Wisconsin State Law Library

What's New - Kristina Martinez

National Library Week Recap

Thank you for joining us during our National Library Week celebration that was held April 11 - 15. The State Law Library was bustling with activities throughout the week from in person classes to our open house.

While National Library Week may be over, both the Wisconsin State Library and Milwaukee County Law Library have spots open in summer classes. Visit the Classes page for more information and registration.

Graduate Information

Congratulations, law school graduates! The Wisconsin State Law Library welcomes graduates to stop by the library for a tour. Interested in obtaining a library card? You can apply for a library card online and learn more about what the Wisconsin State Law Library has to offer!

District Seven Judges' Meeting

Julie Tessmer, State Law Librarian, and Kristina Martinez, Outreach Services Librarian, attended the District Seven Judges' Meeting in Onalaska on Friday, April 1st. They presented information on the Wisconsin State Law Library and library resources.

Law Day at Dane County Law Library

DCLL held free attorney consultations in Spanish and English to drop-in pro se litigants on April 29th to celebrate Law Day. There were other events for attorneys, students and families. Law day was presented by the Dane County Bar Association.

Memorial Day Library Closures

The Wisconsin State Law Library, and Milwaukee and Dane County Law Libraries will be closed on Monday, May 30th for Memorial Day. We will respond to questions and requests on Tuesday, May 31st.

To submit a question to the Wisconsin State Law Library while we are closed, you may call us at 608-267-9696 or Ask a Librarian online.

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This Just In - Pete Boll

New Title!

Representing Parents in Child Welfare Cases: Advice and Guidance for Family Defenders, by Martin Guggenheim and Vivek S. Sankaran
American Bar Association, 2015
Call Number: KF 3735 .S26 2015

Family defense attorneys and other advocates working with parents in proceedings brought against them by child protection services agencies is a little known and less understood area of law. In terms of its impact upon society and especially a parent's right to raise their own child, Guggenheim and Sankaran present family defense as an area of law at least as important as criminal defense, if not more so. Main topics covered include:

• First steps in representing a parent accused of abuse or neglect
• Negotiating for services for the family in court
• The Indian child welfare act
• Representing parents with disabilities
• Representing out-of-state and non-citizen parents
• The impact of abuse and neglect findings, understanding the Child Abuse Register System

New Edition!

Steel on Immigration Law, 2015 edition, by Richard D. Steel
Thomson Reuters, 2015
Call Number: KF 4819 .S74

Intended as a practice book for attorneys in the complex area of immigration law, the author presents an overall view of the structure of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 as amended by recent statutory changes and interpreted by recent court cases. Highlights of the 2015 edition include:

• Employment eligibility of certain H-4 spouses
• Revised DOL regulations governing prevailing wage determinations for H-2B temporary workers
• Fogo de Chao (Holdings) Inc., v. U.S. Dept. of Homeland Sec. in which the D.C. Circuit held that USCIS's categorical exclusion of knowledge gained from one's upbringing and culture form the 'specialized knowledge' required to qualify for an L-1B visa lacks a statutory basis.
• President Obama's November 2014 executive actions on immigration and a district court injunction barring implementation of the expanded deferred action for childhood arrivals (DACA) provisions and the new deferred action for parents of Americans and lawful permanent residents (DAPA) program.

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 - Heidi Yelk

#ChoosePrivacy

The American Library Association observes 'Choose Privacy Week' May 1 through May 7. This is a good time to consider how data collection may be compromising your privacy. A special focus this year is students' and minors' privacy, including privacy and cloud computing in public schools.

Google Using Verbatim Search

Power searchers like to have as much control as possible when conducting keyword searches. Exact matches are often critical to finding the right information or document.

Google Verbatim Search is a tool that allows users to exert more control over search results. For example, let's say you are searching for specific instances of illness caused by drinking water affected by algal bloom. You might search the keywords algal bloom drank water. The word 'drank' is important because you are searching for reports of people or animals that actually drank the water. Compare the results of this typical Google Search to the results of the verbatim search. A careful look reveals the verbatim search required the word 'drank' in the results while the typical search allowed variants of drank, such as drink and drinking. Using the verbatim results list, you can quickly identify specific instances of animals or humans that drank affected water.

To apply Verbatim Search, click the 'Search Tools' tab at the top of results list. Then click the 'All results' menu and click Verbatim.

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WSLL Recommends: Advising the Elderly Client

Advising the Elderly Client is a four volume set dedicated to a host of legal issues that aging adults face in today's world. In broad terms, it focuses on finances, health, and discrimination. Additionally, it includes a section on grandparent rights and kinship caregivers. It includes a surprisingly robust set of forms available on CD, containing more than 100 sample documents.

The authors introduce the researcher to an overview of elder law practice, including establishing your practice, ethical considerations, consumer issues, and daily living problems of aging clients. The majority of two volumes deal with financial issues. These topics span from financial and estate planning to dealing with a variety of benefits, retirement plans, as well as tax and insurance issues.

You will also find analysis of long-term care, assisted living, skilled nursing care, inpatient hospital services, hospices, in addition to paying for health care. Medicare and Medicaid coverage, claims, and administrative proceedings are also addressed. The final volume examines discrimination against the elderly. The subjects range from employment and age discrimination to disability discrimination and access to accommodations.

For more information, you can review the content notes in the catalog record for a detailed listing of the variety of issues presented in this title.

If you regularly refer to the State Bar of Wisconsin's title Advising older clients and their families, consider reviewing this larger set to expand your research.

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