Moritz Legal Information Blog

Libraries provide all kinds of things.  Including books , ebooks, databases of journal articles, images, and  music .  We also share our research expertise at reference desks and through research guides .  During national library week (April 12 - 18), we're asking you to tell us how libraries have helped you out the past year.  In return, you have a chance to win a gift certificate. You can celebrate national library week by sharing what you've made with help from your library, including Moritz, on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram using the hashtag #librarymade.  The American Library Association will award a $100 gift certificate to Maker Shed or Amazon to a lucky winner.  (Promotion details are available here .) Lexis has decided to celebrate national library week by donating coupons for free study aids.  The first two current Moritz Law students who email me  a short description of how Moritz Law Library has helped them will receive a coupon for a free  Lexis Q & A e

In a previous post , we highlighted the curious statistics that suggest it's not so hard to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court . . . if you've done it before. From that post, Reuters news service did a little research and produced The Echo Chamber, which concluded that in the last nine years, "66 of the 17,000 lawyers who petitioned the Supreme Court succeeded at getting their clients’ appeals heard at a remarkable rate. Their appeals were at least six times more likely to be accepted by the court than were all others filed by private lawyers during that period." But there may be more to the story when it comes to some legal issues. From the New York Times, The Case Against Gay Marriage: Top Law Firms Won’t Touch It .  That doesn't mean those arguing against gay marriage (or, possibly, in favor of states' rights) are from tiny mom-and-pop firms that have never stood before the Court before. In one case coming up on April 28, "the main lawyer opposi

Perhaps the best way to nurse the sorrow of a failed NCAA bracket is to embrace the start of baseball season. For a legal angle on the sport, take a look at one of our books on baseball law or on what it means to be a sports agent: The Little White Book of Baseball Law Baseball on Trial: The Origin of Baseball's Antitrust Exemption May the Best Team Win: Baseball Economics and Public Policy Legal Issues in Professional Baseball Legal Decisions that Shaped Modern Baseball How to Play the Game: What Every Sports Attorney Needs to Know Sports Agent Responsibility and Trust Act Representing the Professional Athlete And for fun, take a look at Malcolm Gladwell's 2010 article Talent Grab: Why Do We Pay Our Stars So Much Money?  Some interesting data from the article (with meaning for baseball players and lawyers alike): In baseball, between the mid-nineteen-forties and the mid-nineteen-sixties, the game’s minimum and highest salaries both fell by more than a third, in c

Commerce.gov has a newly-designed website intended to increase usability. "That's great!" you might be thinking, "but what on earth is Commerce.gov?" The answer, "It's the website for the Department of Commerce," may still leave you scratching your head a bit because what on earth does the Department of Commerce do ? "The mission of the Department is to create the conditions for economic growth and opportunity. As part of the Obama administration’s economic team, the Secretary of Commerce serves as the voice of U.S. business within the President’s Cabinet.  The  Strategic Plan is how the Department maintains its focus on achieving its Open for Business Agenda ." And so...? Well, the Department was established in 1903 with the goal of promoting economic growth, create jobs, and encourage sustainable development. From 1903-1913, the Department included commerce and labor until the Department of Labor was established in 1913. The

Thanks to the many Moritz students who completed the Moritz Law Library and Technology survey. The Library and IT Department are reviewing responses as part of the planning process already underway. Your input is much-appreciated. Congratulations to 2L Allison Haugen who won the Barnes & Noble gift card! Look for a comment box coming soon to the circulation desk for passing on any additional input.

In the recent article Marijuana Is Changing the Workplace. Here’s How Employers Should Deal With It.,  Slate .com's headline is curious---how should employers respond to employees' use of legal medical marijuana?---as though there are a myriad of options. The source of the article, Inc.com, takes more of a proactive approach with its headline: Why You Need a Workplace Marijuana Policy . In any case, not knowing or understanding the law doesn't mean an employer can choose whether to follow it. Thank heavens for lawyers who get paid to explain to client the state of the law and recommend sound policies and courses of action. The article begins with "be familiar with the laws that have been passed in their states...." You could try to find your state's laws on the subject; that might be sufficient to create a policy for any of your clients that employ people. Why not do that and track trends for your clients? Consider figuring out how every state handles t

It might be tempting after you've finished your seminar paper or journal note to just file it away and move on to the next thing.  Why not enter it into a writing competition?  Moritz students have been successful in recent competitions, even winning a trip to the Grammys . There is no single list of all law student writing competitions.  So check out several of the links below to find the right competition for your paper. The American Bar Association has compiled all of its student writing competitions into a handy guide. Richmond School of Law's Legal Essay Contest Catalog is a robust collection of contests. Try out the filter feature to see just the competitions on a particular subject. George Washington Law School maintains an excel file with over 200 competitions over the world.