Legal Writing and Research Commons^™

Open Access: Good For Readers, Authors, And Journals, Carol Watson, James M. Donovan

Articles, Chapters and Online Publications

Readers, authors, and even law journal publishers will all achieve their different but related interests by adopting open access principles. Open access works for everyone, and is the future of information creation and distribution.

Law & Reference: Answering Legal Reference Questions, Wendy Moore, Maureen Cahill

Presentations

Answering legal reference questions can be challenging, especially when you are not doing it on a daily basis. More and more legal information is available freely on the internet, but sometimes it is hard to know what the best sources are and how to make certain you are not accidentally practicing law at the reference desk. This presentation provides exposure to helpful internet resources and discussion of effective strategies to help you answer legal related reference questions in a non-law library setting with skill and confidence.

Citation Advantage Of Open Access Legal Scholarship, Carol Watson, James M. Donovan

Articles, Chapters and Online Publications

In this study focusing on the impact of open access on legal scholarship, the authors examine open access articles from three journals at the University of Georgia School of Law and confirm that legal scholarship freely available via open access improves an article’s research impact. Open access legal scholarship—which today appears to account for almost half of the output of law faculties—can expect to receive fifty-eight percent more citations than non–open access writings of similar age from the same venue.

Research Beyond The Obvious: An Overview Of Uga Law Library Databases, Sharon Bradley

Presentations

Describes several useful specialized databases available to University of Georgia law students.

Legal Citation Without Fear, Maureen Cahill

Presentations

Shares tips for approaching and interpreting Bluebook instructions.

Ab Fab Legal Apps: Legal Research Applications For Handheld Devices, Sharon Bradley

Continuing Legal Education Presentations

The term “app” has exploded into general use. The term has been around for a long time as the nickname for application, or any piece of software that works on a system. Now when people are talking about apps, they are usually talking about small programs specifically made for mobile devices. Along with the explosion of general purpose apps, come many designed and/or suited for busy, highly-mobile legal professsionals.

Fantastic Facts About The 50 States: Websites For State Legal Research, Wendy E. Moore

Continuing Legal Education Presentations

Sometimes you need legal information from states other than Georgia. While you may feel comfortable knowing where to look for Georgia materials on the Internet, you may be less certain when information is needed concerning Florida, Tennessee, or even Nebraska. This paper is a survey of websites that will help you locate legal information and resources at the state level.

Gateways To Legal Information: Best-Bet Internet Portals, Suzanne R. Graham

Continuing Legal Education Presentations

MSN and Yahoo! are examples of horizontal portals that appeal to broad segments of the population by providing a wide array of popular culture news. For 8 to 5 endeavors, the Web also has many industry portals or vertical portals, including portals targeting law professionals and legal scholars. Finding a portal and setting it to be one’s browser home page can be an easy way to keep up with information and to launch targeted searches from a familiar interface.

Book Review: The Prison Library Primer: A Program For The Twenty-First Century, Carol A. Watson

Articles, Chapters and Online Publications

Book review of THE PRISON LIBRARY PRIMER: A PROGRAM FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY, by Brenda Vogel (Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2009).

This work is a well-organized, thorough, and practical guide to administering libraries in correctional facilities. Vogel, a veteran librarian with more than twenty-five years of first-hand experience as the coordinator for the Maryland Correctional Education Libraries, has written extensively on the topic of prison libraries. While her knowledge and experience lend credence to The Prison Library Primer’s content, Vogel’s unwavering commitment to an often-overlooked community of library patrons makes the book truly inspiring.

Forecast For The Future: Emerging Legal Technologies, Carol A. Watson

Continuing Legal Education Presentations

Begins by discussing technologies that are currently available on the web that can reduce office overhead. Also highlights current general technology trends and still-developing technologies. Concludes with a list of frivolous gadgets to provide food for thought about the coming prospects of technology.

Great Resources For The Great Recession : Useful Business Sources On The Internet, Wendy E. Moore

Continuing Legal Education Presentations

Explore 48 business websites, drawn from governmental, non-profit, and commercial information resources, that provide good examples of the types of information sources available to meet Internet business research needs.

"Gotcha!" Investigative Tools On The Web, Suzanne R. Graham

Continuing Legal Education Presentations

Free or low cost online resources exist to assist lawyers doing investigative research, but assessing the quality of the information remains challenging.

Wrangling The Web: Advanced Tools For Effective Internet Searching, Anne E. Burnett, Wendy E. Moore

Continuing Legal Education Presentations

Describes how to conduct effective Internet searches for legal information with a focus on advanced Google tools, but also includes Bing, Wolfram|Alpha, Legal Research Engine at Cornell, DocStoc and Scribd.

Where Have All The States Gone: Growing Research Resources, Sharon Bradley

Continuing Legal Education Presentations

Provides assistance with finding current and authoritative information about legal matters in each of the fifty states at the state and local level. Includes guidance on finding case law, administrative codes and regulations, state and local codes, legal forms, and court dockets.

Legal Citation Without Fear, Maureen Cahill

Presentations

Presentation by Maureen Cahill, Student Services Librarian, as part of the library's Lunch-n-Learn series.

http://www.law.uga.edu/lunch-n-learn-series

Researching Georgia Legislative History, Carol Watson

Articles, Chapters and Online Publications

Attorneys often seek Georgia legislative history when trying to clarify a vague statute, determine the intent of the legislature or trace a law’s amendments over time. Although sometimes difficult to compile, Georgia legislative history tidbits can be gathered by consulting a variety of resources.

Persuasive Arguments For Establishing An Institutional Repository, James M. Donovan, Carol A. Watson

Presentations

Presents the business case for creating an institutional repository (IR), including a comparison of the advantages and disadvantages with Social Science Research Network (SSRN); offers advice on obtaining faculty buy-in to the project in order to obtain content; reviews copyright right issues involved in depositing published materials into the repository; and suggests ways in which creating a repository can build relationships beyond the institution.

Southeastern Association Of Law Libraries Annual Meeting, University Of Georgia Alexander Campbell King Law Library, Beth Adelman, Constance Ard, Jan Baker, John Beatty, Erika Beck, Jennifer Behrens, Billie J. Blaine, Pamela Bluh, Elizabeth D. Bradsher, Pam Brannon, Kevin Butterfield, Charlene Cain, Sean Chen, Terrye Conroy, Jessica De Perio Wittman, Marin Dell, James M. Donovan, Maureen A. Eggert, Robb Farmer, Elizabeth Farrell, Vicen Feliu, Sarah Glassmeyer, Suzanne R. Graham, Ismael Gullon, Edward T. Harte, Christine Heaton, James Heller, Sally Irvin, Kate Irwin-Smiler, Faye Jones, David Lehmann, Andrew Lentini, Terry Long, Shannon L. Malcolm, Terrance Manion, Roxanne Marmion, Katherine Marsh, Sarah Mauldin, Rebekah Maxwell, Pamela R. Melton, Marian Parker, Merryl Penson, Gordon Russell, James C. Smith, Dick Spinelli, Kay Todd, Robert T. Trotter, Carol A. Watson, Julie Webster-Matthews, Laura Weidig, Sarah K. Wiant, Patrick Wiseman

Conferences and Symposia to 2010

The 2009 SEAALL Annual Meeting was held in Athens Georgia, April 16-18, 2009.

Rss: The Hov Lane On The Information Highway, James M. Donovan

Presentations

Today’s world suffers from no lack of readily available information. The challenge is rarely the finding of information; it is rather laying your hands on just the right piece at just the right time. While attorneys have a duty to be well-informed about the state of the law, remaining current can be difficult. The goal should be to have information delivered and organized in a timely, convenient way that both maximizes exposure—assuring that you aren’t missing that perfect nugget that will give you the competitive edge—yet minimizes time-investment in retrieval and scanning through items that may be of no use …

Just The Facts, Ma’Am: Make The Web Your Investigative Partner, Anne Burnett

Presentations

The web is a handy investigative tool, allowing a researcher to obtain information about persons, property and things. One can find email addresses, home addresses, telephone numbers, criminal records, military service information, property records, vital statistics information, photographs and more. This information may help locate a missing heir, reveal useful information about a potential expert witness, confirm the legitimacy of a business, determine who owns a piece of property or expose the litigious nature of a potential client. The focus in these program materials is on free resources, but I also cover a few fee-based services that can be accessed …

The State Of The States : Online Resources For State Legal Research, Sharon Bradley

Presentations

Finding state and local laws can be challenging. Here are some best-bet websites to help find state and local law online.

For Your Dining Pleasure: A Menu Of Legal Websites, Wendy E. Moore

Presentations

The focus of this paper is to explore websites that you may find helpful in your daily work and research. There are 40 featured websites drawn from governmental, educational, and commercial information resources. Consider these websites a good jumping off point to familiarize yourself with the types of information available to assist you in your Internet legal research needs.

Current Awareness Alerts Make The Internet Revolve Around You, James M. Donovan

Articles, Chapters and Online Publications

The Internet is a constantly evolving source of information for the busy lawyer, and current awareness services can collect all the information you want to routinely see and present it to you in a convenient format.

Implementing Bepress' Digital Commons Institutional Repository Solution: Two Views From The Trenches, Carol A. Watson, James M. Donovan, Pamela Bluh

Institutional Repository Supporting Materials

Librarians from the University of Georgia Law Library and University of Maryland Law Library will discuss their experiences implementing Digital Commons' institutional repository product. Issues to be considered includes... - Creating a business plan to persuade law school administrators to establish an institutional repository -- how to justify the expenditure, distinguishing Digital Commons from SSRN, choosing Digital Commons rather than an open source solution - Obtaining content for the repository -- promoting the repository, building buy-in from contributors, establishing content policies, determining types of materials to be included in the repository, self-archiving versus mediated archiving - Copyright permissions -- appending …

Using Open Access To Increase Personal Internet Presence, James M. Donovan

Institutional Repository Supporting Materials

Discusses ways to raise internet profile by taking advantage of open access scholarship opportunities

Best Brief, 2007 Intrastate Moot Court Competition, Tully T. Blalock, Cameron D. Hawkins, David L. Pilson

Competition Materials

ATHENS, Ga. - The University of Georgia School of Law recently captured the 2007 Intrastate Moot Court Championship when it bested a team from Georgia State University for the win. Every year, each law school in the state fields two teams in the competition.

Second-year students Tully T. Blalock, Cameron D. Hawkins and David L. Pilson comprised the winning team, while another Georgia Law team of second-year students James E. Butler, Rachel D. Horton and Catherine D. Runion advanced to the semifinal round. Both groups were coached by third-year students Lauren L. Mock and Glenn T. Singleton.

The winning team …

Third Best Brief, 2007 Aba National Appellate Advocacy Competition, Shunta R. Harmon, Leslie B. Horne, Rebecca M. Thornhill

Competition Materials

The ABA Law Student Division's National Appellate Advocacy Competition (NAAC) emphasizes the development of oral advocacy skills through a realistic appellate advocacy experience. Competitors participate in a hypothetical appeal to the United States Supreme Court. The competition involves writing a 40-page brief as either respondent or petitioner and then arguing the case in front of the mock court. This year the teams argued the case McCarthy v. United States, a fictional appeal, to the Supreme Court.

Second-year students Shunta R. Harmon, Leslie B. Horne and Rebecca captured the regional championship and third best brief. Third-year student Stephen A. Shea and …

Best Brief, 17th Annual National First Amendment Moot Court Competition, Bret Hobson, Lauren Mock

Competition Materials

From First Amendment Center News Release:

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The team from George Mason University School of Law won the 17th Annual National First Amendment Moot Court Competition today at the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University.

Recognized for “best brief” in the competition were Bret Hobson and Lauren Mock of the University of Georgia School of Law; and for “best oralist,” Ryan Faulconer of the University of Virginia School of Law.

The competition this year focused on a hypothetical case involving commercial speech, specifically attorney advertising. Teams of student advocates from 35 law schools argued both sides of complex …

Navigating “Social Networking” Tools: Blogs, Wikis, Rss Feeds And Beyond, Elizabeth Geesey Holmes

Presentations

What are “social networking” tools, and why should lawyers care about them? Wikipedia, itself built on social networking software, notes that social networking refers to a category of Internet applications to help connect friends, business partners, or other individuals together using a variety of tools. These applications, known as online social networks are becoming increasingly popular. This phenomenon is also known as Web 2.0. Jack Maness, a librarian at University of Colorado at Boulder, defines it as, “not a web of textual publication, but a web of multi-sensory communication … a matrix of dialogues, not a collection of monologues. It …

Bibliography Of Law Review Articles On Disability Law, Ann Puckett

Scholarly Works

Bibliography of law review articles discussing legal issues pertaining to disabilities, originally presented as a continuously updated online database.