ALR Student’s Corner: Hein’s ScholarCheck and How Can I Make It a Useful Research Tool?

What is it?

Hein’s ScholarCheck is an accumulation of articles in HeinOnline libraries that list the number of times an article has been cited by other articles.  It is similar to Westlaw’s “Keycite” feature or LexisNexis’ “Shepardize” feature.  The difference is that instead of looking up case law and its current standing and influence (if any) on the courts, you are looking up articles and their level of influence on that topic (the topic you are researching) which can better help you organize the best articles to cite when you are writing your memorandum, brief, or article.

How do you use it?

There are a couple different ways to use the feature, it can be found at the page viewing level using the citations on page feature to link directly to cited material in HeinOnline or you can also view a list of articles that cite the article or document you are reading.  There is a ScholarCheck icon with the words “Articles that cite this document.”

Click on this link to view a list of articles.  If there are no articles, the page you are directed to after clicking the icon link will indicate such.  After finding the number of times cited, you can then view those articles by clicking on the title link.

Example:

From the Electronic Resources page of the Charlotte School of Law Library, access the HeinOnline home page and click on the link “American Bar Association Journals”.  Now locate the “citation navigator”.  Once you’ve located this,  put in the following citation – 60 Stan. L. Rev. 2087.  This is a 2007 article written by Andrew Bruck and Andrew Canter, titled “Supply, Demand, and the Changing Economics of Large Law Firms”.

After confirming this is the correct article click on the “Articles that cite this document” link.  You will notice there are twenty-five (25)  results.  Within each article listed you will note the ScholarCheck icon is present and beside it a number which lists how many times that article has been cited.  You will also note that any article not fully available on this website is highlighted in pink with a tip to search your library catalog.

Conclusion

ScholarCheck can be a powerful tool when trying to find the most heavily weighted articles on the topic you are researching, and can potentially point you to another article referenced that is more on point than the article you initially started reading.

Happy researching!

~Amber Holt, L’12~

Killer Cover Letters

Cover letter writing is essentially storytelling.  You are telling your future employer why she specifically matters to you, and why your skill-sets particularly matter to her.  You are not merely ticking-off the bullet-points from your resume.

Let’s dissect a sample cover letter’s Introduction and in a subsequent blog, we will tackle the Body and Conclusion.  To highlight the necessary elements of a stylish, personable, and strong Introduction to a cover letter, consider this Early Draft and compare it to its Final Draft by way of the color coding.

Early Draft

“I am a recent graduate of Flinestone University School of Law.  Before becoming an attorney, I worked as an editor at a major publishing house in New York.  The hours were long and the pay was low, but it was an incredible time to learn.  Currently, I am looking for such an experience at Coats and Bennett.   I am eager to remain in Amityville and apply my writing and analytical skills to the intellectual property arena.  I promise to bring to the company the same hard work I applied to my legal studies and the same entrepreneurial spirit I exhibited working as a youth counselor to help put myself through law school.”

Final Draft

“I recently graduated from Flinestone University School of Law with a JD/MLS, which I supplemented with intellectual property studies at Bedrock School of Law.  I am writing to express my interest in providing research and document production support for your firm.  My masters in library science propelled my legal education toward the most current research trends and methods.  As a result, I celebrate exciting research discoveries with an accelerating frequency, and I draft documents and complex communications thoughtfully.  Moreover, my unremitting success as a youth counselor demonstrates a special ability to coach and encourage people toward the attainment of their goals.  These common and enduring displays of my customer service orientation make me ideally suited to conduct research and write preliminary drafts for your partners and associates.”

Analysis

The Final Draft works better because it uses the joint degree and supplemental studies to distinguish the candidate and immediately suggests to this particular employer, an intellectual property attorney, the reasons for the candidate’s inquiry.  The Early Draft does none of these.

The Early Draft uses three sentences to say nothing.  It makes the mistake of falling back on the resume without application to the candidate’s skill-set.  Also, the candidate makes it all-too-clear that she has not researched the firm.  But, take a look at the Final Draft: in just a few words, it states the reason for the letter and demonstrates an awareness of the particular needs of the employer.

The Final Draft accomplishes more than the Early Draft.  It merely lists the skill-sets.  The Final Draft, however, uses the skill-sets to describe how they would benefit the employer.  In doing this, the candidate additionally manages to show-off her personality by using, for instance, the active voice (i.e. “propelled” and “celebrate”).

The Early Draft shows you a truly terrible closing sentence for an introduction.  This is so because the candidate has not spent enough time reflecting on her particular skill-sets.  But, by the Final Draft, she has.  She has brought them together under a common theme – customer service orientation – and tailored it to the employer’s needs.

For Additional Guidance, Consider These Helpful Resources:

CSL Catalog

• Cover Letter Magic: Trade Secrets of Professional Resume Writers, by Wendy S. Enelow – PD HF5383 .E4787 2010
• Step-by-Step Cover Letters, by Evelyn U. Salvador – PD HF5383 .S247 2011
• Guerrilla Tactics for Getting the Legal Job of Your Dreams, by Kimm Alayne Walton – KF297 .W24 2008

Law Journals

• Donna Gerson, The Revised Cover Letter, 33 Student Law. 18 (2004-05)
• Erin Binns, Use Cover Letters to Tell Compelling Stories of Fit, 39 Student Law. 5 (2010-11)

Blogs

• Berkeley Law
• Widener Law

~Cory Lenz~

New and Improved: Study Room Reservations Online!

Can you believe it? Yes, you heard correctly.

You can now reserve your study rooms online from anywhere and avoid having to make a trip to the Circulation Desk. You can see what rooms are booked when, find out more information on the rooms, such as the number of outlets or the size of its whiteboard, and you can even add a nickname to your booking so your study group can find you!

It’s this easy…

1. Go to http://studyrooms.charlottelaw.edu
2. Choose your type of study room from the menu on the right
3. Choose a room number
4. Choose a time
5. Confirm it through your CharlotteLaw email address

Here’s the fine print on our policies…

• Study rooms are available to be booked up to 7 days in advance
• Rooms are booked in 30 minute increments
• You can book up to 4 hours a day
• Please cancel at least 30 minutes prior to your start time, to allow other students the opportunity to book the room. Repeated non-cancellations will result in you being denied future room bookings.
• Be sure to confirm your booking through your CharlotteLaw email address within 30 minutes of the booking.

Questions about the process?

Check out our detailed walkthrough on booking your own study rooms.

So enjoy your new-found freedom and book away!

~Ashley Moye~

Advanced Catalog Searching

Although our new online catalog (Encore) is set up to function much like Google with one simple search box,  you also have the option to perform an “advanced search” located directly below the search on the right hand side.

Encore supports a Boolean search, search by Title, Author, or Subject, and pre-search limits. A dynamic advanced search form allows users to construct these complex queries directly within Encore. Additionally, users will be able to apply multiple limits of the same type (i.e. Book or eBook), and view results within a specific range of publication dates (i.e. 2001-2011).

The Encore Advanced Search satisfies both novice and sophisticated users.  It works seamlessly for patrons accustomed to the more simple online catalog , or reference librarians needing a more detailed search form for bibliographic instruction. Below is an example of the Encore Advanced Search form:

Please feel free to contact me with any questions.  Thanks!

~Brian Trippodo ~

File-sharing Is the Newest Religion in Sweden

Image from gawkerassets.com

The Missionary Church of Kopimism has been officially recognized as a church in Sweden.  The approval came shortly before Christmas on the group’s third try for official church status.  According to Isak Gerson, the founder of the church, “Information is holy and copying is a sacrament.”  The sacred symbols of the church include CTRL+C and CTRL+V and the group holds religious services called kopyactings where members of the religious community share information.  Membership exceeds 3000.

Some critics think that the group is trying to get around anti-piracy laws.  Some supporters say it is a step towards open sharing of information.  Gerkson adds, “Hopefully this is one step towards the day when we can live out our faith without fear of prosecution.”

The website has been up and down recently with all of the media coverage but here is a prayer from their website.  See if it sounds familiar:

Our copy, thou who art in computer

blessed be thy bits.

Internet come.

Your code be done,

in torrent, as it is on the disk.

Our daily bandwidth, give us today,

and forgive us for our closed ports,

as we forgive those who stop seeding,

and do not shut us out behind a firewall

but make us a port-forward to the torrent client.

For thine is the copy, our powr and top ten downloads.

In eternity.

 So what will be the impact on libraries in Sweden?  Will they now be de-facto houses of worship?  What about in America?  Time will tell if the “religious fervor” reaches our shores and the students at the copier aren’t just preparing for class but are instead engaged in worship.

Image from datachurch.com

~Mary Susan Lucas~

Do You Know about Downton Abbey?

Welcome back!  It’s the dead of winter and we are back at school and work. Perhaps many of you are feeling the strain of the forty hour work week or a fourteen hour course load. When you are putting out lots of energy it is important to eat well and rest well.

What do you like to do to unwind? I like to take my dog Leo on a nice long walk through the neighborhoods of Elizabeth and Eastover. Tree lined avenues and quiet evening air do my soul good. Long walks also keep my little pooch happy and fit.

I also like to watch evening specials on PBS such as the ever popular Downton Abbey. If you haven’t heard of Downton Abbey I encourage you to tune in and check it out!  Downton Abbey is a Primetime Emmy Award winning series shown on PBS on Sunday evenings. Downton Abbey is set at the turn of the century just as women were getting the right to vote and the automobile was becoming popular. The series follows an aristocratic family in England as they deal with the social and economic challenges of modern life. Colorful period costumes, pleasant British accents, and historic buildings make this a nice viewing experience. Downton Abbey is an excellent escape. There is nothing better than some delicious snacks and a PBS special!

I hope you all find your outlet and do not hesitate to indulge yourselves in something pleasant after you have left the workday behind.

~Leanna Fitzgerald~

Join in and Vote for Your Favorite Legal Movie!

Recently, I found an old ABA article that listed the Greatest 25 Law Movies of All Time and thought it was a great list… But which movies would be on my list if I had one?  Which movies would be on your list?

Here’s the top 25, by the ABA.  Choose your favorite – and let us know if you have a favorite not listed. We are always open to suggestions and love to expand our legal film collection.

And here’s the list of Honorable Mentions, if you’re interested in some additional write-in contenders.

• THE ACCUSED (1988) Jodie Foster is a woman who is gang-raped in a bar and, when the rapists go free, goads a reluctant prosecutor to pursue the patrons who urged them on.

• ADAM’S RIB (1949) George Cukor’s mannered comedy, with Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn as married lawyers who oppose each other in court.

• BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT (1956) Dana Andrews is a writer who sets himself up on a murder rap to reveal the shortcomings of circum­stantial evidence.

• THE CAINE MUTINY (1954) Humphrey Bogart is riveting in this adaptation of Herman Wouk’s complex novel about military authority and moral duty.

• CLASS ACTION (1991) A father and daughter clash in and outside the courtroom as they square off in a volatile product liability case.

•  THE CLIENT (1994) Susan Sarandon is an underwhelming lawyer who finds herself representing a young boy who has witnessed a Mafia hit.

• COUNSELLOR AT LAW (1933) John Barrymore is a workaholic lawyer who is in danger of losing his family in this William Wyler film.

• THE COURT-MARTIAL OF BILLY MITCHELL (1955) Otto Preminger directs Gary Cooper in this tale of the real-life maverick general who thinks an airplane can sink a ship—and is court-martialed for proving it.

• THE DEVIL’S ADVOCATE (1997) A new attorney introduced into the world’s most powerful law firm discovers that its managing partner is morally challenged.

• THE FIRM (1993) Tom Cruise is recruited by a prestigious law firm that he gradually learns has a very sinister background.

• THE FORTUNE COOKIE (1966) Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon romp in this Billy Wilder comedy about a sleazy lawyer who talks a relative into feigning injury for the sake of a lawsuit.

• GHOSTS OF MISSISSIPPI (1996) The true story of efforts to bring to justice Byron De La Beckwith for the 30-year-old murder of civil rights activist Medgar Evers.

• INTOLERABLE CRUELTY (2003) The Coen brothers reveal their take on divorce law. George Clooney is at his toothy best.

• JAGGED EDGE (1985) Defense attorney Glenn Close gets close to a client, played by Jeff Bridges, who is on trial for the murder of his heiress wife.

• JFK (1991) Oliver Stone takes on New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison’s efforts to solve the Kennedy assassination. History yields to riveting storytelling.

• LEGALLY BLONDE (2001) Reese Witherspoon became one of the most sought-after actresses in Hollywood after ridiculing the elitism of Harvard Law.

• LIAR, LIAR (1997) A hilarious vehicle for Jim Carrey, who plays a lawyer who finds he is physically incapable of telling a fib.

• MICHAEL CLAYTON (2007) George Clooney shines in this look at the dark underbelly of big-firm law.

• MUSIC BOX (1989) Hungarian immigrant Mike Laszlo, accused of being a war criminal, asks his daughter (Jessica Lange) to defend him in court. She learns more about him than she wants to know.

• NORTH COUNTRY (2005) It’s one wom­an against the system: The extra­ordinary Charlize Theron plays a miner who sues the company.

• THE PELICAN BRIEF (1993) A law stu­dent discovers a plot to assassinate U.S. Supreme Court justices in this John Grisham adaptation.

• THE PEOPLE VS. LARRY FLYNT (1996) Cameos abound in this portrayal of the trial of the renowned porn publisher.

• PRIMAL FEAR (1996) Richard Gere is the attorney and Edward Norton a young altar boy accused of killing a priest in a story whose plot twists and turns.

• THE RAINMAKER (1997) Another John Grisham lawyer fights the system, this time with Matt Damon starring and Francis Ford Coppola directing.

• A TIME TO KILL (1996) An earnest retelling of the Grisham novel about a racially charged killing in the Deep South. Matthew McConaughey and Sandra Bullock spark

I also discovered that a book was about to be published entitled Lawyering Skills From Classic Films, by Professor Kelly Lynn Anders. The author is the director of communications and diversity at Creighton University of Law. The movies reviewed in Professor Anders’ book were all produced before the 1960s, which is when the modern rating system was established. Anders only wanted to use wholesome movies, those that did not include graphic violence, offensive language, or nudity. The movies included were chosen because they offered useful insights into skills needed to be a successful lawyer.

Here is a link to the National Law Journal article which reviewed  the book entitled Lawyering Skills From Classic Films: http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202537122970&slreturn=1

Some of the movies listed in Anders’ book illustrate these lawyering skills:

1. To Kill a Mockingbird-Compassion
2. 12 Angry Men-Negotiation Skills
3. Witness for the Prosecution- Negotiation Skills
4. Judgement at Nuremberg
5. Inherit the Wind
6. Pinky
7. The Paradine Case
8. Salesman-Marketing
9. The Talk of The Town-Flexibility
10. Legally Blonde
11. My Cousin Vinny

So what do you think?

~Jane Fraytet~

January Happenings

Happy New Year from the Charlotte School of Law Library! Why not start 2012 off right by taking advantage of all that Charlotte has to offer? We’ve got something for everyone!

For the theatre lover:  Love, Loss and what I wore, Madame Butterfly ,Memphis , The Color Purple

For the music lover: Disney in Concert: Magical Music from the Movies , B.B.King , Red Hot Chili Peppers , Miranda Lambert, Steep Canyon Rangers

For the comic book lover: Ichibancon

For the homeowner: Home&Landscape Show

For the foodie: Queen’s Feast Charlotte Restaurant Week

For the blushing bride: The Bridal Showcase

For brave souls: Repticon Reptile and Exotic Animal Show

For the sports fan: Good news, the Charlotte Bobcats are back!

For the funny bone: Colin Quinn, Paula Poundstone

For the kids: Family Friendly Improv Comedy Show at the Comedy Zone,  The Emperor’s New Clothes, The Borrowers

Finally, honor Martin Luther King, Jr. at the MLK Prayer Breakfast at the McCrorey Y or volunteer your time at Hands on Charlotte during their MLK Week of Service.

~Jamie Sunnycalb~

Five Ways to Build an Effective Team

Patrick Lencioni chose a catchy title for his book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team:  A Leadership Fable.  Although the title and the author’s model focus on some negatives, the book is actually a positive account of how to build effective teams.

The book begins with the story of Kathryn Peterson, the new CEO of DecisionTech observing her staff.  DecisionTech’s problem is that while the company “has more cash, more experienced executives, better technology, and more connections than any of their competitors,” DecisionTech is behind two competitors in the market. Peterson’s objective is to create an effective team.

Lencioni uses this fable to demonstrate his model, which is covered in detail in the last forty pages of the book. It is a practical guide for someone building a team or participating on a team.  The five elements of his pyramid shaped model include the following:

The first and basic dysfunction is an absence of trust among team members.  Team members have to be open and vulnerable to each other to build the foundation of trust.

His second dysfunction actually builds on the first: fear of conflict. Unfiltered debate and conflict over ideas are necessary to obtain real, relevant outcomes.

Lack of commitment is the third dysfunction. Team members have to buy-into decisions and action plans.

Avoidance of accountability or not holding peers to the high standards needed by the group is the fourth dysfunction.

And lastly, inattention to results becomes the end result of the earlier dysfunctions. Team members are focused on their individual needs above the collective goals of the team.

While Lencioni’s model seems intuitively straight forward, building cohesive teams is not.  From some former experience with teams, I know that top management has to allocate time, resources and continual support for effective teams to develop.  There are other factors such as knowledge of group dynamics and the stability of group members that also impact success. All in all, Lencioni’s emphasis on trust as the foundation of effective teams is simple and clear and his model provides a practical roadmap in building effective teams that get results.

The book is a practical, easy read on the topic of effective teams.

~Betty Thomas~

LibGuide Updates – Mobile Apps and Troubleshooting

Do you know about our Research Guides page?  Here’s where you’ll find a range of information tools that are designed to assist you with your research and study at Charlotte School of Law.  Created by CSL librarians and staff, they are a pathway to library resources most relevant to your area of study and contain recommended library resources – books, databases, journals and websites, as well as helpful research tips.

But did you also know that we also feature guides less devoted to research and more devoted to providing you with tools to assist you during your journey through law school?

With the close of 2011 and the dawning of 2012, we’d like to highlight two new LibGuides that the Charlotte Law Library has recently published…

Mobile applications are becoming increasingly popular and relevant to our daily lives - There’s an App for That? highlights a number of mobile applications that might be of interest to law students and lawyers, including a list of hand-picked CSL student favorites.

And our Database Troubleshooting Guide provides tips and solutions to the some of the most common access issues our patrons encounter, including off-campus access, authentication problems, PDF display issues, and secure connection errors.

So check us out over your holidays, and be sure to let the library know if there’s anything you’d like to see added to our growing Research Guides list…  We’re always eager to take on new challenges, especially for our patrons!

~Ashley Moye~