Legal Research

Cape Wind Wins Federal Approval

Posted on April 29, 2010
Yesterday, the controversial Cape Wind project received federal approval. Although opponents vow to take the battle to court, specialists say this is a delaying tactic at best. Read more here.

Moakley Law Library Closed on March 17th

Posted on March 16, 2010
The Moakley Law Library will be closed on Wednesday, March 17th. In addition, the library's Web site and catalog will be down for maintenance from 5pm March 16th until 9am March 18th. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Massachusetts State Courts Facing another Budget Cut

Posted on March 12, 2010
The Boston Bar Association is working to forestall a proposed $10 million budget cut for the state courts. This comes after a steep cut last year and voluntary cuts by the courts. Read more about the problems facing the Massachusetts courts and budget problems of other state courts at law...

Kathleen Sullivan Becomes first Named Partner at an Am Law 100 Firm

Posted on March 12, 2010
Wow, when I read this I couldn't believe that this is the first time a woman has become a named partner in a top 100 law firm. Guess it takes a while to break into the upper-echelons. Read more at law.com.

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International Law Students Association - Spring Conference

Posted on March 09, 2010
The 2010 ILSA Spring Conference will be held March 25-26 at the Capital Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C. The Conference is entitled "International Law and the Individual." For more details, go here.

New Interlibrary Loan Request Form

Posted on February 18, 2010
The library now has an online form for current students and faculty to request books and articles that aren't available in the library or through our subscription databases.

New Westlaw & LexisNexis Features

Posted on February 12, 2010
Westlaw is introducing a new way to search called WestlawNext. There are some news stories and reviews at Information Today and Out of the Jungle. LexisNexis will be rolling out a version of their system that's integrated into Microsoft Word. There's a preview at 3 Geeks and Law Blog.

New Mass. Law Extends Harassment Protections

Posted on February 11, 2010
New Ch. 258E of the General Laws extends the legal protections available to stalking and sexual abuse victims by permitting them to receive protective orders against people who are neither domestic partners nor family members. Under Ch. 209A, the existing protective order statute, victims can receive such protective orders only if the abuser or stalker is a family member, someone living in their home, or someone with whom they have a ?substantial dating relationship...

California Supreme Court says DNA Arrest Warrant OK

Posted on February 10, 2010
The California Supreme Court ruled that an arrest warrant identifying a perpetrator solely by a DNA profile was valid under the state and federal constitution. The Fourth Amendment (and state equivalents) requires "particularity" when identifying someone...

Good News For Students Interested in Environmental Law

Posted on February 05, 2010
This Law.com article predicts an uptick in the need for environmental lawyers particularly in the areas of climate change and sustainability. Sign-up to receive a law.com newsletter or an RSS feed to stay current with career trends and legal news.

The ABA's 2010 Levit Essay Contest For Law Students and Young Lawyers

Posted on February 02, 2010
The contest encourages original and innovative research and writing in the area of legal malpractice law, professional liability insurance and loss prevention.The Prize is $5000.00 and a free trip to Washington, D.C. Submission deadline is February 19, 2010...

SCOTUS wiki

Posted on January 29, 2010
Some of you may be familiar with with SCOTUSblog as a great source for news about U.S. Supreme Court cases but you may not know they have a relatively new wiki.The SCOTUSwiki has information for cases argued before the Supreme Court since the October 2009 siting...

NYT Article: The 3 Facebook Settings Every User Should Check Now

Posted on January 27, 2010
Confused about the privacy changes Facebook made back in December? Check out this New York Times article that ran on January 20, 2010.

Supreme Court Overturns Corporate Campaign Spending Ban

Posted on January 23, 2010
In a 5-4 decision the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on First Amendment grounds that Congress may not bar corporations and unions from using their own money to make expenditures to support or oppose candidates for office. Justice Stevens wrote a 90 page dissent: http://www...

LexisNexis iPhone/iPod App

Posted on January 22, 2010
As mentioned previously, there's a version of Westlaw optimized for use on small devices like smartphones. Not to be outdone, LexisNexis has a free app for using their system on an iPhone or iPod Touch. You can find the app by going to the iTunes store and searching for LexisNexis...

Governor Patrick Signs Education Bill

Posted on January 16, 2010
Governor Deval Patrick will sign a education bill at a ceremony on Martin Luther King Day at the Children?s Museum. The bill will double the number of charter school seats in the state?s lowest-performing districts and would give superintendents power to overhaul failing schoolshttp://www...

GC Compensation

Posted on January 15, 2010
For those of you considering corporate law, see the latest law.com GC Annual Compensation Survey: http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202437895015&src=EMC-Email&et=editorial&bu=Law.com&pt=LAWCOM%20Newswire&cn=NW_20100113&kw=Great%20Responsibility%20Comes%20With%20Great%20Pay%2C%20GC%20Survey%20Shows&hbxlogin=1# (article with pertinent stats and links).

Senate Race - Information

Posted on January 15, 2010
Don't forget to vote on Tuesday, Jan. 19th.Scott Brown Website: http://brownforussenate.com/Martha Coakley Website: http://www.marthacoakley.com/Find your polling place: http://www.wheredoivotema.com/bal/myelectioninfo.phpFind out how the candidates stand on important issues: http://ontheissues...

Accessing Westlaw on Mobile Devices

Posted on January 13, 2010
Say you'd like to use Westlaw on your smartphone or a small wireless device like an iPod touch but don't like how cramped it looks on the small screen. Now there's a solution: Westlaw Wireless, a version of Westlaw optimized for the smaller screens on mobile devices...

16th Annual Rebellious Lawyering Conference at Yale

Posted on January 12, 2010
The RebLaw Conference is an annual, student-run conference that brings together practitioners, law students, and community advocates from around the country to discuss innovative, progressive approaches to law and social change. It will be held at Yale Law School, February 19 - 21, 2010...

Animal Law Conference at Harvard

Posted on January 11, 2010
The Future of Animal Law will be held at Harvard Law School, April 9 ? 11, 2010. The Conference is sponsored by the Animal Legal Defense Fund and the Harvard Law School Student ALDF chapter. For more information about this event, go here.

Massachusetts Acts and Resolves

Posted on January 22, 2009
The Massachusetts Acts and Resolves from 1876-2008 are now available online through the State Library. This makes doing historical research on Massachusetts Law much easier. A wonderful resource.Source: Massachusetts Law Updates

President Obama Resources

Posted on January 22, 2009
If you missed it the first time or just want to relive history, watch the inauguration here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/inaugural-address/.Get news on Barack Obama's first days in the White House:Huffington PostChicago TribuneSee the Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents for executive orders of the President...

Dianne Wilkerson Affidavit and News Coverage

Posted on October 29, 2008
Yesterday Dianne Wilkerson, Massachusetts state senator, was arrested on charges of attempted extortion and wire fraud. The following are some links to the affidavit and news coverage.AffidavitPhoenix article (including photos)Timeline of Sen. Wilkerson's Troubles (Boston Herald)

Senate Passes Emergency Economic Stabilization Act

Posted on October 02, 2008
Yesterday the U.S. Senate passed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. You can find the full-text of the latest version of this bill on the website of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. This web page also contains a one page summary and a section by section analysis...

Beyond LexisNexis and Westlaw

Posted on August 22, 2008
Legal research doesn't begin and end with LexisNexis and Westlaw. Broaden your horizens by coming to a database training session for an overview of law library databases as well as research tips and strategies. Could be the most productive half hour of your semester!Trainings will be held in room 725 in the library on the following dates:Tuesday, August 26th at 2pmWednesday, August 27th at 5pmThursday, August 28th at 3pmQuestions? Stop by the law library reference desk on the 6th floor of the library, email lawref@suffolk...

Welcome Back!

Posted on August 18, 2008
It's the start of a new year, and the law library has some help as you ease (or jump) back in.First, we'll be offering "roaming reference" services on the 4th floor near the cafeteria today (11-1 and 5-6), tomorrow (12-2 and 5-6), and this Thursday (11-2 and 5-6)...

ORIENTATION

Posted on August 12, 2008
Welcome! We'll be giving brief library tours to new law students between 7:00 and 9:00 PM on Tuesday, August 12. Please stop by the law library on the 6th floor for a tour.And stop by the reference desk any time with questions, research help, or just to get pointed in the right direction!

MCAD: Men Eligible for Maternity Leave

Posted on June 10, 2008
In what has been described as a "bombshell," MCAD Commissioner Martin B. Ebel recently stated that MCAD will in the future apply the Massachusetts Maternity Act in a gender-neutral fashion. This means that men, as well as women, may be eligible for maternity leave, despite the fact that the Act specifically applies to women...

Help With Your Summer Legal Writing

Posted on June 10, 2008
Need to write a client letter or legal memo and not quite sure how to go about it? Check out the law library's recently posted legal writing list on our Topics A-Z site. It's a recommended list of books covering various types of legal writing. Most of them have sample documents (e...

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