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Want to learn how to organize your research using your web browser? Are you overwhelmed by Westlaw & Lexis and looking for some alternative research tools?

This week the Law Library is offering two different workshops at various times. **Snacks will be provided!**

FireFox Add-ons - Learn how to enhance your FireFox web browser to help when conducting legal research.

• Monday, March 5, 2012 - 12:00-12:50 pm - 13th floor computer lab
• Wednesday, March 7, 2012 - 5:00-5:50 pm - 13th floor computer lab

Beyond Westlaw & Lexis - Learn about the unique array of research databases PSL subscribes to and how to search them effectively to enhance your research. This workshop will also touch on some of the key free resources for legal information.

• Tuesday, March 6, 2012 - 12:00-12:50 pm - 13th floor computer lab
• Wednesday, March 7, 2012 - 12:00-12:50 pm - 13th floor computer lab
• Thursday, March 8, 2012 - 7:40-8:30pm - 13th floor computer lab

Can't make it this week? The Law Library will be offering workshops on many different topics throughout the semester. Take a look at our library workshops page to view a list of descriptions and a link to the workshop calendar.

The Library will be presenting an Introduction to The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation this week.

• Wednesday, September 7, 7:45 to 8:45pm (yes, that's tomorrow night)
• Thursday, September 8, noon to 1:00pm
• Friday, September 9, noon to 1:00pm

In Room 1821. Please bring your Bluebooks with you.

Understanding The Bluebook is really, really important for your success in law school. There are two big reasons we inflict it on you. First, every jurisdiction has rules for preparing and filing court documents, usually based on The Bluebook or something similar, and you need to know the vocabulary. Second, using The Bluebook is an exercise in following the dots. Lots of dots. Following complicated instructions, understanding and using complicated rules, these are essential skills in the practice of law. So you need this class. See you there.

Faculty and students at PSL can get FREE (well, no additional charge) access to materials from the Practical Law Company. Most of these materials are business law oriented and from the perspective of the business attorney, although some have applications in other areas of law and other contexts. The kinds of materials available include:

• Practice notes (including "Overviews" and "Toolkits")
• Standard documents and clauses
• Checklists
• Articles
• Updates

Practice notes, standard documents and clauses, and checklists are continuously updated. Some examples:

• Tribal Finance: Overview (Practice Note)
• Confidentiality Agreement: General (Mutual) (Standard Document)
• Fiduciary Duties of the Board of Directors (Practice Note)
• Bankruptcy: Overview of the Chapter 11 Process (Practice Note: Overview)
• Sexual Harassment Toolkit (Practice Note: Overview)
• US Copyright Duration Flowchart (Checklist)
• Drafting arbitration agreements: checklist (Checklist)
• Removal: How to Remove a Case to Federal Court (Practice Note)
• Office Leasing: Tenant Estoppel Certificate (Standard Document)
• Debt v. Equity Tax Classification Checklist (Checklist)

To set up your own account, click on "PLC LAW SCHOOL", click on "FREE PLC Access for Students, Faculty and Staff", fill in the blanks (use your phoenixlaw dot edu email address), agree to their terms of use, and click on "Register". They will send you your password (your email address will be your Username).

Via the ABA blog, interesting discussion of reverse auction websites and legal services using Internet portals. Clients post their legal problems and lawyers bid for the client's business. Not a referral site but a contact point in the market place. ABA

For the solo practitioner that may not be able to afford the overhead of a LexisNexis database package, the credit card "pay-as-you-go" plan offered a panoply of paths to your legal preferences. Unfortunately, in the recent overhaul, Lexis decided to discontinue this feature.  When you go to the Lexis® Total Research System page and choose "sign in using a credit card" option, you are directed to the LexisNexis™ by Credit Card page that delivers a message that reads in part:

“LexisNexis no longer offers the website LexisNexis™ by Credit Card. This decision is part of our effort to create and support products that better meet those needs identified through collaboration with our customers. . .”

The message goes onto say that users could take advantage of lexisONE for free unenhanced state & federal case law and also directs users to LexisWeb®; which is their version of Google but with vetted sites.

This all comes as an unfortunate surprise.  On the bright side though, Westlaw® still offers a pay-as-you-go plan and hasn’t mentioned ending this option any time soon!