Wisconsin State Law Library

What's New - Lisa Winkler

Donate Hats and Mittens for CAC - until Jan. 16, 2015

Our Helping Warm Hearts and Hands donation drive is in full swing! We are now accepting hats, mittens, gloves, and scarves in both adult and children's sizes. All donations will be taken to Community Action Coalition (CAC) for distribution to local men, women, and children who need appropriate winter wear. Start off your new year by sharing the gift of warmth with those in need.

The donation box is placed by our statue of Lady Justice which is located at the far end of the Reading Room. See this floor map of the library.

Libraries Closed for Holiday

WSLL, MLRC and DCLRC will be closed on Monday, January 19th in observance of the Martin Luther King, Jr. state holiday.

To submit a question to the Wisconsin State Law Library while we are closed, you may call us at 608-267-9696 and leave a voice message, or Ask a Librarian online. We will respond to questions and requests the next business day.

Staff News

Bob Lopez became the new Branch Librarian at the Dane County Legal Resource Center on November 17. Bob has been the Library Associate since October 2011, with his main responsibilities including the timely delivery of the Dane County Jail legal information service and helping library users. Bob will now be managing all aspects of the library's operations, maintaining print and electronic collections, and collaborating with Dane County Courthouse offices and other local legal community partners. He looks forward to implementing novel ideas for improving and promoting the library's services.

Before joining the library Bob worked at a small law firm providing clerical and research support. He concurrently worked at several bookstores, most recently A Room of One's Own, and continues to be a voracious reader and writer. Bob is studying legal terminology in Spanish to better serve library users with a language barrier and is passionate about helping everyone involved in a Dane County Circuit Court matter find the legal information they need. Bob earned his Masters of Information Science from Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA. Welcome, Bob!

Jaime Healy-Plotkin joined the State Law Library on December 1 as the Cataloger Librarian. Jaime previously worked in the technical services departments of the Wisconsin Historical Society and UW-Madison's Kohler Art Library where she was primarily responsible for classifying new materials for the libraries' collections. She also cataloged government documents for the Wisconsin Veterans Museum, working extensively with a backlog of Army Field Manuals from the Second World War and developing lesson plans, bibliographies, and displays for visitors.

Jaime earned her Masters of Library Science from the UW-Madison School of Library and Information Studies. She is a current member of the Madison Public Library Board and the South Central Library System Board of Trustees. Welcome, Jaime!

Upcoming Classes in Milwaukee

The Milwaukee Legal Resource Center is offering two free classes on using WestlawNext (WLN). Both classes will take place Wednesday, January 14th in Meeting Room 1 at the Milwaukee Public Library's central location, 814 W. Wisconsin Avenue.

The classes are Introduction to Research on WLN from noon - 1: 00 pm, followed by Intermediate Research on WLN from 1:00 - 2:00 pm. Sign up for either (or both) classes through the Milwaukee Public Library by calling 414-286-3011. Each session has been approved for 1 CLE credit.

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This Just In... - Pete Boll

New Title! The Winning Brief: 100 Tips for Persuasive Briefing in Trial and Appellate Courts, by Bryan A. Garner.
Oxford University Press, 2014
WSLL Call Number: KF 251 .G37 2014

In this third edition Garner covers everything from the rules for planning and organizing a brief to openers designed to capture a judge's attention from the first few words.

In Garner's view, good writing is good thinking put to paper. "Never write a sentence that you couldn't easily speak," he warns - and demonstrates how to do just that. Every tip begins with a set of quotable quotes from experts followed by Garner's advice on building sound paragraphs, drafting crisp sentences, choosing the best words ("Strike pursuant to from your vocabulary."), quoting authority, citing sources, and designing a document that looks as impressive as it reads.

Among the new sections in the third edition are tips on understanding judges' reading habits, answering opponents' arguments, writing effective reply briefs, using authorities persuasively, and organizing arguments based on statutes and contracts.

New Edition! LLCs and LLPs: A Wisconsin Handbook, 5th edition, by Joseph W. Boucher and others.
State Bar of Wisconsin, 2014
WSLL Call Number: KFW 2607.5 .W575

The latest edition of this handbook reflects new developments such as the default pass-through tax treatment of LLCs and LLPs under the "check-the-box" regulations, the authorization of single-member LLCs (SMLLCs), and the rule permitting Wisconsin attorneys to use LLCs and LLPs in their practices.

An entire chapter of the handbook is devoted to annotated forms, including three operating agreements for LLCs, member agreements for SMLLCs, and a partnership agreement for an LLP.

See our latest New Titles list for a list of new books and other resources.

For assistance in accessing these or other resources, please contact our Reference Desk.

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Tech Tip in Brief - Heidi Yelk

Firefox - Search Engine Management

In December Mozilla Firefox made a subtle change that may have users looking twice at search results. The default search in the Firefox browser was changed from Google to Yahoo!. For those who prefer Google (or another search engine) over Yahoo!, changing the default engine is easy.

Step one: place your mouse next to the magnifying glass symbol in the search box to reveal the (teeny tiny) drop down triangle; choose "change search settings."

Step two: Use the drop down menu to choose a different search engine as the default search engine. Click OK and you are done.

Are you looking for even more choices in search engines? Click "Add more search providers" at the bottom of the Options window:

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WSLL Recommends: Valuation Strategies in Divorce

This fifth edition is now a portable yet comprehensive single volume. When a divorce begins, equitable distribution of marital assets becomes a top priority. The three overarching steps are 1) identification of marital assets 2) appraisal of identified assets and 3) distribution. This treatise dives into the second step and covers methodologies, strategies, and techniques from both the evaluative and legal perspectives.

Highlights include an overview of analyzing business financial statements and tax returns, handling specialty assets (like professional licenses or degrees, celebrity goodwill, and lottery winnings), and direct and cross-examination questions for experts. The new Chapter 3 discusses determining the worth of closely held businesses, i.e. businesses not traded on a public exchange. There are also practice aids such as valuation strategy checklists and sample pleadings woven into most chapters to help you systematically work through assessments. Sample appraisal reports with mistakes and corresponding critiques allow the reader to practice identifying errors so you can avoid them in your own work. The final chapter reviews selected state court opinions on various valuation topics.

Whether you are a new attorney working on your first divorce or an experienced lawyer unraveling a complicated asset dispute, this book will help you address any and all assets with confidence.

A summary and the table of contents are available online through the Wolters Kluwer website.

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Odds 'n' Endings - Carol Hassler

Shelf Shifting in the Library

In December we posted a handful of blog entries about shelf shifting projects in the library. Shifting books to create more space is regular maintenance that helps browsing users and preserves the collection.

A "shifting" project is undertaken when shelves get too crowded which happens as the collection grows. Some subject areas may get more new materials than others and a shifting project is designed to add more space in higher growth areas. Our latest shifting project is a big one; the Wisconsin collection (KFW collection) is constantly growing but occupies a finite space on the second floor of the library.

Learn more about these projects and see pictures in the following blog posts:

• Shifting Projects in the Library
• Planning for a Major Shelf Shift
• A Finished Shelf Shift

Resolutions for 2015

We can help you with your professional New Year's resolutions.

When your day is full of meetings or you only come to Madison occasionally, you can't always make it to the library during our regular hours. Sign up for our After Hours service and use the library when we're closed all year long.

Remember to ask a librarian for research help this year. We can advise you about helpful research sources and give you search tips.

A library card does more than let you check out books. Use your card to sign in and read current journals or old (non-dusty) legal classics alike in our online databases. Watch some of our tutorials to learn how to use these databases and get quick search tips.

A library card still lets you check out books! Even if you're far from Madison, take advantage of our Borrow by Mail service to check out and return books through the mail.

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