Moritz Legal Information Blog

As the November general election approaches, be prepared to explore the issues and topics surrounding election law by using the Moritz Law Library’s new Election Law Research Guide . The guide contains links and guidance on a wealth of election law resources, including primary sources, books and journals, data and statistics, blogs and websites, and interdisciplinary resources. The primary sources section provides helpful tips for locating relevant state and federal statutes as well as cases on particular election law topics. The books and journals portion lists key secondary sources on topics such as voting rights, election administration, and campaign finance. Included among the data and statistics are links to information on election results, redistricting maps, and lobbying and campaign finance disclosures. The guide draws on much of the material gathered by Dean Sara Sampson in the Election Law Research Guide that appears as an appendix to the casebook of Lowenstein, Hasen, an

If you are writing a research paper for a seminar or a note for a law review or journal this semester, now might be a good time to schedule an in-office research consultation with a Moritz Law Library reference librarian. Research consultations are especially helpful when you're beginning a project, as your consulting librarian will work with you to devise a research strategies and identify key databases and tools. To request a research consultation, go to http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/lib/research/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 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Consultations are typically scheduled within 2-3 business days after your request is submitted in order to give the consulting librarian time to prepare. If you need research assistance sooner, please stop by the Reference Desk. Reference Desk hours an

Interested in researching the early history of the Moritz College of Law or locating information about former students, alumni, faculty and staff who contributed to the success of the College over the years? You may have already browsed the College’s website featuring a wealth of historical information celebrating the 125th Anniversary of the College’s founding, with law classes held for the first time on October 1, 1891. A new research guide on College History: Digital Collections & Archives also features library resources and digital archives of interest to Moritz researchers. The guide provides selected highlights of College history and directs users to further information on digital collections, print archives and pictorial resources. Digital collections include the College of Law Class Composites (1902-1996), alumni and student publications such as All Rise , Buckeye Barrister and the Law Record , as well as all five law journals, beginning with the Ohio State Law Journa

Where can I find state legislative history documents? How do I cite to an administrative decision? Get answers to these sorts of questions quickly and easily by chatting with a Moritz reference librarian. Just pull open your web browser and go to http://moritzlaw.osu.libguides.com/AskALibrarian to use the Moritz Law Library’s chat reference service. Online chat services are available during normal reference desk hours, Monday through Friday, 10am-5pm, and Sunday, 1pm-5pm. Chat reference generally works best with relatively straightforward questions. For more complicated or in-depth research questions, it is still best to visit the reference desk or request a research consultation .

Would you like to see a simple checklist of jury objections or examples of specific contract clauses? The Moritz Law Library provides students and faculty access to the Practicing Law Institute’s Discover Plus database, which offers forms, treatises, and continuing legal education materials on a wide range of topics, from employee benefits to family law to intellectual property. PLI is a nonprofit continuing legal education and professional business training organization. Because the materials are written by and for practitioners, Discover Plus is a great place to look for very specific guidance on managing deals, handling litigation, and deciphering rapidly developing areas of law. Here are some examples of books available on Discover Plus: Working With Contracts: What Law School Doesn’t Teach You  How to Handle an Appeal  Secured Transactions 2016: What Lawyers Need To Know About UCC Article 9  Ohio New Lawyers Training You can search by title or area of law, but also by

Working on a group project for class? Sharing documents or images with others? All OSU students, faculty, and staff have access to BuckeyeBox , a cloud-based collaboration tool that allows users to conveniently store and share digital files. To set up a BuckeyeBox account, go to https://box.osu.edu and click on the red “Sign Up” box in the upper-right corner. Setting up the account is easy -- just enter your OSU username.# and password, which you’ll also use to log in. Files stored on your computer can be dragged and dropped into your BuckeyeBox account. Box apps are available for access from mobile devices. BuckeyeBox is designed as an easy way to share files and folders, but should not be used for restricted data. Storage space on BuckeyeBox is unlimited. Also, as an Ohio State University student, you can install Microsoft Office 365 on your personal Mac or PC for no charge. Details are available at https://osuitsm.service-now.com/selfservice/kb_view.do?sysparm_article=kb04725 .

The Moritz Law Library’s reference librarians and circulation staff are sadly not always available to answer questions about research or library services. Fortunately, you can always find helpful information and guidance on our many research guides available online at http://moritzlaw.osu.libguides.com/ . The Moritz librarians have created these guides to bring together resources, materials, and databases relevant to particular areas of law or groups of library users. Over the summer, we added a number of new research guides, including the following: Law Student Services ( http://moritzlaw.osu.libguides.com/lawstudentservices ) covers the research, circulation, and study support services available to Moritz law students. Election Law ( http://moritzlaw.osu.libguides.com/electionlaw ) pulls together relevant sources and provides guidance on researching election law issues. Foreign and International Legal Research ( http://moritzlaw.osu.libguides.com/fcil ) contains resources and