Research

Introducing Fastcase

The Library is happy to announce the addition of Fastcase to the long list of electronic resources we offer the NYLS community.

Comparable in many ways to Lexis and Westlaw, Fastcase is a legal research service providing full-text searchable access to comprehensive libraries of federal and state cases, statutes, constitutions, court rules, administrative regulations, and attorney general opinions.  The robust service has recently expanded to offer libraries of newspapers, federal court filings, and legal forms.

Unlike Lexis and Westlaw, Fastcase will not restrict student access to its research libraries in June.  You’ll be able to use Fastcase libraries all summer long, at your job or for any other purpose.  Fastcase also offers excellent free apps for your iPhone and iPad, facilitating research on the fly.

It’s worth your while to check out Fastcase!  One easy way to get started is to sign up for one of their free webinars.  You’ll find a complete list here.

April Fool’s Day Info Hunt

It’s almost April Fool’s Day, so let the games begin!

In the spirit of “the games,” the Mendik Library is challenging you with the chance to enter the April Fool’s Day Info Hunt with a chance to WIN one of many prizes, including study aids and texts, and OneCard guest cards (these can be used for food purchases as well as printing & copying)!

To access the April Fool’s Day  Info Hunt:

*  If you are using Firefox, Chrome or Safari, click here.

*  If you are using Internet Explorer, click here.

Each slide includes one question (there are only 5) plus helpful guidance on sources and steps to get you to the answer.  Press Enter to reveal each step in the research process and to move on to the next question.  Click here to access a PDF answer sheet (or pick up a copy at the Reference Desk) and submit your completed copy at the Reference Desk (or by e-mail: reference@nyls.edu) by 5:00 PM Tuesday, April 3rd to enter the drawing.  The official collection barrel for completed entries is located at the Reference Desk in the Library.  The drawing will take place outside the library entrance on April 3 at 5:30 PM.  Although you need not be present to win, winners in attendance will have the opportunity to choose from the selection of prizes, and may even receive bonus prizes.  Absentee winners will be contacted by email.

Good luck!

Bloomberg Law Training Sessions on Wednesday March 7

A reminder that tomorrow, Wednesday March 7, Bloomberg Law is offering a series of trainings on how to use Bloomberg Law to search for various content types.  If you are a 1L, these trainings satisfy the Research Skills Workshops component of your Legal Practice Course requirement.  Please Note: Bloomberg Law offers UNLIMITED summer access to students.

Trainings are being held in room L207 and are currently scheduled for:

Mar. 7 – 10:00 – 10:50 a.m. (Wednesday) – Formulating Effective Searches on Bloomberg Law.

Mar. 7 – 11:00 a.m. – 11:50 a.m. (Wednesday) – Finding and Researching Regulations on Bloomberg Law

Mar. 7 – 12:00 p.m. – 12:50 p.m. (Wednesday) – Formulating Effective Searches on Bloomberg Law.

Mar. 7 – 2:00 p.m. – 2:50 p.m. (Wednesday) – Finding and Researching Statutes on Bloomberg Law.

Mar. 7 – 3:00 p.m. – 3:50 p.m. (Wednesday) – Using Bloomberg Law’s Citator (BCITE).

Please contact Omesh Seemangal via e-mail at oseemangal@bloomberg.net to reserve a spot for one of the training sessions.  Please also e-mail Omesh if you are unable to attend on Wednesday and would like to request possible additional training opportunities, or have questions about the service itself.

Find Some Love in the Library

The Valentine’s Day Info Hunt has arrived!  As our Valentine’s Day gift to you, the Mendik Library is offering another opportunity to be entered into a drawing to WIN one of many valuable study aids and texts, along with other prizes we will be giving away (see a sampling below).

To access the Valentine’s Day Info Hunt:

*  If you are using Firefox, Chrome or Safari, click here

*  If you are using Internet Explorer, click here   

Each slide includes one question (there are only 5) plus helpful guidance on sources and steps to get you to the answer.  Press Enter to reveal each step in the research process and to move on to the next question.  Click here to access a PDF answer sheet (or pick up a copy at the Reference Desk) and submit your completed copy at the Reference Desk by 5 PM Tuesday, February 14 to enter the drawing.  The official collection barrel for completed entries is located at the Reference Desk in the Library.  The drawing will take place outside the library entrance on February 14th at 5:30 PM.  Although you need not be present to win, winners in attendance will have the opportunity to choose from the selection of prizes, and may even receive bonus prizes.  Absentee winners will be contacted by email. 

Among the titles and prizes winners will choose from are:

The Elements of Legal Style

Legal Writing Process, Analysis, and Organization

New York Practice Hornbook (Siegel)

Understanding Labor Law

and many more

. . .

plus:

Starbucks gift cards

OneCard guest cards (can be used for food purchases as well as printing & copying)

. . . and who knows what else!

Try the Enhanced Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals

The Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals (IFLP) is now accessible through HeinOnline with the added benefit of direct linking to many articles.  Give it a try!

The IFLP indexes nearly 300,000 articles and book reviews across more than 500 periodicals.  Links to the full text of more than 34,000 items are available.  The IFLP covers public and private international law, comparative and foreign law, and the law of all jurisdictions other than the United States, the UK, Canada, and Australia.

Developing a Research Strategy

While legal research isn’t rocket science, it can be quite challenging, especially when you are just getting started with a project.  Why not try our Developing a Research Strategy template?  It’s designed to help guide you through important stages of the research process, serving as both a  roadmap and a checklist.  Copies are always available at the Reference Desk, but you can also find them on our web site.

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!!

 

Bloomberg Law Training Sessions

Bloomberg Law is offering a series of trainings on how to use Bloomberg Law to search for various content types.  If you are a 1L, these trainings satisfy the Research Skills Workshops component of your Legal Practice Course requirement.

The current schedule of training classes is as follows:

Finding and Researching Administrative Regulations on Bloomberg Law (B5)

Oct 11 — 12:50 pm — 1:40 pm (Tuesday)
Oct 14 — 2:00 pm — 2:50 pm (Friday)

Finding and Researching Statutes on Bloomberg Law (B4)

Oct 12 — 1:00 pm — 1:50 pm (Wednesday)

Formulating Effective Searches on Bloomberg Law (B2)

Oct 15 — 12:30 — 1:20 pm (Saturday)

All classes will be held in the Mendik Library in L207.

Please contact Omesh Seemangal (contact information below) if you would like to reserve a spot for one of the above listed dates.  Bloomberg Law may add more dates as needed.

 

Omesh V. Seemangal, Esq.
Law School Relationship Manager Bloomberg L.P.
oseemangal@bloomberg.net
(212) 617-6632 (Phone)
(917) 369-66587 (Fax)

www.Bloomberglaw.com

 

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

 

Free Federal Rules Ebooks

Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute (LII), in partnership with the Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction (CALI), now offers free electronic versions of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Criminal Procedure, and Evidence.  These electronic files become ebooks when viewed on a Kindle, Nook, iPad, iPhone, or any other device that supports .epub or .mobi files.

The federal rules ebooks include the text of the rules and the Advisory Committee notes.  They support handy electronic features such as internal hyperlinks and external links to the LII website’s version of the US Code.

To download these ebooks, visit http://elangdell.cali.org/content/federal-rules-ebooks-legal-information-institute.  You’ll find links and complete tech help instructions on that site.