Author Archives: Kathy Darvil

Goal: the Regulation of International Sports

nicubunu_Soccer_ballAs the eyes of the world turn to Brazil on Thursday, each nation will cheer on its team in pursuit of the FIFA World Cup. If you are curious about the law and rules governing FIFA or international sports and sporting events, the library has several resources to help satisfy your curiosity. Listed below are a few recent sources.

Checked out books? Return them before May 16 to avoid fines

As you make your way through your final exams and aide-memoirepapers, don’t forget to return your library books. Students, who checked out non-reserve materials during the Spring 2014 semester, need to return them on or before May 16, 2014 to avoid accumulating fines. Also, remember to return your interlibrary loan books before the semester ends.   Log on to your library account with your BLS username and password to check if you have any Brooklyn Law School materials checked out to you, or to see if you have accumulated fines. To check if you have any interlibrary loan items checked out to you, log on to your ILLiad account using the account information you entered when you initially created your ILLiad account. If you have any questions about your library or ILLiad account, please contact the circulation desk at circdesk@brooklaw.edu.

Preparing Your Oral Argument? We can help!

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If you are a first year, you are most likely preparing for your oral argument.  It can be pretty intimidating and scary.  (At least it was for me.)  But the library can help you prepare and shake off some of those jitters.

The library has many resources to help, including a new Technology Collaboration Lab that will allow you to record and watch yourself practicing your arguments.   The Tech CoLab, Room 111, is located on the ground floor of the library by the copy machines/scanners.  To use the Tech CoLab, you need to reserve the room, using the library’s study room reservations system.   When it is time for your reservation, you will check out the key to the Tech CoLab from the circulation desk.

We also have several books trial and appellate advocacy to assist you.   Listed below are a few of the available titles.

Thomas A. Mauet, Trial Techniques and Trials (9th ed. 2013).

Charles H. Rose III, Fundamental Trial Advocacy (2d ed. 2011).

Ursula Bentele, Mary Falk, & Eve Cary, Appellate Advocacy: Principles and Practice (5th ed. 2012).

Michael R. Fontham & Michael Vitiello, Persuasive Written and Oral Advocacy in Trial and Appellate Courts (3d ed. 2013)

Seminar Paper Workshop

training_iconOn Thursday February 6, Professor Elizabeth Fajans and Librarian Kathy Darvil will host a workshop on how to effectively research and write your seminar paper.  The workshop is from 4-5:30 and is located in Room 602.  Topics covered included sources for selecting your topic, sources for researching your topic, and how to effectively organize and write your paper.

If you are unable to attend the workshop, there is no need to fear.  Kathy Darvil created an online research guide to support the seminar.  The guide is available at guides.brooklaw.edu/seminarpaper.  From the guide’s landing page, you will be able to access a recording of this year’s presentation, Professor Fajan’s slideshow on how to write your seminar paper, and Kathy Darvil’s online presentation on how to research your seminar paper.  Also listed and described on the guide are all the resources (as well as several others) that were discussed in the workshop.  If you should need further help selecting or researching your topic, please stop by the reference desk for assistance.

A Holiday Gift: Journal of Open Access to Law

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Launched by Cornell’s Legal Information Institute, the Journal of Open Access to Law (JOAL) is a peer reviewed multidisciplinary journal that publishes articles on the topic of open access to law.  JOAL is an international forum.  Topics of interest to the journal include: the relationship between open-access legal information and technology; governance of new models of legal publishing; and the technical challenges and economic opportunities created by open access to law and public sector information.  Some articles published in the first volume include an article entitled, The Rise of the Internet and its Impact on the Openness of the Justice System in Mainland China: Improvements and Limitations, by Zhuozhen Duan, an article entitled, The Meaning of ‘Free Access to Legal Information’:  A Twenty Year Evolution, by Graham Greenleaf, Andrew Mowbray, and Philip Chung, and an article entitled, A Right to Access Implies A Right to Know:  An Open Online Platform for Research on the Readability of Law  by Michael Curtotti and Eric McCreath.

Exam Time Success

With Thanksgiving around the corner, many of you are beginning to finalize your papers and study for your exams.   This time of year can be quite overwhelming.  But it doesn’t have to be.  There are many resources in the library to help you succeed.  Listed below are some of the resources.  If you have questions about them, please feel free to stop or email (refdesk@brooklaw.edu) by the reference desk.

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Study Aids:

Legal Writing and Citation Tools:

Other Tools for Success:

  • Exams on File:
  • Link provides access to past exams
  • Study Room Reservation:
  • Except during the reading and exam periods, the policy for the use of study rooms is as follows:   Rooms may be used by two or more students for up to four hours per day.  Rooms that are not reserved may be used on a first-come, first-served basis, but students who have reserved a room have priority over students who are using an empty room without reserving it.  Use the online Study Room Reservation System to reserve a room.  During the reading and exam periods, students on must reserve study rooms.  Groups of two or more students may reserve one library study room for up to four hours per day.  No student may reserve a room for individual use.

What’s on the Supreme Court’s Horizon?

Last week the United States Supreme Court unveiled its calendar for the upcoming year. While the issues argued and decided may not bring the same level of national attention as same-sex marriage and the Affordable Care Act, the Court will be deciding several controversial issues.  Those issues concern legislative prayer, campaign finance, affirmative action, and recess appointments. Other important procedural issues scheduled for argument include personal jurisdiction, venue, removable class actions, and abstention.

To stay on top of the High Court,  follow the legal news sources below.

Seminar Paper Workshop

This past Monday Professor Elizabeth Fajans and Librarian Kathy Darvil hosted a workshop on how to effectively research and write your seminar paper.  Topics covered included sources for selecting your topic, sources for researching your topic, and how to effectively organize and write your paper.  If you were unable to attend the workshop, there is no need to fear.  Kathy Darvil created an online research guide to support the seminar.  The guide is available at guides.brooklaw.edu/seminarpaper.  From the guide’s landing page, you can access a recording of last year’s presentation, Professor Fajan’s slideshow on how to write your seminar paper, and Kathy Darvil’s online presentation on how to research your seminar paper.  Also listed and described on the guide are all the resources (as well as several others) that were discussed in the workshop.  If you should need further help selecting or researching your topic, please stop by the reference desk for assistance.