Cool Internet Research Tool

cross-posted from Millennial Law Prof

TechLearning reports on a really handy Internet research tool. Use have to use Firefox a the browser to use this, but it's well worth it. For researchers, I dare say that Firefox is a far superior web browser to Internet Explorer. It's worth downloading Firefox and using it when you research on the web.

In a nutshell, Zotero looks like it does what the comment function in Microsoft Word does, i.e., allow you to put little comment bubbles beside the text it relates to. But then it can export all those bubbles as a report. This looks great for briefing cases and writing articles.

Here's a brief excerpt from an article discussing Zotero:

Zotero (zotero.org) is a free, easy-to-use Firefox extension to help you collect, manage, and cite your research sources. It lives right where you do your work - in the web browser itself. Zotero integrates these tools, bringing you the benefits of an online tool and the security of storing all of your information locally for access at anytime. I have been looking for a research tool where I could keep my notes, attachments, and links right in the browser.

Consumer Bankruptcy Law Writing Contest

The National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees has established an annual student writing competition to encourage and reward original law student writing on issues concerning consumer bankruptcy and the law. The rules for the competition are as follows.

Topic
Entrants should submit an essay, article, or comment on an issue concerning Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code.

Eligibility
Essays will be accepted from students enrolled at any law school during the 2008-09 school year. The essays must be the law student author's own work and must not have been submitted for publication elsewhere. Notwithstanding the foregoing, students may incorporate feedback as part of a course requirement or a supervised writing project.

Format
Essays must be typed on 8 1/2 x 11 inch paper, double-spaced in 12-point font, and Times New Roman font type. All margins must be at least one inch. Entries must not exceed fifteen (15) pages of text, excluding notes, with footnotes placed as endnotes. Citation style should conform to the 18th edition of The Bluebook - A Uniform System of Citation. Essays longer than 15 pages of text, excluding notes, or which are not in the required format will not be read.

Judging
The NACTT will judge the competition. Essays will be judged based upon content, exhaustiveness of research, originality, writing style, and timeliness.

Questions
Questions regarding the competition should be addressed to the chair of the Writing Competition at the address that appears below.

Submission and Deadline
Entries must be received by April 30, 2009. Entries received after the deadline will be considered only at the discretion of the NACTT. Entries may be submitted in two format: (1) e0mail an electronic version (in Microsoft Word or PDF format) to Trustee@Ch13austin.com, and (2)mail, with a postmark dated by April 30, 2009, four paper copies of the essay to:

NACTT Law Student Writing Competition
National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees
c/o Debbie Langehennig, Ch. 13 Trustee
3803 Capital of Texas Hwy. South, Suite 320
Austin, TX 78704

Award
The author of the first-place essay will receive a prize. The winning essay will be published in the NACTT Quarterly: The Quarterly Journal of the National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees. The winner will receive free registration for the NACTT annual seminar to be held in Boston on July 1-4, 2009.

Study Skills Podcasts on iTunes U

Suffolk University School of Law has added three new Podcasts to their site on iTunes U. The new topics are: “The Inside Scoop on Study Groups (Herb Ramy); “Study Aids and Study Skills’ (Joyce Savio Herleth); and “The Days Before Final Exams” (Herb Ramy). Within the next two weeks, they expect to post three new Podcasts on the topics of law school stress, flow charting, and IRACing exams.

Students may access these Podcasts free of charge at http://www.law.suffolk.edu/itunes/. Once iTunes open up, click on the folder that reads “Academic Support Program.”

Energy and the Environment Student Writing Competition

Hofstra Law School, Wright Risk Management and Congdon, Flaherty, O'Callaghan, Reid, Donlon, Travis & Fishlinger present the Enegery and the Environment Student Writing Competition. For more information, please visit law.hofstra.edu/environment.

Well, maybe standing in the street goes a bit far . . .

. . . but this recent article on CNN from CareerBuilder.com has some pretty handy tips for job searching.

Legal Technology Summer School

The William & Mary School of Law introduces its Legal Technology Summer School. The summer school allows students to choose from a range of unique courses that are only offered at the William & Mary School of Law. The 2009 courses offered are Electronic Discovery and Data Seizures, Evidence, Internet Law, Privacy in a Technological Age, and Technological Augmented Trial Advocacy. The program is co-hosted by The Center for Legal and Court Technology. For more information, click www.legaltechcenter.net/summerschool.

Minority Fellowships in Environmental Law

The New York State Bar Association's Environmental Law Section and the New York City Bar Association are once again offering minority fellowships for the summer of 2009. The successful applicant will receive a $6,000 stipend for ten weeks of employment in the summer. Placements are the responsibility of the fellowship winner. For more information, click here.

2009 Professor William R. Ginsberg Memorial Essay Contest

The 22nd Annual Professor William R. Ginsberg Memorial Essay Contest is sponsored annually by the Environmental Law Section of the New York State Bar ASsociation. First prize is $1,000. The first-place essay will be published in the New York Environmental Lawyer. The top three essay authors will be invited to the fall meeting of the Environmental Law Section, scheduled for September 2009 in the Finger Lakes Region of New York.

Essays on any topic in environmental law are acceptable, provided they are written by students currently enrolled in a New York State law school and were not prepared as part of paid work. (Course papers and law review submissinos are permitted). The maximum length is 35 double-spaced pages, including footnotes (which may be single spaced). No student may submit more than one entry per year, and substantially the same essay may not be entered in more than one year.

For more information, click here.

Legal Writing Competition Blog

To find legal writing competitions that align with your interests, check out the Legal Writing Competition Blog. Bookmark it and check back often.

Why would you want to bother with a writing competition? Particularly in a slugging economy, there are tons of good reasons. Here are just a few:

1. Having a paper of publishable quality on your resume demonstrates the kind of self-starting motivation that employers are looking for.

2. You have to do the Advanced Writing Requirement anyway. Why not get maximum bang for your AWR buck? Choose a topic for your AWR that interests you, then choose a professor who also has an interest in that area to supervise you, then submit it to the writing contest. Boom! You get AWR credit, independent research credit, cash prizes, and the chance to get a publication as a law student.

3. The writing prize itself is something to list on your resume that indicates that you compete well against others.