New Court of Appeals Judge Nominated

Governor Andrew Cuomo has nominated Justice Leslie Stein to replace Judge Victoria Graffeo on the New York Court of Appeals. A Democrat, Justice Stein currently sits in the Appellate Division’s Third Department, where she had been appointed by former Governor Eliot Spitzer in 2008. Cuomo’s decision to replace Graffeo, a Republican, has the potential to give Democrats a 4-3 majority on the Court.  The Senate has 30 days to act on the nomination.

For more details on Governor Cuomo’s appointment, read the New York Law Journal’s article, Cuomo Picks Third Dept. Justice for Top Court and the Governor’s press release.

Haunted Halloween Hunt

Happy Halloween from the Mendik Library!

As an early Halloween treat, here’s your opportunity to WIN one of more than a dozen great study aids, texts, and other prizes we’ll be giving away (samples below).  Just answer any 3 of the 6 Haunted Halloween Info Hunt questions.  Answer all 6 and we’ll double your chances to win by adding a second entry for you. Your answer doesn’t need to be perfect—just close!

Click here to access the questions.  Each slide includes just one question, along with step-by-step instructions to get you to the answer.

Print this PDF answer sheet (or pick up a copy at the Reference Desk) and drop it in our Reference Desk Raffle Drum by 5 PM on Thursday, October 30.  Drawing will be held on Thursday, October 30 at 5:30 p.m. right outside the library.

Winners will choose from these and more prizes:

A Lawyer Writes: A Practical Guide to Legal Analysis
A Practical Approach to Client Interviewing, Counseling, and Decision-Making: For Clinical Programs and Practical Skills Courses
Administrative Law Stories
Basic Legal Research: Tools and Strategies
Black Letter Outlines: Wills, Trusts, & Future Interests
Civil Procedure: Cases, Materials, and Questions
Civil Rights Law and Practice
Contract Law: Flowcharts and Cases
Demystifying the first year of law school : a guide to the 1L experience
Employee Benefits Law: Qualification and ERISA Requirements
Estates and Future Interests in a Nutshell
Inside Bankruptcy Law: What Matters and Why
Inside Property Law: What Matters and Why
Inside Sales and Leases: What Matters and Why
Just Writing: Grammar, Punctuation, and Style for the Legal Writer
Legal Ethics in a Nutshell
Legal Reasoning and Legal Writing: Structure, Strategy and Style
New York Criminal Statutes and Rules
Principles of Securities Regulation
Questions and Answers: Administrative Law
Questions and Answers: Family Law
Questions and Answers: Torts
Questions and Answers: Trademark and Unfair Competition
Questions and Answers: Civil Procedure
Questions and Answers: Environmental Law
Questions and Answers: Evidence
Questions and Answers: Professional Responsibility
Real Estate Finance in a Nutshell
Skills and Values: Evidence
Sum+Substance Quick Review Series: Constitutional Law
Sum+Substance Quick Review Series: Evidence
Sum+Substance Quick Review Series: Wills, Trusts, and Estates
Understanding Modern Real Estate Transactions
Understanding Secured Transactions
Wills, Trusts and Estates
Writing and Analysis in the Law

Quiet, please.

We are receiving complaints from students who feel that their fellow students are sometimes being too noisy in the Library. Remember that even if you are the type of student who can study well around noise and commotion, not everyone else feels the same way. Remember also that all reading rooms and stack areas in the Library are Quiet Study Zones. The only exception is the reading area immediately next to the Reference Desk on L1.

Within Quiet Study Zones:

• Never engage in conversation. A few words at a whisper should always suffice. If you must engage in conversation, take it to the Library stairwells or outside.

• Make sure the sounds on your laptop, phone, and/or tablet are off and that any music you may be listening to through headphones is not loud enough for others to hear.

• When you enter or leave a group study room, remember to close the door (quietly) behind you.

• If you become aware of a noisy condition—e.g., a squeaky door, a thumping photocopier, rumbling equipment— report it immediately to the Library staff at ext. 2332 or reference@nyls.edu.

 

There’s a Form for That!

Need to draft a contract or pleading and don’t know where to start?  Don’t re-invent the wheel because…there’s a form for that!

Practicing lawyers will often refer to forms when drafting standard legal documents.  Legal forms can be found on the Internet, on subscription databases and in print.  Because there are so many places you can look, we suggest you start with the Mendik Library’s Legal Forms guide; it will direct you to sources that provide forms for a variety of practice areas.

When using a form, remember that it is important to review all relevant laws and rules.  Forms are not etched in stone and should be tailored (and updated) to conform to your particular case!

Happy Constitution Day

Constitution Week was first established in 1956 to encourage Americans to learn more about the world’s longest surviving written charter of government.   Later in 2004, Constitution Day was created to encourage public schools and governmental offices to promote a better understanding of the Constitution.

As a day of education about, and celebration of, our constitutional rights and freedoms, Constitution Day commemorates the date on which thirty-nine of the Philadelphia Convention’s delegates signed the Constitution.  The original document is held at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. You can read the Constitution online, or pick up your own pocket-copy at the library’s reference desk!  For deeper coverage, you can also download the Library of Congress’s free app containing the official, annotated version of the United State Constitution, U.S. Constitution: Analysis and Interpretation.

And the Winners are . . .

We are pleased to announce the winners of our Legally Clueless Info Hunt held last Thursday, August 28.

Congratulations to: Juliet Knapp-Vega, Barbie Melendez, John Michalski, Amelia Maddox, Kevin McLafferty, Daniel Oquendo, Kyle Reed, and Laura Rion.    Among the prizes our winners picked were Black’s Law Dictionary, study aids in Contract Law, Torts, Civil Procedure, and Property Law, a $10 OneCard guest card, and 500 Lexis points.   We also wanted to thank ALL participants for joining in what we hope you found to be a fun learning experience!

Congratulations also to our “Keep your coffee off us for a chance to have coffee on us” winners:  Evelina Sierzputowska, Jacqueline Henry Lucio, Eddie Balkus, and Ally Rockolf, each of whom will receive a $5 OneCard guest card.

There will be more chances to win later this semester.  Stay tuned!  Our next Info Hunt will brew in time for Halloween (but don’t be scared).

Learn . . . and Win!

Have you submitted your Legally Clueless Info Hunt entry?  The deadline is fast approaching.  The drawing is this Thursday, August 28, 5:45 pm, outside the Library. We’ll be awarding lots of prizes, including NYLS t-shirts, OneCards, Lexis points, dictionaries, and a great variety of study aids.  Here are some of the titles:

Acing Property

Contract Law: Flowcharts and Cases

The Lawyer’s Practice: A Context and Practice Case File

Legal Analysis: 100 Exercises for Mastery

Plain English for Drafting Statutes and Rules

Personal Property

Property: Black Letter Outlines

Property: Examples and Explanations

Property: Quick Review

Property Stories

Questions & Answers: Civil Procedure

Questions & Answers: Property

Questions & Answers: Torts

Real Property

The yellow Legally Clueless Info Hunt form is in the packet you received on your library tour.  You can pick up another copy at the Reference Desk.  Remember, you can work with a partner or a group and you should always feel free to ask one of the reference librarians for help.

Good luck to all!

Add Us to Your Contact List

Remember that you can chat with a librarian at the Reference Desk by text message (917.300.1933) and by instant message (AIM, Yahoo Messenger and GoogleTalk screen names:   nylslib).  We welcome your inquiries about library services and legal research.  A librarian is available to answer your questions whenever the Reference Desk is staffed (Mon-Thurs 9 AM – 9 PM, Fri 9 AM – 6 PM and Sat-Sun 12 PM – 6 PM).  Please take advantage of this service, but remember that for some things, an in-person visit to the Reference Desk will still be your best bet.

Welcome from the Library Director

On behalf of the Mendik Library, I want to extend my welcome and congratulations to the entering classes of 2017/18. We are all looking forward to meeting you as you embark on a challenging and exciting journey.

For most law students, the library quickly becomes a constant feature of their lives, a second home if you will. We have worked hard to make our home a comfortable study and learning environment and you can be assured that you are getting the benefit of an outstanding library collection, an extensive offering of services, and an excellent library staff.

We describe our collections and our services in great detail on our web pages and handouts. What you might not realize from these publications is the outstanding quality of the Mendik Library Staff and why that is important to you. Our staff of eighteen includes eleven professionals with master’s degrees, seven of whom also have J.D. degrees from law schools around the country. Your librarians have many years of experience working in law libraries and teaching legal research. Many also have years of legal practice experience and most have been at New York Law School for ten years or more. They can all help you with your library and research needs, of course, but their value to you goes far beyond that. Do not hesitate to ask your librarians questions about the law school, particular courses, or any of the extracurricular activities available.  We can help you, or we will direct you to the best person to give you the help you need.

We all realize that law school is a new experience for each of you, and we are committed to making that experience a rewarding one. We welcome the opportunity to work with you throughout your law school career and thereafter as alumni.

Sincerely,

Professor Camille Broussard
Library Director & Associate Dean