Resource Spotlight: 2016 American Bar Association Legal Technology Survey Report

Posted on July 26, 2017 by Jesse Bowman

The legal field – like medicine, education, finance, and even dating – is being transformed by technology. Major newspapers are reporting on this trend (See, e.g., Steve Lohr, A.I. is Doing Legal Work. But It Won’t Replace Lawyers, Yet, N.Y. Times (Mar. 19, 2017)), and it is unusual to browse an industry publication, such as ABA Journal or Illinois Bar Journal, without finding multiple stories devoted to legal technology. Much of the coverage, however, spotlights early adopters and focuses on changes occurring at the industry level, making it difficult to discern how attorneys are utilizing new technologies in their everyday practices.

One helpful resource for learning more about how attorneys use technology on the ground level is the 2016 Legal Technology Survey Report, the latest edition of an annual publication compiled by Joshua Poje of the American Bar Association’s Legal Technology Resource Center (ABA LTRC), and available here at the PLRC (check availability now: MON KF320 .A9A445 2016 and B,ABA KF325.1895 .A9142 2016).

Image Source: ABA Bookstore

The publication is comprised of six smaller reports, focusing on the following topics: Technology Basics & Security, Law Office Technology, Litigation Technology and E-Discovery, Web and Communication Technology, Online Research, and Mobile Lawyers. Each of these reports begins with a “Trend Report” summarizing the findings, followed by detailed charts and graphs providing more specific results. To gather this information, the ABA LTRC developed a 216-question survey and distributed the survey to 15,000 ABA attorney members from January through May 2016.

The Report offers some surprising insights. For example, despite the widespread cultural embrace of Apple technology, only 7.9% of respondents listed Mac OS as the operating system on their primary work computer (Page II-18). Also, despite the prevalence of commercial resources like Westlaw, Lexis Advance, and Bloomberg Law, 91.6% of respondents indicated they conduct legal research using free online resources (Page V-35).

In my experience, I have found this resource to be cumbersome to work with due to its voluminous content. The best way to use this book is by browsing the Table of Contents and by visiting ABA TechReport 2016, Am. Bar Ass’n (last visited July 26, 2017). This site serves as a companion to the Report, features helpful analyses of each section written by experts in the particular field, and may help you identify particular results worth examining in the Report, itself.

Posted in Library Resources, Resource Spotlight, Tech

Over 300 New Resources Added Last Month!

Posted on July 25, 2017 by Eric Parker

We have added over 300 new titles in the past month. Have a look at the list of latest additions at: http://library.law.northwestern.edu/collections/new-books.

Posted in Library Resources

Resource Spotlight: IICLE Smart Books – Your Best Friend in Illinois

Posted on June 27, 2017 by Clare Gaynor Willis

Some of you may find yourself intensively researching Illinois law for the first time this summer. You may have already discovered that the Land of Lincoln in general, and the City of Big Shoulders in particular, have some legal quirks that you won’t recognize from law school (Chancery Division, anyone?). Luckily, Illinois attorneys have an excellent secondary source written for them, by them: IICLE Smart Books. The IICLE Smart Books are treatises, book-length treatments of an area of law. You get an explanation of the law along with citations to the applicable statutes and leading cases, and all focused only on Illinois law.

A few introductory notes before I sell you on the IICLE’s. First, the acronym stands for Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education. That sounds like an official state agency, but it’s not. It’s a publisher in Springfield. Second, you pronounce it “Ickle” like the word “fickle.” Finally, do not use the search box in the upper right-hand corner of their website. That searches the website, not the “Smart Book” treatises, and mostly tries to sell you continuing legal education courses.

Let me demonstrate how effectively IICLE Smart Books can help you with the following scenario. Say you’re working with a client who leases a space in a shopping mall for her jewelry store. She is getting better sales online, and her friend who owns a coffee shop is looking to sublease a retail space. Your client wants to know if the landlord will be able to reject her friend with the coffee shop, or worse, if the landlord will be able to let the space sit vacant and sue your client for lost rent. If you Google this, you’re bound to get a boatload of advice for residential tenants and maybe some law firm blogs that say something about a duty to mitigate damages (oh, and “call now to speak with one of our experts”). If you search Lexis or Westlaw, you’ll need to wade through information from around the country.

Enter IICLE.

Search for “commercial lease retail” within the IICLE Smart Books database and you’ll find an entire chapter titled “Retail Leases” in the IICLE Smart Book Commercial Landlord-Tenant Practice 2015 Edition. This chapter tells you about assigning a lease or subleasing and the landlord’s duty to mitigate damages when a tenant defaults. Most importantly, it talks about both of these issues with citations to the applicable Illinois primary authority.

Beyond providing the background legal information, IICLE Smart Books are an excellent source for forms. For our retail lease example, the same chapter contains a sample lease and ample explanation of the leasing language and optional clauses. Download the document into your word processor when you’re ready to start drafting your client’s sublease.

You can indicate in your search that you want to see forms in your search results by using the check box that says “Search only content with forms available for download.”

Questions about this or any other aspects of your legal research are welcome at the reference desk. We’d love to hear from you.

Posted in Library Resources, Resource Spotlight

Over 360 New Resources Added Last Month!

Posted on June 21, 2017 by Eric Parker

We have added over 360 new titles in the past month. Have a look at the list of latest additions at: https://www.law.northwestern.edu/library/secure/collections/newacquisitions/.

Posted in Library Resources

Resource Spotlight: ABA Resources

Posted on May 25, 2017 by Lisa Winkler

The American Bar Association publishes more than 1,000 books, journals, National Institute seminar materials and other substantive works annually, leveraging the expertise of its members as authors and contributors. Practitioners today rely on the ABA’s robust body of knowledge for timely coverage of emerging issues, subject treatises, practical guides, professional skill building, and even wellness advice.

Did you know that the PLRC is an archive for the ABA’s publications? Through this arrangement, the Law Library maintains a near complete collection in our “ABA Archives” on the third floor of the library (just past Government Documents by the treadmills). When you’re searching in NU Search, you’ll notice these materials have a special call number: B, ABA. Whether you’re seeking the latest edition of the Annotated Model Rules of Professional Conduct, a handbook with form templates and checklists, an update on a specific area of law, or tips for work life balance as an attorney, there is an ABA resource that can quickly provide you with the answers you need at the PLRC.

Search Northwestern’s library catalog, NU Search, for ‘American Bar Association’ as an author or publisher then limit your results to items at the Law Library, or click here to view ABA items at the PLRC published by the ABA in the last ten years. Bonus Tip: Search for your favorite ABA Section‘s items by adding the section’s name to a publisher name search, such as American Bar Association Business Law Section or American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution

Finally, here a few notable selections to illustrate the breadth of ABA publications available now.

Emerging Issues

Drones Across America: Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Regulation and State Laws

Pritzker Legal Research Center Closed for Memorial Day

Posted on May 24, 2017 by jenniferlubejko

The Pritzker Legal Research Center will be closed on Monday, May 29 in observance of Memorial Day. It will reopen at 9:00am on Tuesday, May 30.

Posted in Access, Holidays, Uncategorized

May 2017 New Library Resources

Posted on May 18, 2017 by Eric Parker

We have added over 340 new titles in the past month. Have a look at the list of latest additions at: https://www.law.northwestern.edu/library/secure/collections/newacquisitions/.

Posted in Library Resources

Throwback Thursday: A Forgotten Tune

Posted on May 4, 2017 by plrcspecialcollections

“We’ll See Them Through” by John Henry Wigmore

On April 20, the Pritzker Legal Research Center launched its spring exhibit, We’ll See Them Through: Northwestern Prtizker School of Law in the World War I Era. The title is taken from former dean John Henry Wigmore’s 1917 score “We’ll See Them Through,” which was intended to bring support to those in the World War I training camps.

Wigmore—law professor, evidence expert, and sometimes musical composter—drafted the lyrics and music, and John Philip Sousa, who wrote “The Stars and Stripes Forever,” adapted it for army bands. Wigmore himself financed the song’s distribution, and it was met with mixed reviews.

However, until last week, the song itself remained a bit of a mystery. While we had the score, we certainly did not have a piano (let alone a band!) to play it for us. However, thanks to a presentation by Andrew Bullen of the Illinois State Library, we were able to use a program called SharpEye to generate the audio. This may be the first time in nearly 100 years that this song has been heard.

You can find the lyrics to “We’ll See Them Through”—and see the rest of the exhibit—at sites.northwestern.edu/plrcwwi.

Save

Posted in Uncategorized

Pritzker Legal Research Center Student Library Assistant Positions Available

Posted on May 3, 2017 by jenniferlubejko

The Pritzker Legal Research Center is looking for reliable law students to work at its circulation desk this summer, Monday through Thursday evenings, and on evenings and weekends during the 2017-18 academic year.

Preferred qualifications: experience working in academic libraries; ability and willingness to work during evening and weekend hours

For an application, please email Access Services Librarian Jennifer Lubejko at jennifer.lubejko@law.northwestern.edu. Thank you for your interest in working at the Pritzker Legal Research Center.

Posted in Position Available

“We’ll See Them Through” Archives Exhibit Now on Display

Posted on April 28, 2017 by Lisa Winkler

On April 20, the PLRC hosted a reception for the opening of our spring exhibit: We’ll See Them Through: Northwestern Pritzker School of Law in the World War I Era. This year marks the centennial anniversary of the United States’ entrance into the war, and we’re now exhibiting items from the PLRC and NU Archives that depict the Law School community’s involvement.

From Dean John Henry Wigmore’s service in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps to the men and women of the Student Army Training Corps, Northwestern Law made a significant contribution to the war efforts. Some highlights from the collection include a photograph of the Selective Service drawing (i.e. WWI draft) taking place, an original score written by Dean Wigmore with music arranged by John Philip Sousa (composer of the “The Stars and Stripe Forever”), and wartime newsletters authored by law school students at home. Listen to a digital rendering of Dean Wigmore’s music, “We’ll See Them Through,” here: https://libraryblog.law.northwestern.edu/2017/05/04/throwback-thursday-a-forgotten-tune/

We invite you to explore these and other artifacts now on display until June 20. After you enter the library, proceed to the 3rd floor where you will find our new exhibit space just outside of the Government Documents room. A digital edition of the exhibit—with additional materials—is available online at: https://sites.northwestern.edu/plrcwwi/

With the renewed interest in the Special Collections and Archives of the PLRC, we plan a regular series of exhibits and displays gathered from the unique treasures of the School of Law, which include our archives, unique documents, manuscripts and papers, art and artifacts, and the world class Rare Books Collection. Suggestions on future exhibits can be sent to Brittany Adams, Special Collections, Archives and Digitization Services Librarian and the curator of our Exhibits Program, at Brittany.adams@law.northwestern.edu

From left to right: George H. Pike, Director of the PLRC; Eric Parker, Associate Director for Collection and Bibliographic Services; Brittany Adams, Special Collections, Archival and Digitization Services Librarian; Jamie Sommer, Associate Director for Public Services

Posted in Archives, Uncategorized