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January 28, 2015

Books Unbound at your Libraries

Brown books, brown binders, CLE books, State Bar books... These are all common nicknames for a collection of practice-oriented books published by the State Bar of Wisconsin on a variety of topics. The State Law Library maintains a complete set of these in print and supplements its print copies with online access through the State Bar's Books Unbound database. Visitors to the library can use this database to find forms and keyword search across multiple books.

Books Unbound is available on public computers at all three libraries. The Books UnBound database offers access to an extensive collection of State Bar CLE "brown binder" books, such as Wisconsin Civil Procedure Before Trial, Traffic Law and Practice in Wisconsin, Family Law Casenotes and Quotes, Wisconsin Civil Litigation Forms Manual, and more. Users can keyword search the full text of each book and print selected sections.

Learn more about the database and get advanced search tips in our newsletter article on Books Unbound.

 

January 19, 2015

WSLL Recommends: Elements of an Action

Elements of an Action is a single, unobtrusive volume in the larger set of green Wisconsin Practice Series books on our shelves. Professor Jay E. Grenig with Marquette University Law School writes this book. 

The 2014-2015 edition has seventeen chapters devoted to frequently litigated civil causes of action. Each chapter is broken into a survey of statutory and other elements underpinning the action, statutes of limitations, claims, remedies, and defenses. References to Wisconsin Jury Instructions and jury verdicts are included as well as additional case studies for many chapters. Each action includes example forms and other documents from recent Wisconsin court cases.

Turn to Elements of an Action for a concise resource for any of these areas:
  • Abuse of process
  • Animal actions – damage caused by dog
  • Contract actions – breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and quantum meruit
  • Defamation
  • Emotion distress
  • False imprisonment
  • Insurance – bad faith
  • Legal malpractice
  • Local government tort liability
  • Medical malpractice – negligence
  • Motor vehicles – negligence
  • Nuisance – public nuisance
  • Possession of real property
  • Products liability
  • Safe place
  • Tortious interference with contract
  • Wrongful death

January 13, 2015

Libraries Closed on Monday, January 19th

The Wisconsin State Law Library, Milwaukee Legal Resource Center, and Dane County Legal Resource Center will be closed on Monday, January 19th for the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.

To send a question to the Wisconsin State Law Library while we are closed, you may call us at 608-267-9696 or Ask a Librarian online.

We will respond to questions and requests on Tuesday, January 20th.

January 6, 2015

WSLL at Your Service: January 2015

Our January newsletter is now online. Meet our new employees and catch up with library news. There's also still time to donate hats and mittens.

January 1, 2015

WSLL Recommends: Valuation Strategies in Divorce

This fifth edition is now a portable yet comprehensive single volume. When a divorce begins, equitable distribution of marital assets becomes a top priority. The three overarching steps are 1) identification of marital assets 2) appraisal of identified assets and 3) distribution. This treatise dives into the second step and covers methodologies, strategies, and techniques from both the evaluative and legal perspectives.

Highlights include an overview of analyzing business financial statements and tax returns, handling specialty assets (like professional licenses or degrees, celebrity goodwill, and lottery winnings), and direct and cross-examination questions for experts. The new Chapter 3 discusses determining the worth of closely held businesses, i.e. businesses not traded on a public exchange. There are also practice aids such as valuation strategy checklists and sample pleadings woven into most chapters to help you systematically work through assessments. Sample appraisal reports with mistakes and corresponding critiques allow the reader to practice identifying errors so you can avoid them in your own work. The final chapter reviews selected state court opinions on various valuation topics. 

Whether you are a new attorney working on your first divorce or an experienced lawyer unraveling a complicated asset dispute, this book will help you address any and all assets with confidence. 

A summary and the table of contents are available online through the Wolters Kluwer website.

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