Holiday closing December 26th, 2014

The M. Dolores Denman Courthouse will be closed to the public on Friday, December 26, 2014. Library materials due on that date may be returned Monday, December 29, 2014 without penalty.

We will be open on Friday, January 2, 2015.

Book Review: The Education of a Lawyer by Gary Muldoon

Gary Muldoon has published a new book entitled The Education of a Lawyer. Mr. Muldoon, who has been practicing law for over 35 years, is known for previous publications in the areas of criminal law and family law. His venture into something less serious is, in a nutshell, a pleasure to read.

These essays are stories not only of Mr. Muldoon's own experiences but those of family, friends, and acquaintances as well. Each essay begins with a situation and is concluded with advice or an opinion on what to do and what not to do when faced with specific circumstances.

The collection includes essays on deciding to enter and being in law school, searching for work, being in legal practice, writing and speaking, building and keeping relationships with colleagues and clients alike, improving oneself, and just living life in general.

I particularly liked his essays on “Dressing for Success” (as his wife “cringes at the thought of [him] advising anyone on what to wear”); “Practicing Law on the Cheap”; and the whole chapter titled “In Life.”

Lawyers and non-lawyers, experienced or not, will find Gary's collection of essays informative and, at the very least, entertaining.

- LegalEagle

New on the book shelf for paralegals

Fresh off the cataloging truck, we have eight new titles of special interest to paralegals and legal assistants:

Basic bankruptcy law for paralegals
Basic wills, trusts, and estates for paralegals
Ethics and professional responsibility for paralegals
Fundamentals of litigation for paralegals
Legal research and writing for paralegals
The legal research and writing handbook: a basic approach for paralegals
Legal research explained
Personal injury and the law of torts for paralegals

From Jamestown farm boy to Supreme Court justice

We were excited to see that the front page of the Daily Record today featured a story on a recent MCBA program on former U. S. Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson. Among the speakers was Presiding Justice Scudder of the Appellate Division, Fourth Department, which admitted Justice Jackson to the practice of law in 1913 at the tender age of 21.

Library staff were involved in various aspects of the research into Justice Jackson's history with the Fourth Department - "a fun project," says one librarian who worked with the original bar admission documents. A librarian who worked on locating cases Jackson argued before the Fourth Department recounts one case that struck her as particularly evocative of its time and place, "One fascinating case Jackson argued before the Fourth Department in 1925 involved a typhoid epidemic traced to tainted milk. Jackson represented the dairy farmers in their contention that sewage discharged by the city of Jamestown into a creek was the cause of the infection in their milk. The case was won on retrial and affirmed at appeal."

Adverbs on trial

There's an amusing little piece in the Wall Street Journal today about adverbs. Stephen King apparently has written unkind things about them, prompting some legal types to come to their defense, among them James M. Donovan, director of the University of Kentucky College of Law Library, who asserts in his recent essay "On Writing with Adverbs," "Contrary to the ordinary view that adverbs are superfluous, law generally, and criminal law especially, emerges through its adverbs." Bryan Garner also weighs in.

Welcome, MCC paralegal students!

Weekly legal research classes for Monroe Community College paralegal students will be held in the library from October 2nd through the 23rd. The library has commitments to the community beyond local attorneys and litigants, including a longstanding relationship as library of record for the paralegal program at MCC. We’re happy to be part of a successful program benefitting both students and the legal community.

Law Libraries and Access to Justice

"Law libraries make 'The Law' available." So notes the introduction to the American Association of Law Library's recently released white paper, Law Libraries and Access to Justice. Some of the most effective and innovative ways law libraries strive to make "The Law" available to all amidst today's formidable challenges are outlined. Thanks to the work of an Appellate Division law librarian on the white paper committee, one local initiative, the 7th Judicial District Help Center at the Monroe County Hall of Justice, is featured in the report. Do give it a read.