KCLL Klues: Washington State Legal Research

A recently revised edition of the King County Probate and Guardianship Policy Manual is now available!  The Manual has been in existence since 1969 and was last revised in 2003.  According to the introductory page, the manual is a “helpful guide to practitioners and referred to in King County Local Rule 98.04.  This manual is the result of a joint project of the bench and the bar and contains useful tips for practitioners that are not necessarily the official policy of the court.”

We have multiple copies of the Manual at both libraries, though none are available for check-out.  It can also be purchased from the King County Bar Association in print and electronic format.

We are pleased to announce the addition of a new database from EBSCO that provides online, full-text access to a number of our popular books from Nolo Press.  The database is called Legal Information Reference Center.  It’s available on most of our public computers in both our Seattle and Kent locations.  Books available include Neighbor Law, Every Dog’s Legal Guide, Copyright Handbook, Getting a Green Card, and Represent Yourself in Court.  You can search for information by keyword, general topic or even visually through an interface that graphs your results.  You can also browse or search for forms that are included in the books.  Results may be printed at the cost of 15 cents per page or saved to your own USB drive.

The next time you visit our Seattle branch, take a moment to check out a recent addition to our book collection, West’s Legal Checklists and its companion forms volume, Legal Checklists—Specially Selected Forms.  The two volumes of Legal Checklists provide a well-organized, to-the-point outline analysis of a range of legal issues including federal taxation, real estate, employment, estate planning, and contracts.  They also include checklists for important topics not usually covered in this type of work, such as legal checkups and avoiding legal malpractice.  The companion forms volume includes model forms for a smaller range of topics.  The forms themselves are not Washington State-specific.  Currently, these volumes are on display on our New Books shelf at the information desk.  When they are returned to the regular collection, the 2-volume Legal Checklists set will be shelved with our law practice management materials at KF 386 .L44 and the Legal Checklists – Specially Selected Forms will be shelved with our model forms materials at KF 170 .B43.

KCLL now has copies of the WSBA‘s new Partnership and Limited Liability Company Deskbook for your use.  We’re happy to see this addition to the State Bar’s valuable deskbook series because it has been some time since this area of law was addressed.  Together with WSBA’s Washington Business Corporations Act (RCW 23B) Sourcebook and LexisNexis’ Washington Business Entities: Law and Forms, we now have a set of materials that provide comprehensive coverage of business formation issues.

Finding up-to-date information about procedures in District and Municipal courts–what our State collectively calls Courts of Limited Jurisdiction–is always difficult so we were very happy to see the arrival of AOC’s new Manual for Courts of Limited Jurisdiction (12/2009).  The Manual includes substantial sections on civil, criminal and special proceedings such as domestic violence but it also includes sections about the history of limited jurisdiction courts in Washington, RALJ and De Novo appeals, contempt of court, fish and wildlife violations and even a small section on legal research.  It’s an excellent addition to the other materials we use for research in this area and something you should review if you are working with a District or Municipal court.  The Manual is not available directly on the Internet but is shelved in both of our branches at KFW 516 .C68 M36.

The King County Law Library just received a new book titled Selling Your House in a Tough Market: 10 Strategies That Work, from Nolo Publishing. Since it is a possibility that I may have to do this in the near future, I decided to see if it contained any helpful information. The book has 10 chapters, the 10 strategies that work, I guess. Each chapter introduces an “advisor” on the topic, from realtors to home stagers to home inspectors. Much of the advice is common sense, but some of the reminders can be useful. You can find the book here in our library or look for it in the Seattle Public Library or the King County Library System.

Here are the call numbers you will need to find it on the shelf.
KCLL’s Call #: HD 259 .B73 2009
SPL’s Call #: 643.12097 B7393S 2009
KCLS’s Call #: 643.120973 BRA

Recently West replaced volumes 1-1C of Washington Practice with new paperback volumes.  The new volumes contain completely different content from the older volumes.  The new volumes serve as a guide to information contained in the rest of the set.  Some of the chapters of the older edition dealing with substantive information will be released as new volumes of Washington Practice later in the year.

Although the filing instructions say to discard the old volumes, King County Law Library kept two copies of the replaced volumes.  If you find that you have already discarded your old copies, you can still find the information in our library.

The American Bar Association has created a weekly blog that features excerpts from books, ariticles and interviews byABA authors.  Sign up here to receive their blog.  The King County Law Library receives almost all of the new books published by the ABA.  If you find an excerpt that intrigues you, you can check out the book from our library.  (Note:  the title of the blog is not the title of the book.  The title(s) can be found in the text of the blog.)

At long last, the first two volumes of the new edition of the Real Property Deskbook has been published!   The last update to this set was 2001.  Vol. 1 covers parties to real estate transactions and basics of real estate transactions.  Vol. 2 covers leasing,  financing and remedies.  The set is accompanied by a CD-ROM with forms and has its own index.  Volumes 3 and 4 are expected later this summer.  Volumes 5-7 will be published sometime in 2010.  The Law Library has one copy of the deskbook available for checkout and as well as the CD-ROMs.  Copies of this new edition are available from the Washington State Bar Association for $315.00 ($350.00 after April 30).

Introduction to e-Discovery:  New Cases, Ideas, and Techniques.  Ralph C. Losey has just published Introduction to e-Discovery as a follow-up to his book e-Discovery:  Current Trends and Cases.  Based on blogs Mr. Losey has written, this book describes the wheres, hows and whys of digital evidence.  An endorsement of the book describes it as “one of the most thorough, understandable, candid, and enjoyable resources addressing e-discovery.”  Published by the American Bar Association, it can be found on our shelves at KF 8902 .E42 L68.2009.  Come, visit our library and see what other texts we have on electronic discovery.