KCLL Klues: Washington State Legal Research

Those of you who have to report your CLE credits this year may be interested in free or low cost CLEs.  Because you have only a few days to fulfill your requirement, this posting focuses on possibilities for AV credits. 

Earlier this year, I wrote about the Intellectual Property Colloquium, which offers podcasts that have been approved for CLE credit in Washington.  Most of the podcasts offer 1 hour of CLE credit and are often engaging conversations about interesting, timely topics. 

In response to that posting, Washington lawyer Randy Winn wrote to us about his blog, 4 Free CLE.  The blog is nationwide in scope, but there is plenty to interest Washington lawyers.  Many of the programs have already been approved for multiple states; if that is the case, those states are listed.  Also, of particular help to those of you in search of last-minute AV credits, there is a tab at the top of the page “CLE Anytime!”, which will link you to CLEs in that category.  Even more useful at this late date is the December 27 posting, “22+ AV Credits Free . . . in Time for Year-End!”

The Washington State Bar Association provides a number of  low cost MP3 seminars on its CLEtoGO page.  For example, if you need just one more ethics credit, take a look at the offerings.  Also, there is a half-price sale on at least some of the MP3 CLEs from December 27 – December 31.  Check it out here.  

Seattle University Continuing Legal Education has an On Demand Webinar Library, where you can register for reasonably-priced online webinars on demand.  (Prices are discounted for SU Law Alumni.)

The Ex-Parte/Probate committee of the King County Superior Court has decided to continue using the current guardianship training video posted on the Court’s guardianship forms site instead of the new online training routine now available on AOC’s web site.  We will post an update when/if the local Court decides to change its requirements.

A new online training routine for non-professional guardians has been set up by AOC’s Guardian Program.  Individuals who wish to be appointed as guardians of another person or of an estate must register online with the Guardian Program, view a series of training videos and complete an exam for the specific videos dealing with guardianship of the person and guardianship of the estate.  This new routine was created in response to the passage of HB 1053 in Chapter 329 of the Laws of 2011.  AOC has also prepared a promotional flier describing this training and the recent changes to guardianship law in Washington State.  King County Superior Court’s Ex Parte committee will meet next week to determine how this new routine will be implemented in light of the existing guardianship training video already available on the Guardian Program’s web site.

Divorce is a sensitive personal matter and no one process is right for everyone.  Many couples find that the no-court process known as Collaborative Divorce a welcome alternative to the often destructive, uncomfortable aspects of traditional divorce.  On May 25th, the library will be hosting a class from 12-1:30PM on this topic called “Collaboration: A Respectful Divorce Process”.  The class will be held in our Seattle location and presented by a member of the bar who practices in the field of collaborative divorce.  You can sign up today by calling the library at 206-296-0940.

The library is excited to announce a new class KCLL Presents: Family Law Resources to be held at King County Library System branches in February and March.  This 1.5 hour class is targeted at non-attorneys to help them find resources for family law matters such as divorce, child custody or child support.  All classes begin at 7pm and are free of charge; pre-registration is not required. 

Thursday, February 24 Auburn Library
Thursday, March 3 Federal Way Library
Thursday, March 24 Renton Highlands Library
Monday, April 4 Des Moines Library

We have updated our training calendar with new class dates through the end of June with the exception of eFiling classes after March.  New eFiling dates for April – June will be announced soon.  Each class is limited to 10 students and space fills up quickly.  Call the library at 206-296-0940 to sign up.

We are now using a free web-based calendar product from www.30boxes.com that we hope will be easier to use and maintain than the previous calendar.  Check it out!

We have added new training classes for January and February.  Call the Library at 206-296-0940 to sign up for these three classes.  Space for each classes is limited to 12 students.  Check our Training Calendar for additional dates.

Monday, January 3rd
eFiling Basics 12-1pm

Monday, January 10th
eFiling Advanced 12-1pm

Wednesday, January 26th
Legal Research for the Non-Attorney: Part 1 12-1:30pm

Wednesday, February 2nd
Legal Research for the Non-Attorney: Part 2 12-1:30pm

Monday, February 7th
eFiling Basics 12-1pm

Monday, February 14th
eFiling Advanced 12-1pm

The King County Bar Association and the King County Bar Foundation are sponsoring a free debt education workshop from 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm  on Monday, Dec. 13 at the Douglas Truth branch of the Seattle Public Library.  Topics for discussion will include assessing your debt situation, dealing with debt collectors, how to respond to a debt collection law suit and filing for bankruptcy.  You need to R.S.V.P. to the KCBA at (206) 267-7095.

KCLL has also written a debt collection law suit research guide that identifies the major resources we recommend you review for research in this topic.

We have posted a schedule of classes for September and October.  We are offering the complete E-Filing series (Beginning and Advanced Features) on September 8 and September 15.  In October, we’re teaching the Legal Research for the Non-Attorney two-part class and a session of our popular Skip Tracing classes.  All sessions are free and held at the Seattle law library location.  Registration is required and space is limited so call 206-296-0940 to sign up!

The Divorce Class scheduled for this Wednesday evening has been postponed until the following Wednesday 7/21.  Please call the library if you have any questions.