Announcements and News

The law library is open all summer.

5/17/2013

Over the summer, a construction project will expand the Law Classroom Building, which is right next door to the law library. The law library is still open. Walk around the fenced in construction area to get to the law library front entrance.

A calendar with hours for May 2013 is available by clicking here.

Shredders, phone chargers, and more!

4/17/2013

In the past month, we've made some improvements to the facilities!

New shredders: The copy rooms on the first and second floor both have new shredders. You can safely dispose of confidential documents here. The shredders are "industrial strength" and can even shred a CD or DVD. The new shredders are knee high and black.

Phone charging station: The law library has a new phone and iPad charging station for student use. This is located in the Computer Lab, Room 105. It can charge Android, iPhone, and Blackberry. The charging station is located on the wall behind the Westlaw printers.
(On a related note, the Westlaw printers will be moved out over the summer. Westlaw will no longer offer free-of-charge printing next year. Lexis Nexis will continue to offer free-of-charge printing next year.)

Old Texas Statutes: Hein Online now has old Texas statutes from the 1860s up to 1925. To get to this, visit Hein Online, look along the left hand side for "State Statutes: A Historical Archive", click that link, and browse to Texas. The law library also got a donation of Vernon's ranging from the 1950s up to the 1990s. Combined with an earlier donation by Denman, Franklin, & Denman means that the law library can now aid in more comprehensive statutory history research.

Waiting for Bar Results? You still get free-of-charge Texas CLE videos, audios, and handouts

3/01/2013

Click here for a handout on how you can get to the State Bar of Texas's CLE courses, as a law student or recent grad awaiting bar results.

Currently enrolled law students at accredited Texas law schools, including St. Mary's, get free-of-charge CLEs from the State Bar of Texas. CLEs, or Continueing Legal Education courses, are short courses of less than one day. These course are designed for practicing lawyers to either introduce the lawyer to a new area of law, or to go deeper into an area in which the lawyer already practices.

Brief Inspiration

2/26/2013

The winners of the 2010, 2011, and 2012 annual Best Brief Contest have graciously allowed the law library to post their briefs here. Check out last year's Best of Section briefs and Best Overall brief for some legal writing inspiration.

A photograph of some eye glasses ontop of an open book.

Legal Research Workshop Today! Cost Effective Legal Research for Solo Practicioners

2/25/2013

4pm to 5pm, in Room 217 of the Law Library, Feb. 25.

This is the second session in Career Services' Solo Practice Academy series. Session 2 is presented jointly with the Law Library. The session covers Cost Effective Legal Research techniques for solo practitioners who do not have full and unlimited access to Westlaw and Lexis in their practices. RSVP in the Events section of Symplicity under Workshops.

Hot off the press, for you, this Valentine's Day...

2/12/2013

Cover image for a book, The Legal Kiss: The Legal Aspects of the Kiss, show large hot pink lips against a black background.

New books arrived at the law library in December and January

1/4/2013

The monthly list of newly arrived books is available. Some interesting titles on this month's list include:

New issue of Moot Points, the Law Library Newsletter

The January February edition of the law library newsletter is out. Highlights include:

Restaurant review: Gallo Pizzeria
Spotlight on the Rare Book Room
Recent faculty publications

New location for books and CLEs about Texas law

Over the winter break, Texas material was moved from the second floor of the law library to the first. If you are looking for a Texas CLE, or treatise on Texas law, you can find that in first floor Reading Room organized by call number.

Bar Study Resources

Recent graduates studying for the bar have access to the following library resources:

On campus access to online legal research tools (not ProDoc, WestLaw, or Lexis Nexis).
Study carrels (All study carrels for the February bar are already reserved. May graduates are encouraged to request a carrel now for summer use.
Ability to check out books from the law library. (When checking out books, please notify the librarian of your recent graduation.)
The law library keeps many bar prep books behind the desk. BarBri books, Kaplan PMBR books, Emanuel Law in a Flash flash cards, PMBR videos, Gilbert Law Summaries audio recordings, and Sum and Substance audio recordings are all available.
Access to the building and facilities equal to current students.