The Zief Law Library added new materials to its collection in January 2023! Check out some of our new titles, with topics including: contracts; copyright; administrative law; criminal law; and criminal procedure. Explore our monthly New Materials at Zief Law Library webpage for the full list of recent arrivals.
You may have heard the good news that Professor Michele Neitz has joined the USF School of Law faculty and brought the Blockchain Law for Social Good Center and a seminar on Blockchain Technology and the Law with her. This week, we take a quick dive into what blockchain is and highlight some blockchain research resources available to you through Zief Law Library.
What is Blockchain Technology and Why Should Law Students Care About It?
In general, blockchain technology helps decentralize the movement and management of data and digital representations of assets or other value. It enables transaction authentication and settlement without centralized intermediaries or authorities. Importantly, there are many evolving applications for blockchain technology, including cryptocurrencies, online voting, medical records, insurance policies, property and real estate records, copyrights and licenses and supply chain tracking. In “smart contracts,” blockchain technology embeds payouts between the contracted parties and automatically executes when the parties meet their contractual conditions. Continue reading “Blockchain Resources at Zief”→
Need to find case law that helps define a certain word or phrase? Luckily there’s a resource designed to help with just that! This week, in his special column, “Research Tips from an Old School Librarian,” research librarian John Shafer introduces us to this invaluable resource, how to use it, and how to access it.
One of the very useful classic research tools is a multi-volume set titled Words and Phrases, by Thomson West. First published in 1940, it has been the go-to source for judicial definitions of words and phrases, from multiple jurisdictions, drawing on cases from 1658 to the present. And these aren’t exclusively legal words or phrases, the set includes cases that provide judicial definitions of words such as “time” and phrases such as “happy camper“.
You can use the search bar, as shown here, to input words and phrases and find helpful judicial definitions.
Even though the set Words and Phrases is still in print and kept up to date by West editors, today, you can also find it on Westlaw, included under Secondary Sources in the “Tools & Resources” panel (pictured below). Alternatively, you can type in “Words and Phrases” into the search bar to be taken directly to the content page. Even more directly, you can search words and phrases by using a special field search. For example, if you go to California State & Federal Cases and enter into the search box WP(“yellow-dog contract”), you will find a California Supreme Court case that you can cite that defines exactly what such a contract is. Any terms included in parenthesis after the letters “WP” will search for your terms in the words and phrases field.
In Westlaw’s “Secondary Sources” database, you can find “Words & Phrases” under the additional Tools & Resources on the right side.
While the Zief Law Library no longer has the print version of Words and Phrases available for browsing, you can still access this great resource and same information through Westlaw today. Try it out!
Welcome back and Happy New Year! The Zief Law Library added new materials to its collection in December. Check out some of our new titles, with topics including: evidence; blockchains and cryptocurrencies; trademarks and unfair competition; and judicial error, false imprisonment, and discrimination in criminal justice administration. Here are just some of our new items, but explore our monthly New Materials at Zief Law Library webpage for the full list of recent arrivals.
You’re probably familiar with Lexis+ and Westlaw Edge (soon to be Westlaw Precision) and have used them to find primary and secondary legal research resources. As we told you in our post about HeinOnline last month, there are other research tools that we recommend you try. This month we’re taking a look at Bloomberg Law and highlighting some of its unique features.
What is Bloomberg Law?
Bloomberg Law is a legal research platform that combines the latest in legal technology with workflow tools, news, primary and secondary sources, and business intelligence. Sixteen Practice Centers (e.g., Bankruptcy, Labor & Employment, and Tax) group Bloomberg Law resources by areas of legal practice, providing resources for that practice area: primary sources, dockets, news, treatises, practice tools, and Practical Guidance. Continue reading “Beyond Lexis & Westlaw: Bloomberg Law”→
The Zief Law Library added new materials to its collection in October! This month’s new books list is small but mighty. Check out some of our new titles, with topics including: United States race relations, white supremacy, and multiracial democracy; trusts; consumer credit; intellectual property; immunization laws; and environmental law. Here is a list of some of our new items, but explore our monthly New Materials at Zief Law Library webpage for the full list of recent arrivals.
You’re probably familiar with Lexis+ and Westlaw (soon to be Westlaw Precision) and have used them to find legal research resources, like cases, statutes, regulations and secondary sources. But legal research sometimes requires more than those – and there are other research tools that you can – and should – consider using to help find materials. Here, we’ll dive into HeinOnline, a multidisciplinary legal research platform, and highlight some of its newest database offerings in LGBTQ+ Law, Civil Rights and Social Justice, and Water Law. Continue reading “Beyond Lexis and Westlaw: HeinOnline”→
The Zief Law Library added new materials to its collection in September! Check out some of our new titles, with topics including: East Asian politics, civil rights, and legislation; global economic conditions; project management; terrorism and the law; and US administrative procedure. Here is a list of some of our new items, but explore our monthly New Materials at Zief Law Library page for the full list of new arrivals!
Over the summer months, the Zief Law Library added several new titles to its collection, including materials on: environmental policy; evidence; animal law; property; black liberation; law practice and mental health; transparency and accessibility in the law; and recent US legislation.
Forget your textbook off-campus? Not to worry – we’ve also got all of your casebooks available! Stop by the Zief Circulation Desk for more information!
Here’s a list of just some of our new items. But, for a full list of the new materials collected from May, June, July, and August, check out our New Materials at Zief Law Library page!
Need help with your research assignments? Your research librarians are just a click away! Whether you’re navigating a 1L LRWA memo, tackling an upper-division or directed research paper, or even completing an assignment for a clinic, externship, or internship, the librarians have one-on-one research consultation appointments available to you.
Credit: Scott Graham for Unsplash.com
Having also been through law school, the research librarians know how tricky research planning can be, especially if you’re diving into an area of law that you’re unfamiliar with. Plus, there are lots of resources in our databases, our catalog, and across the internet that can be really overwhelming to navigate alone. So, you can book a research consultation with Suzanne, John, and Mike at the beginning or even throughout your project, to make sure you’re staying on target and getting to the sources you need (or didn’t know you needed). Plus, we’re available to meet in Zief or on Zoom, so you can make an appointment whether you’re on- or off-campus!
Need other research help but don’t necessarily need a full consultation? The librarians also hold regular hours for live reference assistance. You can stop by the library to see us or send us a question via instant message or email! Visit our Zief Research Help page for more information and instructions!
