LexisNexis has recently launched the LexisNexis Associates Serving Public Interest Research (ASPIRE) Program, offering complimentary access to all 2009 law school graduates pursuing verifiable public interest service (non-profit or charitable) work.  Click here for complete details and registration information.

On April 1, 2009, the Rules of Professional Conduct will replace the New York Code of Professional Responsibility.  You can access the new rules at the New York State Unified Court System Uniform Rules page.  Highlights of significant changes in the new rules are available here.

From today’s New York Law Journal:

Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye and the four presiding Appellate Division justices have formally adopted a new set of attorney ethics rules that proponents say brings New York lawyers in line with their counterparts in most of the rest of the country.

The Rules of Professional Conduct align ethics standards in form and numbering sequence with the American Bar Association’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct. That change will make it easier for New York attorneys to reference ethics rules and advisory and legal opinions nationwide when researching issues, supporters of the new rules say.

“It is a tremendous relief to now speak the same language as the rest of the country,” said Steven C. Krane, chairman of the New York State Bar Association’s Committee on Standards of Attorney Conduct, which proposed the revisions. “The code is dead. Long live the rules.”

Starting April 1, 2009, the Rules of Professional Conduct will replace the New York Code of Professional Responsibility.

Here is the link to the full story (free).

Among the Quick Links on your NYLS Portal Homepage you’ll see a link to the Website of the New York Law Journal. If you’re not already familiar with the NYLJ, you should take a look. It’s the daily newspaper of record for New York lawyers, providing unique coverage of both local legal issues, and the practicing bar. But the NYLJ contains more than just reportage, it also includes news of recent court decisions, which are often reprinted in full text. All of this is invaluable to New York lawyers, and to students who plan to become New York lawyers.

There’s also something else you should know about the NYLJ Website. Not all of the information presented there is free. The headlines, and the text of many of the major articles are free content for anyone who visits the site. But there are other categories of content on the site, and access to “premium content” is limited to individual paid subscribers. The premium content is clearly identified on the site, with a key icon sitting next to the link. If you click on a link that’s next to a key, you’ll be asked for a subscriber’s username and password.

Since NYLJ markets its subscriptions to individual subscribers only, NYLS Library is not permitted to distribute subscriber usernames and passwords to the NYLS community. If you bring your laptop to the 4th floor Reference Desk, the librarian there can log you on so that you have free access to everything. But the Library cannot help you gain access to premium NYLJ content if you’re outside the Library.

That’s the bad news. The good news is that you have other ways to get NYLJ content. First of all, we receive copies of the paper edition in the Library, so you can come by and read it daily. Also, selected NYLJ news and editorials and all “Decisions of Interest,” dating back to 1989, are available via Westlaw. So if you have a Westlaw password, and Westlaw searching skills, you can easily access the premium materials that the NYLJ Website won’t let you see.

Beyond the NYLJ, the Library recommends another Website: New York Lawyer http://www.nylawyer.com. Produced by the same company that publishes the NYLJ, New York Lawyer is a free news site geared toward students and lawyers who are just starting out in practice. It’s the home of the New York Buzz, a free email service that delivers a daily summary of local legal news to your email box. If you have questions about the New York Lawyer, the NYLJ, or if you need any sort of research help, just contact the Library Reference Desk at 212-431-2332.

Want to develop practical skills and approaches to master your summer employment?

Attend the March 28, 2008 Bridge the Gap program at the New York City Bar, sponsored by the Law Library Association of Greater New York. Click here for a PDF version of the program announcement and registration form.

This full-day program will enhance your research skills in a number of specific practice areas (including intellectual property, employment and labor, tax, corporate transactions and securities, criminal law, commercial litigation, legal ethics, bankruptcy, and international and foreign law). The program concludes with a panel discussion about life as a summer associate. Panel members include Judge Elizabeth S. Stong, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Eastern District of New York, Peter J.W. Sherwin, a litigation partner at Proskauer Rose LLP, Jeffrey Levitt, an associate at Fitzpatrick, Cella, Harper & Scinto, and Heide-Marie Bliss, NY Library Manager at O’Melveny & Meyers LLP.

Check out Beyond the Big Firm: Profiles of Lawyers Who Want Something More, a new title in the Mendik Library collection.  The book features profiles of more than thirty lawyers whose choices have led them to a wide variety of careers in law.  [KF299.P8 M67 2007]  Click here to view the table of contents.

The New York City Bar will again be offering free access to the City Bar’s library from May through August for all summer associates employed by a member of the association.   The Library is located at 42 West 44th Street in Manhattan.  Summer hours beginning May 21 will be Monday – Thursday 9 a.m. – 9 p.m. and Friday 9 a.m. – 7 p.m.   For additional information, contact the New York City Bar Library at 212-382-6739 or your firm librarian.