Law School

Enter the Supreme Court Challenge

Bloomberg Law and the SCOTUSblog are offering cash prizes to the top three student teams in a competition to predict the outcomes of six Supreme Court cases and six cert. petitions that will be considered by the Court in March.  First prize — $3,500; second prize — $1,500; third prize — $1,000.  There will be cash bonuses for teams that “beat the experts.”  Details appear below.  Make sure to visit www.scotuscompetition.com for information and the official rules.  Note the deadlines for registering (February 28) and for submitting your picks (March 14).  Good luck!

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You are invited to participate in Bloomberg Law and SCOTUSblog’s Supreme Court Challenge! Teams of up to five law students from New York Law School will use resources available on Bloomberg Law (www.bloomberglaw.com) and SCOTUSblog (www.scotusblog.com) – including opinions, Supreme Court briefs, Justices’ profiles, and news – to perform any research needed to make predictions for merits cases and cert. petitions that will be considered by the Court in March 2013.

Prizes will be awarded to the three student teams with the most points as follows:

 *First prize is a minimum of $3,500, with an additional $1,500 awarded if your team also beats the experts at SCOTUSblog.

 *Second prize is $1,500 with an additional $1,000 if they beat the SCOTUSblog team.

 *Third prize is $1,000, with an additional $500 if they beat the SCOTUSblog team.

Blaise Woodworth and Eric Hanson, your Bloomberg Law Product Advocates, are available to answer any questions. Blaise & Eric will be at the Bloomberg Law table on the 5th floor every Tuesday & Wednesday from 11-4pm . They can also be reached at blaise.woodworth@law.nyls.edu / eric.hanson@law.nyls.edu.

All teams must be registered by February 28th and submit picks by March 14th, so visit www.scotuscompetition.com today for more information and the official rules.

 

Racial Justice Project Files Amicus Brief with United States Supreme Court

Congratulations to the NYLS Racial Justice Project, which recently filed an amicus brief on behalf of Congressman John Lewis in Shelby County v. Holder. The case challenges the constitutionality of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and will be argued before the Supreme Court on February 27. The brief attests to the high price many paid for the enactment of the law and discusses the mechanisms that continue to suppress, dilute, and infringe upon minorities’ right to vote. Hats off to co-authors Associate Dean Deborah Archer; Professors Tamara Belinfanti, Erika Wood and Aderson Francois of Howard University; and Civil Rights Clinic students Sondah Ouattara, Cortney Nadolney, Jeremiah Rygus, Jason Sender, Joycelyn Pittard, Shantal Sparks, Vanessa Craivero, Megan Crespo, Jacob Korder, Sonia Tapryal and Will Lemon.

NYLS Law Students “Friend” the Supreme Court

Congratulations to the students and faculty of the NYLS Racial Justice Project for completing and filing an amicus curiae brief in Fisher v. Univ. of Tex. at Austin, 631 F.2d 213 (5th Cir. 2011), cert. granted 132 S. Ct. 1536 (Feb. 21, 2012) (No. 11-345) a case the U.S. Supreme Court will hear in October.  The case is a challenge to UT Austin’s consideration of race as a factor in undergraduate admissions and will be the first time the Court addresses affirmative action in higher education since Grutter v. Bollinger, 539 U.S. 306 (2003).The brief was written on behalf of the National Black Law Students Association and responds to arguments in other briefs that race-conscious admissions programs demoralize minority students, exposing them to stigma and academic environments in which they are outmatched.  A copy of the brief is attached here.

Hats off to students Matthew Hellman (’12), Christopher Binns (’12), Lailah Pepe (’13), Joycelyn Pittard (’13) and Xan Marshall (’13), and, of course, Professors Deborah Archer, Susan Abraham and Aderson Francois.

NYLS Commencement Through the Years

Congratulations to the graduating class of 2012!  May 21st will mark New York Law School’s 120th Commencement Exercises.  This year’s ceremony will be held at Radio City Music Hall.  Did you know that in 1899 the graduation ceremony was held at Carnegie Hall?

Commencement ceremonies give us time to celebrate our new graduates and time to honor all the Law School’s previous graduates.  It is always fun to view this slice of our history by looking back at the Law School’s Commencement Exercises Programs.  The Library has created an exhibit of Commencement Programs spanning three centuries!  We invite you to take a quick break and walk by the display case in the Library’s Rare Book Room (L302) to see Programs from 1894, 1899, 1900, 1903, 1906, 1925, 1933, 1975, 1985, 1995, 2005 and more . . . .

                                                                                                                                                     
 NYLS Commencement Exercises – 1913

Research is a Beach

Come play in the sand this summer as you sharpen your legal research skills.   There are still a few spots left in this summer’s one-credit Legal Research Practical Skills course.  It’s guaranteed to make you the researcher you always wanted to be (or the one you now realize you need to be).  Sand toys are included and there’s plenty of room to pitch your umbrella.  Swimsuits not required!  The course meets Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4:30-5:45, June 5th through July 7th.  Register via the Registration 2012_2013 Channel on the Portal’s Home tab.

If you’re not drawn to the beach, we will also be offering this summer a series of non-credit legal research workshops (30-45 minutes each) covering such important areas as legislative history,  regulations,  the anatomy of a lawsuit, Bluebooking, “power Googling,” and others.  Watch the Library’s home page for scheduling and sign-up information toward the end of May.

TAX BNA Training

If you are taking any tax classes or are interested in tax law,  you may want to sign up to learn about the BNA Tax and Accounting Center.  BNA offers the very popular Tax Management Portfolios with in depth discussion and references to tax primary sources.  Portfolios are available on a variety of topics ranging from Doing Business in Brazil to Golden Parachutes.  BNA provides access to primary sources as well as detailed analysis of tax issues in the areas of U.S. Income, Federal Estates and Gifts, and Foreign and International Tax.  Classes will be taught by Tome Tanevski, an attorney editor of the BNA Tax Management Portfolios.

When:  Thursday Oct. 20  6:00-6:50
Where:  Library Room L206
Sign up:  Send email to Rosalie Sanderson at rsanderson@nyls.edu

Don’t miss this great opportunity!!

 

Learn to Use BNA Online for Legal Research

BNA, a leading legal publisher used extensively by practicing attorneys, can be a valuable component in your legal research toolbox.  Don’t miss these opportunities to learn how to use it effectively. No preregistration is required for any of the 45-minute sessions.

Legal Research Using BNA

Students will learn how to conduct legal research using BNA online resources. Using BNA’s current awareness services, students will learn how to recognize emerging legal trends, locate paper topics, and sign up for e-mail alerts in subject areas of interest. Using BNA’s online Web libraries, students will gain an in-depth exposure to specific sources such as tax, labor and employment law, and intellectual property law, and will gain an understanding of how to use these secondary sources of law to conduct comprehensive legal research.

Friday September 23rd at 11:00 am – 11:45 am
Tuesday September 27th at 11:00 am – 11:45 am
Room L206

Federal Tax Research with BNA Tax Management Portfolios

Participants will learn how to use BNA’s Tax and Accounting Center (BTAC) — an all-in-one resource—to get the complete answer to any federal tax question quickly.  Learn how to use a variety of search methods, including code section or word searching, and how to use BNA’s topical indexes. The Tax and Accounting Center fully integrates all BNA Federal Tax Management Portfolios— US Income, Estate Gifts & Trusts, Foreign — as well as news and analysis in the Tax Management Weekly Report and primary sources.

Friday September 23rd at 12 noon – 12:45 pm
Tuesday September 27th at 12:00 noon – 12:45 pm
Room L206

 

Bridge the Gap between Law School and Practice

Want to develop practical skills and strategies for success in your summer job?  Register to attend the Bridge the Gap, an educational program sponsored every year by the Law Library Association of Greater New York.  This year’s Bridge the Gap will be held here at New York Law School on Friday, April 8.  Click here for a PDF version of the detailed program announcement and registration form.

The full-day program will enhance your research skills in a number of specific practice areas (including Bankruptcy Litigation, Business/Company Research, Business Related Tax Issues, Consumer Credit/Bankruptcy/Mortgages, Domestic Violence, Immigration, Legal Process of Litigation, Securities & Corporate Law, and Transnational Aspects of Litigation.)  The program concludes with a panel discussion among practitioners from different legal venues. Panel members will describe the typical expectations for summer law student employees, and offer advice on how to be successful in a summer law job.

A Day in the Life of a 1L

On a Wednesday in April 2008, during the second semester of his first year of law school, Jesse Nix decided to capture “a normal” day of his life as a student at the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law.  “I set my computer to take a picture every 30 seconds . . . .”

Nix chose Wednesday because it was his busiest day of the week.  He began filming on his car ride to campus at 7:45 a.m. and stopped filming at 3:00 p.m.  “I didn’t want to film me studying for hours and hours, so I decided to stop it on my way back home.”

Nix’s resulting “video representation” is now the popular YouTube video “A Day in the Life of a Law Student.”

Enjoy!

 

Important Information About Westlaw Passwords

Beginning last November, Westlaw started prompting you at sign in to create or update your Westlaw OnePass account to conform with new security requirements. Patrons who declined to do so, however, were still allowed to access Westlaw.

Please note that after Monday, May 31st, that option will no longer exist and you will be required to create or update your OnePass account before you are able to access Westlaw.

Please go to http://lawschool.westlaw.com and click on the “Register Password” link on the bottom left side of the screen. Click on “Updating Your Account Information”, enter your Username and Password (or your Westlaw Password) at the next screen, and then create (or update) your OnePass custom ID and password.

If you need additional assistance, please contact the Reference Desk.