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Latest from Ross-Blakley Law Library Blog - Page 15

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Much of law school involves looking ahead: I am in a professional school and want to make connections and do the right things academically to get my dream job. Unfortunately, it also involves looking behind: did you spot that issue in the Torts final?
Visualizing our ultimate success can help make it so! But some of the best advice you’ll get in law school is to quietly leave it in the past after you turn in an exam. Post-exam parties with friends can be fun, not stressful re-enactments. Be here now.
You will be able to save so much time…
Continue Reading Be here now.

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Hi, I’m Andrea, and I adore ASU so much that I’m now working as a research fellow at the law library. But I started law school feeling a little vulnerable. As a transgender woman, I found strong support groups with other trans* and LGBTQIA+ people to help me navigate daily life, but I knew I would be undertaking two great challenges simultaneously, and Civil Procedure was hardly the most daunting.
I faced many obstacles to being who I am today: my true self, complete with a JD! The light rail and my daily running routes were not always safe spaces.
Continue Reading ASU’s Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion Changed My Life

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Constitution Day commemorates the formation and signing of the U.S. Constitution on September 17, 1787.  To celebrate this year’s Constitution Day, the Law Library of Congress is launching the new online Constitution Annotated. Prepared by the American Law Division of the Congressional Research Service, it provides a comprehensive overview of how the Constitution has been interpreted over time. The website brings the Constitution Annotated into the 21st century with Boolean search capabilities, case law links, browse navigation and related resources. The new Constitution Annotated is not only a historical record but also an analysis of current constitutional understandings.
The new…
Continue Reading Celebrate Constitution Day with the New Constitution Annotated

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In addition to his first-year criminal law class and his upper-level course on empirical, scientific evidence and the law, Professor Michael Saks extensively researches the science behind the law, including social psychology. He has been involved in more than a dozen book projects touching on science and the law.
His most recent book, The Psychological Foundations of Evidence Law, examines how the rules of evidence limit lawyers’ ability to use psychological techniques to influence judges, juries, and witnesses to promote fair, accurate trials. He has also been involved in academic treatises concerning scientific evidence and expert testimony. He has…
Continue Reading Professor Saks and the Psychology of Criminal Law

What is it?In-Focus pages are intended to be a one-stop-shop for issues that are currently in the headlines.  They have everything from introductory materials, to links to statutes, to news alerts.  They are a curated in-depth analysis so that an attorney could feel competent dealing with a complicated or technical issue.
Think of them like a Wikipedia page on steroids…. but for legal professionals.
Who makes them?Bloomberg hires prominent attorneys in the subject fields to collect these materials – people who have extensive knowledge of the subject matter and can anticipate what an attorney would want to know.
For example,…
Continue Reading Bloomberg Law: In-Focus Content

Facing a yes-or-no question in Civil Procedure, I confidently responded, “no!”
“I’m looking for an alternate answer,” the professor replied, with a sympathetic chuckle.
Each new semester of my three years here brought up a familiar worry: What if the professor is tough on cold calls? Fortunately, there’s not much need to worry. Everyone messes up a few cold calls or gets a wrong answer here or there, and nobody remembers those moments for long! But we are law students and want to do the best we can, so here are some tips to sharpen your Socratic skills:

  • Speed reading:

…
Continue Reading Warming Up to Cold Calls or How I Learned to Love the Socratic Method

Are you rudderless in a sea of books, guides, and online materials? Do you need help taming an onslaught of resources? Help is here. The Law Library’s Electronic Services Librarian, Sean Harrington has prepared a succinct study skills materials chart to guide you through the semester:  Study Aids Chart
Sean says, primarily the reason we collect such a wide range of study material is because they present (usually similar) material differently – we want to accommodate for different learning styles. To determine which you like the most it is best to skim the content (either in the library or online)…
Continue Reading How Do I Know Which Study Guides are Right for Me?

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1Ls: Would you like some expert help and a chance to win a signed copy of Prof. Noreuil’s book, The Zen of Law School Success? Make an appointment to Meet with a Librarian and you will be entered into a drawing to win one of 6 copies of Prof. Noreuil’s book which offers a comprehensive approach to succeeding in law school based on the principals of simplicity and balance.
Our expert librarians can provide you with 1L memo and graduation paper assistance. They can teach you how to conduct a preemption check, help you choose a paper topic, offer feedback…
Continue Reading 1L Meet with a Librarian Contest!

Although she’s not on campus this semester, Professor Karen Bradshaw has been as busy as ever, recently publishing her latest article, Agency Engagement with Stakeholder Collaborations, in Wildfire Policy and Beyond, in the Arizona State Law Journal.  In it, Professor Bradshaw explores the ways that agencies in Washington, D.C., incorporate local concerns in land and natural resource decisions, focusing on Arizona, Alaska, and Maine.
Following a semester in which she added a second first-year course—Property, in addition to Contracts, to her teaching load, Professor Bradshaw plans to publish four more law journal articles this year, for a total of…
Continue Reading Faculty Spotlight: Professor Bradshaw and the Stakeholders of Sustainability

West Academic has a video course for first year law students. The 1L of a Ride video course is by Andrew McClurg, a professor at the University of Memphis School of Law. He wrote the law school prep book, 1L of a Ride on which this course is based.

You may also want to take a look at these digital books from West Academic.
Critical Reading for SuccessPresents critical reading strategies in a systematic sequence so…
Continue Reading 1L of a Ride Video Course and Much More from West Academic

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Welcome to all our new students and welcome back to our continuing students. The Law Library is pleased to make available to you two online study aids services.

Wolters Kluwer Online Study Aids provides unlimited online access to hundreds of titles. Some series that are available include:

  • Examples & Explanations (a law student favorite)
  • Emanuel Law Outlines
  • Glannon Guides
  • And much more!

Click here to access WK Online Study Aids.

You must be on the ASU campus to create an account. On the WK Study Aids home page, you will see Arizona State University College of Law in the…
Continue Reading Wolters Kluwer and West Academic Online Study Aids – Your Keys to Success

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If you haven’t picked up your Red Folder yet, please stop by the Law Library Circulation or Reference desks to get yours. It is filled with important information you will need to begin your epic law school journey.  The Law Library service desks are located on the third floor of the law school.
We can’t wait to meet you!

 
 
 
Continue Reading Welcome 1L Students! – Have You Picked Up Your Red Folder Yet?

 
The Ross-Blakley Law Library at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law is pleased to announce the 2019 recipients of The Ross-Blakley Law Library Award for Exemplary Student Research.
Walter Johnson is the first place award recipient for his paper Governance Tools for the Second Quantum Revolution. Johnson is a second year student. Grant Frazier and Jack Milligan tied for second place. Frazier is a third year student and Milligan is a second year student.  Frazier’s winning paper is titled, Using Your Head: A Different Approach to Tackling the NFL’s Concussion Epidemic.  Milligan’s winning paper is titled, Malmin v.
Continue Reading Walter Johnson 2L, Grant Frazier 3L, & Jack Milligan 2L – Honored for Exemplary Student Research

Wondering which research tools you can use this summer?  We have outlined summer 2019 access and post-graduation use policies for Bloomberg Law, LexisNexis, and Westlaw below.
Remember that you also have unlimited access to many other legal databases in addition to hundreds of interdisciplinary databases through the ASU Library this summer! The library staff is also here all summer long to help you with research. Call, e-mail, or stop by for assistance during reference hours.
Bloomberg LawBloomberg Law provides unrestricted summer access to all law students for any research purpose, whether academic or commercial.  You do not need to take any…
Continue Reading Summer 2019 and Post-Graduation Use of Bloomberg Law, LexisNexis, and Westlaw