Jump into Fall! A New Season ... A Fresh Approach to Legal Research (09/07)
By Dianne Chambers
This may sound strange to some, but I am so happy that summer is coming to an end. As a child, summer meant freedom. Hot days meant no school, jumping in the pool and going to the beach. I enjoyed lazy days and playing with friends. However, as I matured, I wondered: “What’s the big deal with summer?” The days are unbearably hot, not to mention the humidity, mosquitoes and the need to run to the salon every other week for a pedicure. Too much hassle. Give me fall. Ah, fall. As the days get shorter, the air gets crisper and more refreshing. I look forward to pulling out my boots, sweaters and other trendy fall gear. Most of all, I love the myriad of colors of the turning leaves. Fall also reminds me of going to school when I was child. There was nothing like getting new clothes, bright new pencils and clean notebook paper. It always felt like a fresh start, ripe with the promise of something new to learn.
Now that most of us are no longer in school, but rather going to our jobs every day, we do not have to put away that notion of a fresh start. Since summer is a time to slow down, why not use fall as a time to rev up your skills—your research skills, that is! As a professional law librarian, I have no doubt that your days are filled with deadlines, meetings and endless organizing to get everything done. How about taking a quick class? I know what you are thinking: “I have fall associates starting and I have no time to take a class!” I understand. However, I have outlined some ways that you can take advantage of a number of educational opportunities—some of which you can utilize in as little as five minutes.
If you have just five or ten minutes to spare, take a look at the research tips we offer on the InfoPro Web site. In this very small amount of time, you can infuse your research skills with fresh possibility. A scan of recent topics includes tips on conducting company, area of law, or Expert Witness research, just to name a few.
If you have just 20 minutes during the day, take some time out for one of our Coffee Break Webinars. There are a number of topics for you to choose from, and after you’ve completed the session, you are rewarded with a $5 Starbucks Card. Now that is a well-earned latte!
May I also suggest that you schedule time to take a course, or to meet with your local LexisNexis® Librarian Relations Consultant? We are happy to take the time to teach you something new. We can meet with you in person at your convenience, or over the telephone. Now that is easy. Your local LRC can cover pretty much any legal research topic that you have in mind. Some of the newer topics we are happy to cover are: Legislative research with the new Potomac Publishing solution—specifically Legislative Impact® and Regulatory Impact™. This new source allows you to search for amendments to laws, and uncover how these amendments impact other laws. Suddenly, legislative and regulatory research is no longer a burden! Other topics you may wish to inquire about are area of law solutions such as LexisNexis® Total Litigator, Tax Center, Global Legal and Global IP Law Service. These tools consolidate all of the sources for a practice area onto one page. These are very useful for practitioners, and a great way for librarians to keep abreast of sources in a practice area.
In addition, your Librarian Relations Consultant is happy to help you with planning training classes for your staff as well as for the firm at large. We can assist you in compiling a pathfinder for sources, and help you uncover the best way to search and teach these sources to your end users.
Lastly, you should check the AALL Web site as well as your local and special chapter sites to see which classes are being offered in the fall. Fall is a great time to freshen up your skills. After your fall associates have settled in, and before the holidays start, take some time and jump into fall by learning some new skills!
