Wisconsin State Law Library

May 1st is Law Day and is being marked by a number of events across Wisconsin. Do you have plans for Law Day?

This year is the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. To salute this milestone, the American Bar Association (ABA) has designated this year's theme as Realizing the dream: equality for all:

"This year’s theme recognizes the inextricable link between freedom and equality, the importance of living up the promise of equality under the law enshrined in our nation’s founding documents, and the challenges that remain in realizing that ideal."

Information for teachers and students can be found on the ABA website. For more information and links to additional resources, visit the ABA Law Day 2013 page.

On Wednesday, May 1st, the Dane County Bar Association (DCBA) is putting on a day of programming at the Dane County Courthouse. Events include 3 free CLE programs, a Pro Bono Fair, a demo of the DCBA's new website, and mock trials. The full agenda can be viewed by clicking on the image below.

Click to enlarge flyer

The Milwaukee Bar Association is celebrating law day on Saturday, May 4th. More information and locations can be found on their law day flyer.

This week is National Park Week - that wonderful week when admission to national parks is free! Even if you don't have plans to travel out to any of our 401 national parks, you can be an armchair tourist through the National Park Service website.

I did my own armchair tour of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. The official page has all the travel information and photos you could want.

However, for a more personal and timely touch, I recommend visiting the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore Facebook page. Here you can look at current pictures and videos - and even read a poem!

For those wishing to learn more about the laws that created these parks, the National Park Service maintains a page of legal history. This page links to laws on:

• Archeology
• Historic Preservation
• Maritime
• Museums & Archives
• National Park Service
• Native Americans & NAGPRA
• Tax Incentives for Historic Preservation
• Transportation

The Apostle Islands National Lakeshore was established by Public Law 91-424 on September 26, 1970. The lakeshore was created to "conserve and develop for the benefit, inspiration, education, recreational use, and enjoyment of the public certain significant islands and shoreline of the United States and their related geographic, scenic, and scientific values ... in Ashland and Bayfield Counties, Wisconsin." You can read the originating act which created the lakeshore in our library or use HeinOnline to research remarks in the Congressional Record. Statements you'll find include the following summary of the lakeshore:

"The area is an excellent one for a national lakeshore, containing beautiful beaches, 20 islands in the lake on which many animal species live, and much geological evidence of the glacial period, including caves, caverns, and arches carved out thousands of years ago." (116 Cong. Rec. 31210 (1970))

The Gaylord A. Nelson Apostle Islands National Lakeshore Wilderness Act can be read online, as part of Public Law 108-447. You can also read the current law for the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore online.

The 2013 theme for Earth Day is the face of climate change. How do you plan to celebrate? 

If research is on your agenda, head to our Environmental Law page for links to a number of agencies and guides relevant to environmental law.

Image source: By John McConnell, via Wikimedia Commons

On this page we list a number of library resources that may be of interest as well, including:

• Current Critical Issues in Environmental Law
  Green building and LEED certification information.
• Environmental Law in a Nutshell
  A survey of information, including natural resources, toxic and hazardous waste, GMO, and administrative and judicial decisions.
• Environmental Liability and Real Property Transactions
  Cleanup and sale of contaminated property.
• Specialized Legal Research
  Includes a chapter guiding researchers on environmental law and land use planning.
• Waters and water rights
  Private and public water rights, environmental controls, and agreements and laws ranging from local to international.
• Environmental Resources
  A list of other books in our collection related to environmental concerns.

As the volume of trade accomplished through electronic means continues to skyrocket, this area of the law is also developing and evolving at a staggering rate. To help practitioners keep pace with new cases, statutes, regulations, proposals, commentaries, and model laws, authors Jane Kaufman Winn and Benjamin Wright provide guidance on the implications of communications technology for both consumer and commercial transactions, as well as in the workplace.

The fourth edition of The Law of Electronic Commerce has been completely revised to reflect the explosive growth of the internet and the one-to-many network model that has replaced older forms of electronic commerce. Readers will find practice pointers and in-depth analysis of:

• Electronic contracting
• Electronic payments and lending
• Intellectual property rights and rights in data
• Privacy and collections of data
• E-business regulation, including antitrust, trade practices, securities, and banking
• Taxation of electronic commerce
• Computer crime and computer security
• Electronic records in litigation, including authentication and the best evidence rule
• Employer liability with regard to electronic communications and devices in the workplace
• Developing a records management program
• Liability of service providers

Author Wright also maintains both a blog and a Google+ page. His recent posts include:

• How to Confiscate a Mobile Device
• Attorney-Client Confidentiality: Data Security Breach
• Taxes, Regulation and E-Commerce Innovation
• Corporate E-mail Archives: Unwanted Liability or Searchable Asset?
• Negotiating By Way of the Cloud Gathering Mobile Legal Evidence