This Week in the Law Library ... July 1, 2024
This week in the Law Library we’re celebrating July 4th, looking at more bar exam resources, reviewing more basic legal research skills for summer, and celebrating Disability Pride Month.
Happy July 4th!
The Law Library will be closed July 4, 2024 to celebrate Independence Day. Law students and faculty will still have their 24/7 access. All of our online resources are also still available 24/7!
Bar Exam Study Resources
Congratulations! You have made it through law school but now the bar exam looms. Don’t worry, the Law Library’s got your back. When you’ve caught your breath and you’re ready to start your bar studying, we have resources that can help. Check out our Bar Exam Research Guide.
The July 2024 bar examination will be administered at the Roberts Centre, 123 Gano Road, Wilmington, Ohio July 30-31, 2024. The Holiday Inn Roberts Centre room block opens on May 14, 2024, at 11 am. Learn more at: Ohio Bar Exam
5 More Resources to Help You Study for the Bar Exam
The Bar Exam is not a sprint, it’s a marathon so pace yourself! Check out this week’s Bar Exam Resource highlights below.
Critical Reading for Success in Law School and Beyond (with video)
Available via the West Academic study aid subscription, this text identifies the reading strategies used by expert legal readers and presents the strategies in a systematic sequence.
The second edition adds chapters that address reading on screens and techniques for reading bar prep materials. The second edition also has a seventeen part video series with PowerPoint slides. Each video introduces a reading strategy, provides helpful tips, includes a short student exercise, and gives students the opportunity to self-assess their proficiency.
Mastering Multiple Choice for Federal Civil Procedure MBE Bar Prep and 1L Exam Prep
Available via the West Academic study aid subscription, this fourth edition (expanded with new questions, new answers, and new explanations) encompasses material reflecting all Civil Procedure Rule amendments through December 2021, along with applicable new case law through February 2022. This multiple choice practice book is designed for: (a) bar exam takers, who are preparing to take the MBE multiple choice bar exam, and (b) 1L law students, who are preparing to take their course examinations. This practice book offers practical, easy-to-follow advice on multiple choice exam-taking strategies, clear suggestions on effective multiple choice practicing techniques, and a robust set of Civil Procedure multiple choice practice questions with answers and explanations (designed to simulate MBE-style questions). Tables help users decode the tested-topic for each practice question.
Bar Exam Toolbox, Bar Exam 101
A collection of the Bar Exam Toolbox favorite posts in different topic areas, along with links to lots more content. From when to start studying to detailed tips for the bar exam essays.
Andrew Cohen & Thea Beckman, How to Take a Practice Bar Exam—23 Key Tips, Brainscape Academy
Taking practice bar exams is an extremely important part of efficiently studying. Not only does it identify your strengths and weaknesses, but it also helps you practice your test-taking strategies and improve your mental stamina. Working practice exams into your study schedule is critical to bar exam success. This article gives you 23 key tips on how to take a practice bar exam so that you squeeze the most possible benefit out of the time you spend.
JD Advising, How to Pass the Bar Exam the First Time Exam
This is a step-by-step approach on how to study and prepare for the bar exam.
You can see the previous week’s featured bar exam resources on our June 24, June 17, June 10, May 28, and May 21 posts.
Summer Legal Research Tips
Previously, we looked at:
Initial steps to take when you get a summer research project
Start by identifying the resources available to you at your place of summer employment and ask questions. Develop a research plan. Read more about developing a research plan on our Research Strategy & Documentation guide.
Then you may need to do background research about your issue before jumping into primary sources such as statutes and case law. A good secondary source can explain the law around your issue and cite you to primary sources. It can save you a lot of time and effort! Learn more about researching in secondary sources in our Researching Secondary Sources Guide or watch our videos on finding and searching within the various secondary source types.
Researching statutes in annotated codes
If your issue is statutory, you want to use an annotated code. An annotated code is a great research tool because it offers editorial enhancements such as: (1) cross references to related statutes and regulations; (2) more detailed historical notes, secondary source references; (3) if it is a Thomson Reuters code you will get topic and key number references to help you find cases; and (3) the case annotations.
Once in an annotated code, use the statutory finding tools like indexes, tables of contents, parallel reference tables, and the popular names table to find the statutory sections you need.
Updating and validating statutes
Update and validate your statutes by making sure that you are working with the most current version of a statute when researching a current issue and using Shepards and KeyCite to validate your statute and to identify any pending legislation that may impact your statute.
Historical and Superseded Codes
You can research historical codes using HeinOnline, Govinfo.gov, Bloomberg Law, Fastcase, Lexis, and Westlaw. You can also compare statutes on Lexis and Westlaw and be sure and always check the effective dates of statutes.
This week we will cover statutory surveys.
Statutory Surveys
Sometimes a researcher is asked to find statutes from multiple jurisdictions on a particular topic. If someone had already done all or part of the work for you, why not take advantage of that? That’s where a statutory survey can come in. Surveys can be very informative guides, but likely will need to be updated and verified before placing final reliance upon them.
Statutory Surveys on Lexis & Westlaw
Lexis and Westlaw both have 50-state surveys. You can search or browse these surveys. The surveys are on selected subjects and you will definitely want to verify statutes you will be using.
The State Law Comparison Tool in Lexis Practice Advisor allows you to efficiently compare laws across multiple states for a variety of practice areas and topics. To produce a comparison document, start by selecting the “Practical Guidance” icon located on the left-hand side of the Lexis+ homepage. Then click the State Law Comparison Tool link on the right. You can then select your practice area, topic, jurisdiction, and question.
Westlaw also has a service called Jurisdictional Surveys. Start with the citation of a statute you know, index terms that describe your topical target, or from a predefined topic page. The result list is a curated list of statutory sections that uses algorithms to account for varying terminology across all jurisdictions.
Subject Compilations of State Laws
Another place you can find a state code survey is in a publication called Subject Compilations of State Laws. This is an annual publication that identifies and describes multistate surveys that have been published since the 1960s in various types of sources, including books, articles, government documents, and websites. The series now includes over 20 volumes, with new volumes being added every year. Unfortunately, the volumes are not cumulative, so you need to consult each one if you want to find surveys on a certain topic from all time periods since the 1960s.
The publication gives you a citation to the survey. It does not give you the full-text of the survey. Still, it is an excellent way to find a treatise or law review where someone has done a survey. It is much more comprehensive subject-wise than the Lexis and Westlaw state surveys.
This publication is now searchable online through HeinOnline.
State Law Charts on Bloomberg Law
Bloomberg Law has a chart builder that you can use to create custom state law surveys. The Chart Builder feature is under the “Practitioner Tools” tab. Bloomberg Law organizes the charts into 9 broad practice areas: Banking & Consumer Finance, Bankruptcy, Blue Sky/Securities, Corporate, Data Security & Privacy, Health Care, Intellectual Property, Labor & Employment, and Tax. Each practice area has multiple subjects within it.
Once you find your desired subject, select the jurisdiction(s) and topic(s) you are interested in and create the chart.
Additionally, some of the Practice Centers on Bloomberg Law also let you build state law charts, reports and track developments.
Smart Charts on VitalLaw
VitalLaw also has smart charts that you can use to create custom state law surveys. Access all of the smart charts through the Practical Content tab.
National Conference of State Legislatures
One organization that compiles high quality surveys on a wide variety of topics is the National Conference of State Legislatures. They are much better on reporting legislation as opposed to codified statutes, but you can still find surveys on a wide variety of topics. Some of their resources are for members only but much of it is available to the public.
Other Organizations & Associations
In addition to these sources, keep in mind that many organizations and associations may conduct code surveys. Just be aware that it is often harder to tell how up to date such a source is and you don’t know who compiled it or how accurate it is.
Don’t forget that you can always find out more about researching statutes in our Researching Statutes Guide or watch our videos on finding and searching within annotated codes.
July Is Disability Pride Month!
Disability Pride Flag. A black flag with a lightning bolt of blue, yellow, white, red, and green. Source: Ann Magill/Public Domain
About Disability Pride Month
Disability Pride Month is an annual worldwide observance holiday during the month of July. It promotes awareness of disability as an identity, a community, a culture & the positive pride felt by disabled people. It directly challenges systematic ableism and discrimination. President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) into law in 1990 and in July of that same year, the first Disability Pride Day was celebrated in Boston.
This month, the American Bar Association’s Commission on Disability Rights invites you to take part in the #BeCounted campaign. The #BeCounted campaign encourages lawyers with disabilities across the country to add themselves to the ABA's U.S. map.
5 Resources to Learn More about Accessibility & Disability Issues
ABA Wide 21-Day Disability Equity Habit-Building Challenge
The ABA Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Council hosts a 21-Day Disability Equity Habit-Building Challenge syllabus in honor of Disability Pride Month. ABA members and non-members, including non-lawyers, are invited to participate in this Disability Equity Habit-Building Challenge©. Its goal is to assist each of us to become more aware and engaged in the quest for disability equity, and specifically to learn more about the members of the disability community, many of whom are from other marginalized communities, as well as barriers, biases, stereotypes, and discrimination they encounter in everyday life.
ABA Civil Rights and Civil Justice Section, Building a Neuroinclusive Legal Workplace: The Competitive Advantage of Diversity
Between 15-20% of the US population is neurodiverse. Neurodiversity is getting lots of attention, with more and more employers recognizing the benefits of diversity of thought and tapping into this talent pool. This panel of experts—including neurodivergent attorneys—discusses what neurodivergent means for employers and the workplace, the unique skills and abilities that accompany it, and what businesses should be doing about it. The panelists address the business case for hiring neurodivergent lawyers, provide best practices for recruiting, hiring, and retaining neurodivergent lawyers, share their initiatives and lessons they have learned along the way, and discuss what a neuroinclusive workplace looks like.
ABA Commission on Disability Rights, Implicit Biases & People with Disabilities
The American Bar Association’s Commission on Disability Rights has created this resource to increase awareness of implicit biases, both in general and in particular with regard to persons with disabilities, and to offer techniques to help mitigate these biases. We begin with an overview of implicit bias, in particular what is implicit bias, where do such biases originate, how can we measure them, why are they harmful, and how can we mitigate them. This is followed by a series of questions and scenarios that will allow you to examine your implicit biases about persons with disabilities.
ABA Commission on Disability Rights, Why Hire Lawyers with Disabilities? (Video)
The American Bar Association’s Commission on Disability Rights and the Law School Admission Council created the following video, featuring disabled lawyers and law students as well as law school professionals, discussing why disability diversity, equity, and inclusion are essential to the legal profession and why employers should recruit, hire, retain, and advance this untapped talent pool.
Washington University in St. Louis, Disability Justice Self-Study Guide
This guide explores concepts of disability justice and accessibility. Topics include physical, cognitive, intellectual, and mental disabilities; accessibility, broadly defined; ableism in education; and intersections of ableism with other systems of oppression.
Posted on July 1, 2024 by Susan Boland