Due Process: Georgetown Law Library Blog

Students, as you start your summer jobs, you likely will be faced with conducting research in unfamiliar areas of law, which means dealing with unfamiliar citations.  Luckily, there are a number of specialized resources that will help you determine the source affiliated with a particular legal abbreviation.

Often the best resource, particularly for U.S. legal materials, is Bieber’s Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations.  Most law libraries will have a copy, and Bieber’s is also available on Lexis.  For citations to foreign and international sources, a great resource is the Index to Legal Citations and Abbreviations by Donald Raistrick.

For more resources and tips for discerning unfamiliar citations, see our Abbreviations and Acronyms Research Guide.  Additionally, Georgetown Law students can always contact a librarian at the reference desk – even over the summer!
 

This entry was posted on May 18, 2012 at 1:20 PM and has received 294 views. Print this entry.

The law library is offering a one-hour class on strategies and techniques for conducting cost-efficient legal research.  At Cost-Effective Legal Research, librarians will discuss development of a research plan, cost-saving tips for using Westlaw and LexisNexis, free and low-cost legal research resources, and how to select the right resource and method for your research.

Classes will be held in the Williams Library Computer Learning Center at the following dates/times:

Monday, April 2, 4:30pm
Thursday, April 5, 8:00pm
Tuesday, April 10, 12:15pm
Wednesday, April 11, 3:30pm

Space is limited, so sign-up today!

This entry was posted on March 19, 2012 at 12:43 PM and has received 3614 views. Print this entry.

Legal research classes are offered throughout the year at the law library.  Now, you can find out about upcoming research classes by visiting the new Legal Research Classes page on our website.  Here, you can find out about classes taught by librarians on topics such as research strategy and cost-effective legal research as well as classes offered by Westlaw, LexisNexis, and other database vendors on how to use their products to do legal research.

This entry was posted on March 19, 2012 at 12:40 PM and has received 3494 views. Print this entry.

The 2011 ABA Journal Blawg 100 is now available.  The Blawg 100 is a list of the top legal blogs, according to popular vote.

To find more legal blogs, see the ABA Blawg Directory, where you can browse blogs by topic, author, geography, or law school affiliation.

For more information on current awareness resources for a particular subject, see the Georgetown Law Library research guide on the subject of interest.

This entry was posted on January 10, 2012 at 12:27 PM and has received 6460 views. Print this entry.

The Georgetown Law Library recently updated and expanded our Land Use Law Research Guide.  The new version has increased coverage of treatises and study aids and where to find journal articles on land use, zoning, and planning law.  The guide also includes where to find municipal codes and has a list of current awareness resources that provide information on recent developments in this area of law.

This entry was posted on December 9, 2011 at 1:04 PM and has received 8235 views. Print this entry.

The key to accurate and thorough research is having a plan and employing the appropriate research strategies.  If you want to learn about how to develop a good research plan and how to best approach legal research problems, attend the library’s upcoming Research Strategies class. 

In addition to discussing the key methods for approaching legal research, librarians will also cover how to handle common research dilemmas—such as “What if I don’t find anything?” and “How do I know when to stop?”—and offer tips on staying organized.

Classes last one hour and will be held in the Williams Library Computer Learning Center at the following dates/times: 

Monday, October 31, 3:30pm

Wednesday, November 2, 4:30pm

Thursday, November 3, 12:15pm

Friday, November 4, 11am

Registration is required as space is limited.  To register, please visit the Research Strategies Signup.

This entry was posted on October 24, 2011 at 1:42 PM and has received 10494 views. Print this entry.

Due to a high level of interest, the library is offering an additional session on terms and connectors searching on Friday, October 21, at Noon, in the Williams Library Computer Learning Center.

See our original post for additional information on this class and how to register.

This entry was posted on October 19, 2011 at 3:37 PM and has received 10651 views. Print this entry.

Using terms and connectors searching in Westlaw and LexisNexis is a very effective method for finding relevant information—but only if it’s done correctly.  If you want to learn more about this search method and how to do it right, attend Terms & Connectors, a 60-minute class where librarians will teach you how to craft an effective search to get the information you need.

Classes will be held in the Williams Library Computer Learning Center at the following dates/times: 

• Monday, October 17, 3:30pm
• Wednesday, October 19, 4:30pm
• Thursday, October 20, 12:15pm
• Friday, October 21, 11:00am

Registration is required as space is limited.  To register, please visit the Terms & Connectors Searching Signup.

This entry was posted on October 14, 2011 at 11:25 AM and has received 10997 views. Print this entry.

Students, faculty, and staff can get free access to content from the Practical Law Company.  The site offers a number of practical tools organized by topic, including useful overviews; model documents, clauses, and drafting tips; checklists, timelines, and flowcharts; and updates on recent legal developments.  The amount of information available varies by topic.

To sign up for free access, go to PLC for Law Schools and click on “Free PLC Access for Students, Faculty and Staff”.

This entry was posted on August 9, 2011 at 12:08 PM and has received 14312 views. Print this entry.

Members of the Georgetown University Community now have access to Keesing’s World News Archive.

Keesing’s gathers news from around the world each day and synthesizes it into a series of concise articles published each month.  Keesing’s covers a range of significant world events, including “elections and changes of government; wars, treaties, appointments, and diplomacy; terrorism and issues of internal security; legislation, budgets, economic developments and international agreements; actions by the UN and other international organisations; natural disasters, environmental issues, and scientific discoveries.”

Keesing's World News Archive contains Keesing’s Record of World Events (formerly titled Keesing’s Contemporary Archives) from 1931 to present. 

This entry was posted on July 19, 2011 at 2:04 PM and has received 15284 views. Print this entry.