Library Highlights: October 2015

October 26, 2015

Celebrate Pro Bono Week at Dane County Law Library

The Dane County Law Library hosts the Dane County Bar Association as they celebrate ABA's National Pro Bono Week. In the spirit of the week, free legal information will be provided by volunteers from the Dane County Bar Association.

On Tuesday, stop by the library to ask volunteer attorneys your general legal questions at this special drop-in event. Volunteers are available from 8 to noon.

Also on Tuesday the regularly scheduled Small Claims Assistance Center will be open extended hours, from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. to assist small claims litigants with forms and procedural information. On Wednesday, the regularly scheduled Family Law Assistance Center will be open extended hours from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. with a Spanish-speaking volunteer available from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Regularly scheduled clinic information is on the Dane County Court website.

Help Dane County celebrate! Attend the free ABA Pro Bono Week/Free Legal Information Clinics or volunteer your time.

WHEN:

Tuesday 27th 8 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Wednesday 28th 10:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.

WHERE:
Dane County Law Library, Room L1007
Dane County Courthouse
215 S. Hamilton
Madison, WI 53703

Celebrate National Pro Bono Week

The last week of October is National Pro Bono Week. This week shines a spotlight on pro bono work with special events for volunteer attorneys and the population they serve.

Wisconsin is fortunate to have many free or low cost legal assistance organizations. We list several of these by county on our website. If you are an individual looking for help, check our directory for an organization near you and ask local organizations if there are any special legal clinics this week.

Our county directory might also be useful for attorneys looking for opportunities to volunteer. Also, follow the Wisconsin Access to Justice Commission online; the Commission was created to support civil legal services for low income Wisconsin residents.

Are you an attorney looking for a new opportunity to volunteer? The Commission recently launched a new legal advice website, Wisconsin Legal Advice Online, and they are looking for attorneys to volunteer their time (which WisBar's InsideTrack appealingly calls, Pro Bono in Your Pajamas.)

This is the week to volunteer - or recognize those who are already volunteering. Learn how to nominate yourself or someone else for the Pro Bono Honor Society.

October 20, 2015

WSLL Recommends: Federal Habeas Corpus Practice and Procedure

Federal Habeas Corpus Practice and Procedure helps attorneys navigate post conviction procedure. Organized according to the steps that a petitioner typically would take in a habeas corpus case, the book is easy to follow. It begins with post-conviction remedies and subject-matter jurisdiction, and then continues with the filing of the petition, pre-filing and post-filing stays, various pleadings that may be filed, proceedings that may be held, procedural defenses, post-judgment proceedings, and appeals.

Written from the "procedural perspective" of prisoners and detainees, it discusses complications that may arise for the applicant of federal habeas corpus. The book is well indexed allowing readers to jump to specific sections and find the answer to a particular issue quickly.

Now in its 6th edition, the treatise and accompanying annual supplement provide analysis of the latest habeas corpus statutory and case law. Extensive footnotes appear throughout and tables of cases and authorities are included. Appendices point to relevant statutes, rules, and legislative materials.

Federal Habeas Corpus Practice and Procedure is available to check out at the State Law Library.

October 14, 2015

Time for Fall Class Signup

Now is the time to polish your WestlawNext skills! Learn more about our classes and register online.

In October:

Advanced WestlawNext
Tuesday, October 20, Noon - 1 p.m.
Location: Wisconsin State Law Library training room

In November:

Introduction to WestlawNext
Tuesday, November 17, Noon - 1 p.m.
Location: Wisconsin State Law Library training room

Don't miss our Milwaukee class on Searching Google Scholar and Google Books for research, offered November 11 at the Milwaukee Public Library.

October 5, 2015

WSLL at Your Service October 2015

Our October newsletter features two big research announcements. ABA Journals are now available full text on HeinOnline. The library is also moving away from Westlaw.com (or Westlaw Classic) in favor of exclusively providing WestlawNext to our library users.

In this issue:

What's New: Librarians speak out; Upcoming classes; Staff news
State Law Library Adds Online Access to ABA Journals
This Just In: New & updated library materials; Monthly list of new titles
Tech Tip: Changes coming to Westlaw @ the library
WSLL Recommends: Criminal Practice and Procedure

As always, your comments are welcome. Please direct them to the editor, Carol.Hassler@wicourts.gov.

Bev Butula presents People Search at the Milwaukee Public Library.

October 2, 2015

New WestlawNext Classes

New WestlawNext classes are open for registration through the winter - and just in time for our transition away from Westlaw Classic here in the library.

Sign up for any of our free CLE classes, offered monthly.

Introduction to WestlawNext
Tuesday, November 17, Noon - 1 p.m.
Location: Wisconsin State Law Library training room

Learn how to best use WestlawNext in this course by: Finding Specific Cases, Statutes and Regulations by citation; Learning how to quickly find and search specific resource; Learning about plain language searching on WestlawNext; Utilizing result list filtering to narrow your search results; Exploring document features, including new "Copy with Reference"; Learning about new WestlawNext history; Reviewing the basics of the WestlawNext Citator - KeyCite.

Intermediate WestlawNext
Tuesday, December 15, Noon - 1 p.m.
Location: Wisconsin State Law Library training room

Learn how to best utilize WestlawNext in this course by Discovering the power behind WestSearch plain language searching; Utilizing "Find a case by party name" feature; Learning about result list sorting and advanced filtering techniques, such as "search within results"; Exploring headnotes and other editorial enhancements, such as notes of decisions and statutes index; Covering advanced options for filtering Citing References; Learning about content category pages in the "Browse" menu.

Advanced WestlawNext
Tuesday, January 19, Noon - 1 p.m.
Location: Wisconsin State Law Library training room

Learn how to best utilize WestlawNext in this course by: Learning about advanced search and field searching on content category search pages; Harnessing the power of advanced annotation features such as highlighting and foldering; Incorporating Key Numbers and Key Number Searching into your research; Exploring headnotes and other editorial enhancements, such as notes of decisions and statutes index; Covering advanced options for Alerts and Automated searches; Utilizing advanced customization features for "Copy with Reference", Highlighted terms, Result list display, and Document Delivery; Learn how to access WestlawNext from other devices.

Wisconsin State Law Library