KCLL Klues: Washington State Legal Research

The Washington Practice series, published by Thomson West, continues to grow with new titles that cover more specific topics. In September, we received the Washington DUI Practice Manual (v. 32) and in October, it’s Washington Construction Law Manual (v. 33) and Washington Summary Judgment and Related Motions (v. 34). Washington Construction Law Manual, written by local attorney Matthew King, covers the construction process from beginning to end. Washington Summary Judgment and Related Motions has sample motions to dismiss based on various reasons, motion to strike, and summary judgment along with the relevant citations for those motions. The summary judgment volume also comes with forms on a CD-ROM. 

At the Seattle library, there are three circulating copies and one non-circulating copy of the entire Washington Practice set.  There are two copies (one circulating, one not) of the set at the MRJC library.

What’s your favorite legal movie?  In the August issue of the American Bar Association Journal, the editors listed their favorites in “The 25 Greatest Legal Movies”.  On their website they invite the readers to vote for their favorites.  One of the interesting features of this article is the comments at the end from readers listing their favorites that didn’t make the list.

The King County Law Library’s Legal Eagle DVD collection has over 200 movies, documentaries and television shows that are about the law, contain famous legal scenes, or are written by lawyers, judges and prosecutors.  The ABA’s “25 Greatest Legal Movies” are included in this collection.  Legal Eagle subscribers may borrow any of these movies for a nominal annual fee of $25.

Many thanks to local author and publisher Debbie Brooks for donating two copies of the 2009 King County Superior Court Civil Litigation Handbook and the 2009 Advanced King County Superior Court Civil Litigation Handbook for the Seattle and MRJC libraries. 

From Debbie’s website http://www.legalsecretary.com/:

“[The 2009 King County Superior Court Civil Litigation Handbook] is for the beginner to intermediate legal secretary, paralegal or support staff.  It can also be used by attorneys to apply Civil Rules and Local Rules when they are working a case filed in that jurisdiction. From the Summons and Complaint to Trial, step-by-step procedures are covered. ”

“[The 2009 Advanced King County Superior Court Civil Litigation Handbook] is for the intermediate to advanced legal secretary, paralegal or other support staff. It can also be used by attorneys on the more complicated aspects of civil procedures. Covers Summons and Complaint to Trial on a higher level of understanding…”

The Law Library has just received a 2 DVD set from the American Bar Association that promises to “bring out the best qualities in your witnesses during their depositions and testimony”.  One DVD is exclusively for preparing your witness for deposition; the other for trial.  Both are accompanied by a booklet that summarizes the three major points of being a good witness:  listen, think and answer.  For more information you can link to the ABA’s site.

Yesterday I wrote about a new book that we have in the Library called Intellectual Property: Principles Governing Jurisdiction, Choice of Law, and Judgments in Transnational Disputes. Then later I read an opinion piece written by Elizabeth Wurtzel published in the Wall Street Journal.

What she had to say resonated with me as it relates directly to some of the material in the book. For instance, she says the following: “The one thing the United States exports with serious success is our popular culture. We have conquered the world not with our weaponry, but with our music and movies. If these industries suffer, so does our economy.” She is warning us that we must maintain control of our intellectual property, as it is a large part of our gross domestic product.

Check out the book I spoke about yesterday to find out more about these intellectual property issues.

Thomson/West and ALI publishers recently added another component to the Restatement of the Law series called Principles of the Law. The first installent in this new series is Intellectual Property: Principles Governing Jurisdiction, Choice of Law, and Judgments in Transnational Disputes.

The book focuses on the jurisdictional issues concerning intellectual property given the technological advancements available in today’s world. Its introduction states, “given the extent to which intellectual property crosses borders, the world requires coordination between civil-law and common-law jurisdictions.” This book addresses those issues.

Watch for more titles in this series focusing on a range of relevant topics.

We recently received a new shipment of books from the American Bar Association.  Of interest is Disability Discrimination Law, Evidence and Testimony: A Comprehensive Reference Manaul for Lawyers, Judges and Disability Professionals.  The authors have written this book so that the laws “can be utlized to minimize the current problems and to create better legal remedies”.