Scholar made United States case law and law journal articles accessible to an unprecedented extent. With case law freely available and accurate bibliographic information for articles, could Google Scholar be accurate and complete enough for correctional institutions to forgo purchasing either print publications or fee-based services for these materials? This article empirically assesses whether Google Scholar can reliably answer the questions of inmates in a correctional facility, the Baltimore City Detention Center. As a comparison, the same questions are tested in Westlaw Correctional, a subscription database marketed to correctional institutions.

Filling The Google Gaps: Harnessing The Power Of Google Through Instruction, Rebecca Mattson

Law Library Faculty Works

This article discusses teaching proper use of Google and Google Scholar in the legal research classroom.

Where To Begin Researching International Sports Law, Rebecca Mattson

Law Library Faculty Works

In this article, the author discusses selected sources for researching international sports law.

Where To Begin Researching Civil Rights Law, Rebecca Mattson

Law Library Faculty Works

In this article, the author discusses selected sources for researching civil rights law.

Before They Even Start: Hope And Incoming 1ls, Barbara Brunner

Journal Articles

Newly-accepted law school 1Ls often express interest in how they should spend the summer before starting their fall courses in order to be best prepared for success in their first semester. This desire to have a "leg up" on law school success leads those of us teaching first-year courses to think more deeply about what constitutes a "good preparation" for the unique experiences that new law students will face, and what skills are really necessary to increase their possibilities of success, especially in the first semester.

Over the past few years, I have compiled a list of activities which I …

Bounds And Beyond: A Need To Reevaluate The Right Of Prison Access To The Courts, Steven D. Hinckley

Journal Articles

The author argues that the 1977 United States Supreme Court decision in Bounds v. Smith insufficiently protects the right of prisoners to represent themselves before the courts by failing to require state and federal correctional facilities to establish and maintain adequately stocked prison law libraries and to provide prisoners with the option to use those libraries as their means of gaining meaningful access to the courts.