
Library & Legal Resources News

Professor David Moore has recently posted his newest article, The President's Unconstitutional Treatymaking, to SSRN. The article is forthcoming in the UCLA Law Review. For more of Professor Moore's scholarship see his SSRN page.

Writing Tips from the Supremes
26 May 2011
Legal writing is an area where law students and lawyers can always improve. After my first year of law school I had the opportunity to extern for Justice Matthew Durrant at the Utah Supreme Court. Before beginning work, I spoke with Justice Durrant about what …

Private Ordering with Shareholder Bylaws
12 May 2011
Professor Gordon Smith has recently posted his newest article, Private Ordering with Shareholder Bylaws, to SSRN. Co-authors of the paper include Matthew G. Wright and Marcus Kai Hintze. Here's the abstract: In this Article, we propose legal reforms to empower shareholders in public corporations. Most …

Want to Clerk for Congress?
10 May 2011
Clerking for Congress may become a real possibility for law school graduates according to the National Law Journal. There are still some hurdles to clear before Congressional clerkships become a reality, but if you're interested you should keep it on your radar. Hat …

50 State Surveys
04 May 2011
One of the most daunting and painful research projects asked of research assistants is the 50 state survey. In short, this requires you to find the law on a particular topic in all 50 states. This type of project often appears when …

Legal Research in Foreign Countries
28 April 2011
We know that many of our students will be doing externships overseas this summer. Unfortunately, many of the resources you've learned about it in your first year legal research class won't be as helpful in a foreign country. We do, however, have …

Summer Research Help – 2011
25 April 2011
Classes are done. Finals are over. But, in law school there's always work to do, even if it is of a different sort. We wish luck to all of you working on the write-on this week. When the write-on is over, most …

Alternatives to Westlaw/Lexis
19 April 2011
My last post laid out Westlaw and Lexis policies for summer access for law students. There may be times during the summer where you won't qualify for student access and you may be looking for some free sources to use before jumping onto a firm's expensive Westlaw/Lexis account. There …

Westlaw, Lexis Summer 2011 Access
14 April 2011
Contrary to popular belief, Westlaw and LexisNexis are not free in law school. The Law Library pays annual subscription fees so that students can access these services. Because Westlaw and Lexis want your business, they do provide us with a discounted academic rate, …

Getting Ready for Finals
08 April 2011
I can't believe it's April again. Crazy. And, unfortunately for students, April and law school--at least BYU Law School--mean finals. The law librarians here know what it's like to take law school finals and we feel for you. We want to do everything …

Changes to Reserve Room
07 April 2011
If you've looked for something recently in the Reserve Room (the enclosed room across from the Reference Desk), you've likely noticed things have changed a bit. In an attempt to provide better access to major legal treatises and other useful resources, the …

The Search For Legislative Intent
06 April 2011
Legislative history research is a skill all aspiring lawyers should gain. Because this type of research doesn't come up as often as statutory or case law research, it can be difficult to remember how to do it. One of the most important things …

Printing on WestlawNext
01 April 2011
The long-awaited day of printing from WestlawNext to the standalone Westlaw printers is finally here. In any document, you can find the print icon in the drop-down list underneath the email or download button. The icon changes according to whatever you did last. …

Understanding WestlawNext
31 March 2011
By now most of you have been exposed to WestlawNext and many of you are using it frequently. I recently wrote a short column for Student Lawyer magazine that may help you understand a bit more about WestlawNext. The column focuses on some …

Law School Awards 2011
28 March 2011
Last Thursday, BYU Law School held its Annual Awards Banquet and Barrister's Ball at the Provo City Library. A number of law students, faculty, and staff were recognized for their many achievements and contributions this year. A listing of the awards and their …

Baradaran on the Separation of Banking and Commerce
23 March 2011
Professor Mehrsa Baradaran has posted her newest paper, Reconsidering the Separation of Banking and Commerce, to SSRN. From the abstract: This Article examines the long-held belief that banking and commerce need to be kept separate in order to ensure a stable banking system. Specifically, …

State Secrets
21 March 2011
If you're interested in researching the state secrets privilege, you may be interested in a new State Secrets Archive from the Georgetown Law School. The archive has case law, litigation documents, executive branch materials, news articles, and scholarly works related to the privilege collected …

BYU Law Ranked 42 in U.S. News
15 March 2011
The 2012 U.S. News and World Report Law School Rankings are out today--quite a bit earlier than last year. Whether you like them or not, they are certainly the most anticipated and discussed law school rankings out there. BYU Law held steady at #42 …