Ideas for Decompressing at the Moritz Law Library and Nearby

It’s abundantly clear that exams are around the corner. You likely know about law library tools available to you such as study aids (online and in print) and CALI. If you need to unwind or escape exam chatter, consider the options below at the library or nearby.

·         The Interfaith Prayer and Reflection Room is open across the street at the Ohio Union.

·         Take a short walk to the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum and browse its current exhibits, including one on portraits and satiric drawings of Presidents.

·         Spend some time with therapy animals at nearby locations on campus.

·         Check out a chess set (courtesy of Prof. Spindelman), playing cards, or a coloring book at the Moritz Law Library circulation desk.

·         Browse law-related popular DVDs or fiction in the Moritz Law Library reserve room.

·         Interested in mindfulness? Consider borrowing the books, Mindfulness and Professional Responsibility or Mindfulness for Law Students. The Moritz Law Library also have a number of other books on law student wellness you might consider.

·         Finally, note the variety of health and wellness resources on the Moritz website on such topics as mental health, mindfulness, and relaxation, as well as related resources on the ABA for Law Students site.

Legal Research Beyond Westlaw and Lexis

Interested in exploring legal research systems beyond Westlaw Edge, Lexis Advance, and Bloomberg Law? There are other options available through the Moritz Law Library and free legal websites. While these options have limitations, such as a much more limited set of secondary sources and the lack of citator tools as effective as KeyCite and Shepard’s, they are alternatives used by many attorneys practicing in the solo and small firm environment. See some of the possibilities below.

• Fastcase. Accessible through the Moritz Law Library and to members of local bar associations such as the Columbus Bar Association

•  Casemaker. Free to law students and faculty who register; also accessible to members of statewide bar associations like the Ohio State Bar Association

• Casetext. Free to law students and faculty who register

If you have questions about additional resources, ask a Moritz reference librarian. These alternatives are typically incorporated into Advanced Legal Research courses, so consider taking one in your second or third year. Also, stay tuned for information about a library session on low-cost and free legal research alternatives in the spring semester.

Try Interactive CALI Lessons for Studying and Class Prep

The Moritz Law Library offers law students access to web-based legal tutorials and other resources provided by the Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction (CALI), a non-profit consortium of law schools, law libraries, and related organizations. CALI provides law students at member schools access to over 1,000 computer-based, interactive “lessons” that cover over 40 subject areas, including first-year courses like civil procedure, criminal law, and contracts. These lessons, which are created by law professors, are useful as a supplemental learning tool. CALI also features a growing eBook collection, which includes casebooks, federal rules of procedure and evidence, law-related literature, and even law-related coloring books.

To access CALI lessons, new users must click the “Register” link in the upper right corner of the webpage, at: http://cali.org. You will be asked for an authorization code and an email address. Enter your Moritz student code and use your OSU email address. Please contact a Moritz reference librarian if you need assistance or if you have questions about additional study aids in print or online.

Request a Research Consultation with a Moritz Librarian

If you are writing a research paper for a seminar or a note for a law review or journal this semester, or if you are a research assistant and are working on a difficult project, now might be a good time to schedule an in-office research consultation with a Moritz Law Library reference librarian. These individual meetings are scheduled in advance to give the librarians time to prepare useful research strategies and sources to help you get started researching your particular issue or topic. Stop by now to get a head start on those long papers or really complex research topics.

To request a research consultation, go to https://moritzlaw.osu.edu/lib/services/request-a-research-consultation/ and fill out the online form with a description of your research project and the times you are available to meet. Reference librarians are available to meet during business hours, Monday through Friday, typically within 2-3 business days after your request is submitted. If you need research assistance sooner, please stop by the Reference Desk. Reference Desk hours and contact info can be found on the Ask a Librarian page.

Additional Tips for Scholarly Writing Resources

The Moritz Law Library has created a list of resources relevant to writing a scholarly paper, including books on academic legal writing, scholarly research tools, and more. (Don’t forget to check out our other library guides on numerous topics!)

Here are a few research tips for academic legal writing:

• Sign up for a research consultation with a reference librarian at any stage, from topic selection to developing background research.
• Explore the world beyond Google. The Moritz Law Library and OSU Libraries offer a wide range of databases, books, journals, and news sources that will allow you to be more comprehensive, current, and precise in your research.
• Keep track of your research process so that you don’t repeat steps and so that you can cite sources properly.
• Synthesize sources. Academic legal writing draws on many supporting sources rather than only a few.
• As you read law review articles, take note of the range and frequency of citations as a model for your own work.

Lincoln L. Davies Bibliography

The Ohio State University recently announced the new dean of the Moritz College of Law, Lincoln L. Davies. In Davies, the college gains an expert in energy law. Learn more about Davies’ work with this bibliography compiled by the Moritz Law Library. Where possible links are to open access sources. 

Articles: 

Eulogizing Renewable Energy Policy, 33 J. Land Use & Envtl. Law 309 (2018). 

Climate Regulation of the Electricity Industry: A Comparative View from Australia, Great Britain, South Korea, and the United States, 13 S.C. J. Int’l L. & Bus. 109 (2017). (with Penelope Crossley, Peter Connor, Siwon Park & Shelby Shaw-Hughes) 

Making Sense of the Rapidly Evolving Legal Landscape of Solar Energy Support Regimes, 6 KLRI J.L. & Legis. 81 (2016). 

Emerging Shadows in National Solar Policy? Nevada’s Net Metering Transition in Context, 30 Electricity J. 33 (2017) (with Sanya Carley). 

The Role of Natural Gas in the Clean Power Plan, 49 J. Marshall L. Rev. 325 (2016) (with Victoria Luman). 

Incomplete Integration: Water, Drought, and Electricity Planning in the West, 31 J. Envtl. L. & Litig. 167 (2016) (with Victoria Luman). 

Energy, Consumption, and the Amorality of Energy Law, 109 AJIL Unbound 147 (2015). 

Fukushima’s Shadow, 48 Vand. J. Transnat’l L. 1083 (2015) (with Alexis Jones). 

U.S. Renewable Energy Policy in Context, 15 Envtl. L. & Pol’y 33 (2015). 

Evaluating RPS Policy Design: Metrics, Gaps, Best Practices, and Paths to Innovation, 4 KLRI J.L. & Legis. 3 (2014). 

Feed-In Tariffs in Turmoil, 116 W. Va. L. Rev. 937 (2014) (with Kristen Allen). 

Understanding Barriers to Commercial-Scale Carbon Capture and Sequestration in the United States: An Empirical Assessment, 59 Energy Pol’y 745 (2013) (with Kirsten Uchitel & John Ruple). 

Tracing U.S. Renewable Energy Policy, 43 Envtl. L. Rep. 10320 (2013). 

Beyond Fukushima: Disasters, Nuclear Energy, and Energy Law, 2011 BYU L. Rev. 1937 (2011). 

Reconciling Renewable Portfolio Standards and Feed-In Tariffs, 32 Utah Envtl. L. Rev. 311 (2012). 

State Renewable Portfolio Standards: Is There a “Race” and Is It “To the Top”?, 3 San Diego J. Climate & Energy L. 3 (2011). 

Incentivizing Renewable Energy Deployment: Renewable Portfolio Standards and Feed-In Tariffs, 1 KLRI J.L. & Legis. 39 (2011). 

Power Forward: The Argument for a National RPS, 42 Conn. L. Rev. 1339 (2010). 

Standing, On Appeal, 2010 U. Ill. L. Rev. 957 (2010) (with Amy J. Wildermuth). 

Alternative Energy and the Energy-Environment Disconnect, 46 Idaho L. Rev. 473 (2010). 

Assured Water Supply Laws in the Sustainability Context, 4 Golden Gate U. Envtl. L.J. 167 (2010). 

East Going West? The Promise of Assured Supply Laws in Modern Real Estate Development, 43 J. Marshall L. Rev. 319 (2010). 

Skull Valley Crossroads: Reconciling Native Sovereignty and the Federal Trust, 68 Md. L. Rev. 290 (2009). 

Energy Policy Today and Tomorrow – Toward Sustainability?, 29 J. Land Resources & Envtl. L. 71 (2009). 

Just a Big, “Hot Fuss”? Assessing the Value of Connecting Suburban Sprawl, Land Use, and Water Rights Through Assured Supply Laws, 34 Ecology L.Q. 1217 (2007). 

Lessons for an Endangered Movement: What a Historical Juxtaposition of the Legal Response to Civil Rights and Environmentalism Has to Teach Environmentalists Today, 31 Envtl. L. 229 (2001). 

If You Give the Court a Commerce Clause: An Environmental Justice Critique of Supreme Court Interstate Waste Jurisprudence, 11 Fordham Envtl. L.J. 207 (1999). 

Working Toward a Common Goal? Three Case Studies of Brownfields Redevelopment in Environmental Justice Communities, 18 Stan. Envtl. L.J. 285 (1999). 

Books: 

Energy Law and Policy: Cases and Materials (2d 2018) (with Alexandra Klass, Hari Osofsky, Elizabeth Wilson & Joseph Tomain). 

United States of America, International Encyclopedia of Laws: Energy Law (2015) (with Joseph Tomain). 

Energy Law in the United States (2015) (with Joseph Tomain). 

Energy Law and Policy: Cases and Materials (2014) (with Alexandra Klass, Hari Osofsky, Elizabeth Wilson & Joseph Tomain).